Bookends for mac instal1/5/2024 ![]() ![]() There are lots of trees that fall into the lake." "No sharks and I have never had a problem with rip currents," Harmston said. ![]() Surfers don't have to deal with jellyfish or sharks in Lake Erie, but they need to be aware of other potential dangers, Harmston said. No sharks or jellyfish, but logs can be a problem A long run lasted six or seven seconds before the surfer fell or the wave dissipated near shore. "It made the waves choppy and they weren't consistent."Įvery so often, a good wave set would form and everyone would ride those larger waves to shore. "The sandbars were jacked up," said Harmston, referring to ridges of sand submerged in the shallow lake waters. The problem was that the waves weren't forming the way they had hoped, Harmston said. Samuels, Harmston and the other surfers paddled on the lake at times for 10 minutes or longer, waiting for a decent wave. It was sketchy, but it was an adventure."Ĭonditions were much more comfortable at Beach 1 West on Dec. "I was paddling on the lake and my teeth were chattering. "It's the only time my board froze solid and I could only move my arms like the Tin Man in the 'Wizard of Oz'," Samuels said. 7 to surf at Presque Isle State Park's Beach 1 West. Ty Corbin, left, a 19-year-old Fairview Township resident, and his friend, Samuel Harmston, 20, of Millcreek Township, arrive on Dec. Samuels is glad to say that he surfed that day, but isn't keen on trying it again. Why go to the mouth of Elk Creek? Samuels said it was the only spot they knew along the local Lake Erie coastline with open water. They each recalled last Christmas Eve, when they traveled to the mouth of Elk Creek to surf despite air temperatures hovering in the single digits and a wind chill well below zero. Harmston and Samuels said they have surfed in much colder weather. "Some people put Vaseline on their face, but if you do that you're considered a bit of a wimp in the surfing world." 'The only time my board froze' "With the wet suit, the only thing that gets cold is your face," Harmston said. Harmston and his friend, Ty Corbin, 19, wasted no time putting on their wet suits, grabbing their boards and paddling into the 45-degree Lake Erie water. Wind gusts around 20 mph made it feel colder than the actual temperature of 42 degrees when they arrived at the park at lunchtime. 7 when Samuels and Harmston were among the surfers and paddle boarders in the water off Beach 1 West. The waves were a bit smaller than that on Dec. ![]() The biggest waves I have seen were 12-foot ones last fall, but they were ugly. ![]() "It's not like surfing in the ocean, the waves don't get as big," said Jim Samuels, a 56-year-old Millcreek Township resident who has been surfing at the peninsula for about six years. Surfing has been officially permitted at the park since 2010, but the policy was expanded in September to allow surfing at all lakeside beaches - outside of guarded swimming zones.Įrie might not be a surfer's Mecca like Huntington Beach, California, or North Shore, Hawaii, but the conditions on Lake Erie are good enough at times to entice surfers from throughout the area. and Beach 11 if it's an eastern wind, which is unusual." "Generally, it's Beach 1 (West) on the big days. "It all depends on the wind," said Samuel Harmston, a 20-year-old Fairview Township resident who has been surfing at the peninsula for four years. ![]()
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