GLS never give up!

"The surf is not everything - it's the people you are surfing with that make it so special."

Forecast for Sunday April 22, 2012

It is almost the end of April and I have only surfed twice this month if I am not mistaken. We got lucky last Sunday and Monday April 22 & 23. Larry and I got excited when we saw a North East wind blowing at about +20 km/h. I checked the forecast for wind and waves in Lake Ontario and figured out that the best place to surf the best waves on those days would be at "The Bridge" in Hamilton. As always, surfing the Lakes proofed to be a hard thing to understand and even with all the technology we got available, sometimes mother nature continues to be unpredictable.

Larry came by to pick me up on Sunday at around 11 am and then we went on to pick up Elias who was coming out of work. We waited for him at Dufferin Subway station. During that time I kept looking at the forecast from different website and talking with Larry about the different places that could be working that day and which one would be the best. Once Elias arrived at the station we arranged the boards on top of La Guerrera and took off. On the way we explained Elias what we knew so far about the surf conditions. He added some information as well, and we agreed again the best place to go to was The Bridge at Hamilton. We were set for an epic day of surfing we thought, nevertheless, mother nature had different plans....

Larry and I waiting for Elias

We arrived at the surf spot an hour and a half later only to find there were small bumps in the water. The waves were not even there yet! We looked at a few points around the Hamilton area without results. We noticed the waves were getting bigger as time passed by. However, the growth rate was too slow. We went back to the spot in front of the Bridge and decided to hope for the best. We were getting reports from people in different areas of Lake Ontario about the surf conditions. Nothing seemed to be producing the waves we expected.


I met a windsurfer who had been trying to go out and enjoy his Sunday afternoon while gliding on the surface of Lake Ontario. He said it was impossible to make it out there because the wind wasn't strong enough. This was something we had already noticed when stepping off the car. There was no strong wind blowing! Where were the NE +20km/h winds ?!?!

Putting information from different experiences and comments, we have understood the following about surfing the Great Lakes when it is not winter time. As the temperatures warm up, the winds that blow on top of the lakes don't reach the water. There is a cushion of warm air between the water surface and the cold air blowing strong. This warm air makes the water remain calm and almost impossible for the cold winds to touch the water and create waves. Sad story but it is the way it is.

@The Bridge - Hamilton

Larry, did not give up and got in his suite right away and went on to catch some of the massive waves.... Elias and myself stayed outside checking the reports from other friends looking for some surf as well. It seemed like there would be no good surfing that day.

This changed when Brian Lourenco gave us a call. He had found this place in Mississauga (only 10 minutes from his house) that was producing some nice waves. Nothing too big, but definitely with better shape and consistency than our waves at The Bridge. In less than 5 minutes we got Larry outside of the water and back in the car driving to this spot.

By the time we got there it was about 5 in the afternoon.  We saw Brian's car and without even checking out the spot Elias and myself jumped into our wetsuits and went for a surf. The waves were big enough (knee high) and had enough power to surf them. One or two snaps could be done before reaching the shore. We had plenty of fun the rest of the afternoon. It had been a while for me to surf with all these guys again. For a one reason or another we had to surf different spots and at different times, but today, we were all together after so long! It was one of the best surf sessions in a very long time. The sunset was amazing! The sun reflected on the buildings of Toronto and the whole city seemed to be made out of gold. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of it, maybe next time....

The waves were a lot of fun and a few waist-high waves would roll in from time to time. I caught a very nice and long wave. Totally unexpected, but everyone was yelling and happy I was able to catch such a nice wave. This wave paid off my surf trip that day!

Brian's Spot in Mississauga

We all came out of the water at around 8 o'clock very happy about the surf session we had shared and also about the fact that Brian is back in the water! He had an operation and needed some time before getting back into the water, now slowly he can be seen surfing from time to time with us again!

Neither one of us was very tired. I think we all had energy (even Elias who had been working all night long and then surfing all day long ) to continue surfing but we also had to go back home to be with our families. Larry and I agreed that if there was surf the next day we would meet up again for surf! I am sure we both went to bed that night crossing our fingers.....because the next morning we got even bigger waves with off-shore winds!!  Read about this adventure on my next post - stay tuned!