Great Lakes Surf Adventures

The Cove Beach Clean Up #8

2014-05-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce our already CLASSIC THE COVE BEACH CLEAN UP #8 this Sunday May 4, 2014 at our usual place 'The Cove' at Bluffer's Park, Scarborough, ON.

Every year we receive more and more sponsors. Last year we had a couple of baskets full of surf gear and equipment that we gave away to our participants! This year is not the exception - we have shirts and wetsuits among other really cool stuff from our various sponsors! Come check it out and have a blast rain or shine!

Here comes a quick little bit of story for you: Over the past years Larry and I have been working on our surf community increasing the level of environmental awareness and friendship. Our main goal was always to give back to Mother Nature for the blessing that we have and that is surf - among many other things! We are grateful about the surf opportunity we have in The Great Lakes and specifically in Lake Ontario near Toronto. It was our magical place since day 1. Ever since we started 'The Cove Beach Clean Up' we have been joined by lots of people in this mission we have set for ourselves. Big thanks to all the awesome friends and sponsors who have given us a hand when we had nothing to get this event going and who continue standing next to us to show support for our surf community.

Since the first beach clean up we held, we have seen larger numbers of participants at every event - surfers and non-surfers, people we know and some other people and families who decide to join us when they see us having fun! We have also seen the initiative by other members of our surf community to start their own ways of helping out and growing that environmental awareness. We are delighted to see this happen and would love to see this trend continue and infect everyone!

Event Goals:

Give back to Mother Nature.
Increase environmental awareness.
Unite the Surf Community in one big social event.
Encourage sharing, friendship and camaraderie.
Have a great time with family and friends.
Make the Surf Scene in Toronto a better one by creating a friendly environment where everyone is welcomed and respected.

Hope to see you all out there this Sunday at 10.30AM Rain or Shine!!!

Busy dreamer; surfer at heart; lucky man!

2014-02-20T07:15:00.000-08:00

Photo: Brian Batista Bettencourt - Helene & Antonio

In the past year things have been moving very quickly for me. Several life changes, new doors opening, opportunities taken, changes made, new plans created, graduated from University, business developed and started, and met the most amazing woman I have ever met - she was the catalyst for all of these.

With every month that goes by I learn that the things that were important for me before aren't important anymore. When I found Surf in the Great Lakes, I realized that the important thing in life is

Larry C, Antonio A, Stephanie K. @Kincardine 1st Surf Event 2013

not to do crazy things or be someone crazy/important. What really matters is that whatever it is that you decided to do and makes you happy can be shared with others - namely your friends and family. Lately I have been working hard at it. Why not - I met Helene Filion and my world changed instantaneously. All of a sudden what others thought impossible or too difficult to even try became possible and realistic. We have been working on our dreams together since the day we met. We've had plenty of adventures around the Great Lakes and met an amazing group of human beings that are also in search for the same thing and we can proudly call friends. It is something that connects and unifies all Surfers and Great Lake Surfers out there (SUPers as well!!!). A vivid and pure desire to live, experiment and share.

@Kincardine 1st Surf Event '13 - Receiving Aloha Spirit Award

Derek M, Gillian S, Antonio A, Helene F, Robin P. @ Kincardine 1st Surf Event 2013 - Celebration

With that in mind we have created 'You Surf'. The basic idea is we want to share what brings us so much happiness and excitement with everyone else out there. The best way for us to do it is by teaching SURF and SUP to everyone.

1st Surf event in Rochester, NY 2013 - GL surfers stoked

We want to get everyone started on an amazing adventure on the water. Because that is exactly what it is. Once you get started Surfing or SUPing you will enter another whole world and will live through countless adventures with us and on your own - that I promise you! A world that you never even thought could exist. How could you? You never tried to jump in the water when air temperatures dropped below 10C, let alone -20C. You never thought of driving 6 hours one way to try and get lucky to find something - in our case Surf. You never thought of taking out your SUP with friends on an early summer morning and enjoy the calm of the lakes while the fog and sunrises and animals of all sorts awake and start another day.

You never thought you would meet the people you will meet once you start surfing or SUPing the Great Lakes. We want to give people that extra support to really get out there and enjoy life; have fun, learn about their environment, stay healthy and share all their love and passion!

If you want to know more keep an eye on this blog. If you want to find out more for yourself take a look at our website and 'like' us on Facebook!

Cheers to see you all on the water soon!

AA

Snowboarding – My New Lover?!

2014-02-17T19:51:00.001-08:00

Leaving surf behind is what I concluded I had to do after repeatedly carving on the snowboard and landing on my face or worse at Moonstone....

Luckily that was not the case once I got the hang of it. Helene made sure I could take advantage of my surf moves while learning to snowboard. She would initially show me and explain what I had to do and when. Once we started sliding down the hill she would hang out right behind me and let me know what I should improve for better results. Why I was falling every time I tried to make a turn and how to move my body.

The learning process was hard, as I had to change my surf style for a new-found snowboard style. It felt strange the way I stood strapped on to the board. Unable to move my feet – it felt almost like my foot and legs were one and could not move independently. Once I got over this initial shock and got the feeling for the board, turns and speed the fun really started. Helene was so patient and really hyped all the time that I felt always super excited and ready to go again - even after some hard falls.

We started on the bunny hill and stayed there for a while until I was able to make my turns almost as soon as I wanted. Unlike surfing, I am still slow to make turns and sometimes I continue going straight even though I want to turn…(it must look funny if we had gotten these moves on camera…maybe next time). My confidence continued to grow every time we finished a ride. At times I felt frustrated because I thought I had the moves and “plop” I would fall or lose control. This didn’t discourage me from keep going. Especially not after seeing Helene flying down the hill next to me and making some crazy tricks and turns. She was going at 100 km/h and I was barely crawling downhill. Quit being a baby and stop getting frustrated because you have a long way to go to be anywhere close to that level – I kept telling myself. Funny thing is, Helene kept saying she wasn’t going too fast or doing anything crazy…. I don’t know if to be excited or terrified at this comment…!

At some point midway our snowboard day I saw a small wall on the side of track. It clearly resembled a frozen wave … Yes a frozen wave up in the mountain. Take a few seconds and think about what possibly could have gone through my mind….

Yes – I aimed straight for my frozen wave and half way up the wall I turned and kicked the tail of the board. I could see all the snowflakes splashing around. It was a perfect cutback with the tail of the board on the outside of the wave. In any surf competition I would receive the highest score possible for a turn like this. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t surfing. Ha! I tail slided for a split of a second and the board’s edge got caught up. This was the worse wipeout of the day - that’s for sure. I was lying on the floor without intention of getting up when I heard Helene calling my name and saying something. I stood up and looked behind me only to see her speeding down the hill and breaking hard right before. All the snow under her board splashed me in the face and back…so lovely. She had told me already not to try those tail kicks on the board as I might get really hurt…I just couldn’t help it. It was the frozen wave’s fault!!

We went in for a couple of breaks. We had some snacks and a few beers. Is it true that when you drink you tend to snowboard better?

We hit 2 more tracks that day. Nice and steep for me. I panicked on the third hill as it looked really steep and my legs were already giving in. Having my legs tired made it hard for me to break or make turns, we were getting close to the end of our snowboarding session. We ended up going back to the previous less steep tracks and ended the day with a nice and easy ride down the hill.

My snowboard session was really amazing and all thanks to Helenita! She was such a good and fun instructor all day long. We both enjoyed the day to the fullest and are already planning on going snowboarding again this upcoming weekend. As for surfing, there is no way I have found a new love in snowboard. I like it very much but surfing is still my one and only favorite! So choosing between surf or snowboard on the same day I will choose surf, unless it is cold like this past week that we have reached almost -30C.

If you are hitting the mountains any time soon, give us a shout maybe we can meet up and have a good time together and a good laugh at my wipe-outs while I become the next Kelly Slater of Snowboarding!

Watch the video Helene F. put together from our Snow adventure that day! Leave some comments below! To watch it on YouTube or share the video click here or copy http://youtu.be/61O6rXxewa4

D.R. Destination: Approved!!

2013-04-30T11:24:00.001-07:00

Helene F. and Antonio A.

Helene and I were enjoying the winter but an incredible craving for waves and warm water took over. So, we decided to plan a surf trip and we chose Dominican Republic. We selected the destination and hotel we were staying at without having a clue how amazing this trip would be. Just to start it off, Josh and Reva Madryga were planning their own trip and by coincidence we ended up staying at the same place. The food, the people and the place was amazing. But let’s get real the best part was the surf in Dominican…!

Our trip started with a small, tiny little issue: My bag never made it Dominican.

Htl. Casa Marina Beach - Photo by Helene F.

After we arrived at 4am to the hotel after a 3 hour bus ride we managed to get some sleep without killing anyone at the reception desk – they were being super fast registering the 15 people that were arriving with us. Of course some of these people were not aware of the time it was and were asking the most ridiculous and out of time and place questions ever. I had imagined people being oblivious to their surroundings up to this level but had never experienced it!

6.00 am I woke up and started jumping on the bed to wake Helene up. She looked at me sort of angry ‘OMG look at the time it is’. As soon as she remembered we were going surfing she jumped off the bed and we both were on our way to find our fellow Great Lake Surfer bro; Josh Madryga! We woke Josh and Reva early in the morning and told them about my missing bag. Happily and with the desire to get back to sleep they offered me Josh’s board shorts, shirt and fins – because everything I had for surfing was in my lost luggage as well as all my clothing! The good thing is that Helene’s carver was in her luggage and we were still able to carve around the hotel during the whole week (very important for surf training while your girlfriend is taking 5 minutes to get ready and go out somewhere very fancy like the buffet lunch.) Anyway, I got sponsored by Josh for the most part of my trip with clothes. Thanks Bro!!

Josh M. & Antonio A. - Photo by Helene F.

So we stole Josh from Reva for the next couple of mornings to go surfing. I am sorry Reva I promise I will ~~not~~ do it again if the opportunity comes! We drove up to ‘Encuentro’ beach on Josh’s rental 4x4. The drive was amazing. Helene and I were amazed at the large fields filled with different shades of green and Josh’s amazing driving skills! First turn we make and I read a sign saying “one way only” in Spanish and I start freaking out because Josh is driving exactly the opposite way! All this got cleared out later that day by our parking lot watch man aka ‘wachiman’ in Spanish. He explained that road as many other in Dominican are one way only up to a certain street and then they become double way. It can be messed up if you don’t know at which point the one way rule stops….

Photo by Helene F.

We arrived at ‘Encuentro’ after driving through a very sketchy entrance from the main road. Everything seemed to be abandoned and Josh pointed out there were some old resorts on the side that had been abandoned a long time ago. They looked creepy. The road was of asphalt up to a certain point and it had the most amazing and effective speed bumps Helene and I have ever seen. They are so smart and efficient over there. Instead of using more material to build speed bumps they just dig a deep whole from one side of the road to the other. Believe me the first time you speed over them you really get hurt even if you have the best suspension system in your car. After this experience you are ready to never again speed down that road EVER again. You want to go over them so slow that you wish there was negative speed to go very slow!!!

Photo by Helene F.

Oh my!!! We made to paradise on Earth! The place was so exotic just like in the pictures:

Helene F. & Chicksticks - Photo by Antonio A.

beautiful jungle vegetation and a strip of beautiful beach right on the edge of it. Across the sand you see the ocean. Beautiful blue and green with perfect waves breaking inside! I almost got a heart attack of how big and clean it was. The heart attack was also partly to the amount of people at the point. Living in Toronto and surfing The Great Lakes I’ve grown used to tiny to no crowds at all. Jajaja Surfing that day at Destroyers point was EPIC! Some head high and overhead waves that day. The waves were rolling in nicely all the way from the back. It was a beautiful sight to see the set coming in big and solid. It was also scary and made all of us want to install an engine on our surfboards to paddle in faster and not get destroyed by the waves….! Of course, no engine on the boards – we ended up getting smacked by some large set and rogue waves. Have you noticed how ‘Rogue’ waves are most of the times much larger than ‘set’ waves? I knew this from before but man I remembered this reality in a very hard and shocking way!

Antonio A. dropping a big one on the last day. - Photo sequence by Helene F.

Helene F. making friends - Photo by Antonio A.

I won’t lie, the first day was a rough day for Helene and I as we were just getting used to a whole new set of different things such as: temperature, water temperature, amazing hot weather, different large waves from the Lakes, new spot and a medium crowd of locals dropping their best waves at their local point break. I had some trouble adjusting my stand and board to this wave. Helene and I had some issues with the locals being a little bit “aggressive”. This is what we called them but in all honesty I think they were just being locals: they know the wave, the beach and therefore are going to go after the best waves more frequently. As long as you have the ability and right fitness to out paddle them you should have no issue with them! It took me a couple of days before I could start battling with the locals for the inside of a good wave and take it. After a few days of surfing and learning the spot locals started showing more respect when we were on our waves and they ended up being really friendly. I guess it is breaking the ice that is hard at times.

Antonio A. - Photo by Helene F.

I saw Josh working the inside of some great waves at Destroyers! Helene made some steep drops on the waves as well. I was surprised by how much of a charger she is. She will go after the big momma wave and make the drop on some waves I won’t go for. Definitely got to watch out for this Lake surfer as she is not joking around when it comes down to some good surfing! She even took waves from me on different occasions!!! I'm sure it has something to do with the 'chicksticks' spirit!

All in all, we all had a great time surfing in Dominican Republic and we would definitely make the trip to that very same spot again! Thank you mother nature for being so cooperative with the waves and awesome weather!

Good waves and few wipeouts!

Cheers!

Memorable Night for Great Lakes Surfers

2013-02-05T09:38:00.005-08:00

Brian Batista Bettencourt - 3B Photography

A night where friendships were strengthened and new relationships were built is what I got to experience this past Saturday at Loft 404. It was the opening event organized by Mackenzie Gruer and her crew for the new documentary they are working on for their next project. They have decided to focus on Surfers in The Great Lakes. I think there is no better time than now to start working on a project looking in detail into the art of surfing the Great Lakes and the individual lives of those who surf them. The surfer community is ever growing and last Saturday I was shocked at the turn out of the event.

Brian Batista Bettencourt - 3B Photography

Before anything else I must apologize to some of you as I was holding conversations with you about interesting topics for sure. However, I did not know who you were – at least not by name. More specifically, we have had conversations surfing, on facebook, messages and emails but I did not have the chance to meet you in person until this past Saturday. What a crazy feeling it was to talk to someone who you know and have talked to before online or wearing their wetsuits but you cannot recognize anymore when you’re normally dressed and standing in front of each other. I am sorry for this, but as crazy as it sounds that is the feeling some, if not all of us had at some point during that great night.

Brian Batista Bettencourt - 3B Photography

The amount of people standing around and chatting with each other at Loft 404 this past Saturday definitely impressed more than one surfer. I knew we were not only a few crazy ones surfing this side of Lake Ontario, but to actually have all surfers of Toronto and surrounding areas present (such as Lake Erie and Lake Huron) made me realize one thing about the sport and where it is currently standing at. We are not a group of crazy surfers trying to catch a wave while braving extreme weather conditions and exposing our own life’s at times. We are a Growing Community of Great Lakes Surfers. What we have among us is a solid community of Surfers in Toronto. I am sure and I know of other surfer groups around the Great Lakes but with exception of Lake Michigan Surfer’s community, I dare to say Toronto and Lake Ontario has the largest and one of the strongest Surfer Communities among the Great Lakes.

Brian Batista Bettencourt - 3B Photography

As such, I believe we are to stick together and give each other a hand to learn more about surfing and continue developing our knowledge and understanding about surfing the Great Lakes. I know this is already happening within our community. My goal is not to initiate a wave of cooperation and openness. Today, all I want is to let you know about the already existent wave of sharing, friendship, contribution and participation within our Surfer Community here in Toronto and around the Great Lakes. I would like to invite you to join us all in this great and friendly community of surfers that we have. If you are already part of it I would like to congratulate you and express my sincere thanks for continuing pushing in this direction as hard as you can to make sure we can share this beautiful sport with as many people as we can!

The contact information for Mackenzie Gruer - the person responsible for this event and spearheading the project is mackenziegruer@hotmail.com or 416.662.5368.

Enjoy some of the images taken by Brian Batista Bettencourt and his company 3B Photography the day of the event. Follow his work on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/3Bphoto?fref=ts

ESA Surf Contest. Lake Erie, January 19 2013

2013-01-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow the ESA Surf tournament at Lake Erie will take place! Do not miss out on this one of a kind event! Lake Erie has not frozen yet and will provide us with some good surfing tomorrow!!

More Information below or at

NOTL SURF CLUB

A Eastern Surfing Association Great Lakes East surf contest is being planned for January 19 2013..
at Pleasant Beach or the Palmwood on Lake Erie Canada...
For this event there will be a provisional membership aviable. $10 the day of the contest gets them ESA points if they sign up as full members later..its free for all current active members of the ESA to compete.
Competing in this ESA sanctioned event gets you points towards regional championships next spring in New Hampshire! more info - http://www.surfesa.org/content/category/6/33/43/Trophies are being given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, long board and short board.

The Eastern Surfing Association (ESA) is dedicated to the sport of amateur surfing, to the operation of a program of amateur competition for surfers of all ages and abilities, and to the establishment and preservation of free access to a clean shoreline and ocean environment. It was founded in 1967 by East Coast surfers to promote, preserve, and protect the sport of surfing on the East Coast.

For more info on this event or the regional championships contact - ESAGreatLakesEast@gmail.com and contest updates at - http://www.facebook.com/EsaGreatLakesEast

We will be meeting at the pleasant beach parking lot 10am....

We are also looking for any local companys able to donate prizes or food for the event. Anything would help.. our goal is to have everyone leave with some swag... T-shirts,Stickers,Wax it all helps

Anyone able to sponsor this event please email - notlsurfclub@live.ca

See you all out there!!!

Surfing on White Powder!

2013-01-15T12:08:00.002-08:00

This has been one of the warmest weekends of this winter 2013!! Sadly no surf anywhere around to be seen and with that craving that we all –surfers- have I am going to hit the slopes and carve some more at Moonstone! I have only done this once maybe 5 years ago and although it went alright –by alright I mean no broken bones, only broken cell phone, glasses and my pants! – I am super excited to go. Mind you I will have a super sexy, wild and awesome snowboard instructor showing me how to kick as on some white powder!!

Helene F and I have been shopping around for snowboard gear and equipment to make sure I have the proper stuff for a very good cost. It has been a fun adventure and will be even more rewarding once we hit the mountain tomorrow and thereafter.

I am concerned about two things and maybe some of you could contribute to clear this out. The first thing that comes to my mind is with such warm weather there might be little to no snow on the mountains (even though they make snow with their machines). If this is so wipeouts will hurt even more?! Should I be worried? I mean, I think of it as of surfing on a shallow reef or dry shore-break…it hurts but pays off ;)

The second concern in my mind is if surfing really helps out to be a good snowboarder. Do you find the transition from snowboarding to surfing or vice versa helps in any particular way to your performance level or learning curve when starting to practice one of these? Did you feel snowboarding or skiing helped you when starting to surf?

I’ll post in the next couple of days about my adventures with Helene F. snowboarding in the mountain! Stay tuned!

Kincardine rocked my world!

2013-01-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Surfer: Antonio Acuna Photo: Adam Shepperdley

This past Saturday everyone around the Great Lakes was ready to go out and catch some waves. The questions many had was what spot to hit as the winds were not consistent all throughout the lakes. Our crew luckily made a really good decision of heading up north of Toronto all the way to Kincardine at Lake Huron. Brother!!! What a surf session we had!! By far the best one of year 2012 for me!

Our trip started by waking up after only having slept 2 hours. As usual I had finished work late and we were leaving early the next morning. Tim D. gave me a wake up call at 4am saying he was at the front door. I zombie walked towards my bag and surfboard and got out. 10 minutes later we were at Larry's house picking him and my new board up 'The Cog'! I was so excited and tired at the same time that I didn't take any pictures or whatsoever at that moment. We jumped back on the truck and took of to Lake Huron.

I don't know what happened while driving up there as I totally passed out on the back seat. A scream woke me up followed by Larry hitting me to wake me up.... 'We are here bro!! There are waves won' ('Won' in Peruvian slang can mean many things but in this case it means bro as well). My sleep seemed to be very short but we had driven for about 2.5 hours from Larry's house. We made very good time.

This was my first time surfing at this spot and didn't know what to expect. Once we pulled of at the beach I wasn't too impressed but was definitely happy there were waves. Larry and Tim got ready right away and went into the water. I took my sweet time getting changed and getting the new board ready. This board truly looks good and feels good outside of the water. It has a beautiful shape with a double concave on the tail and the right amount of volume to allow you to catch anything under any circumstances and yet be able to surf aggressively all the time. It is also very light allowing for smooth turns and great speed down the line. If you can get your hands on one definitely do it as it is a great surfboard for any kind of waves - big or small.

As I was getting ready I met Helene Filion, a very stoked surfer girl. Right away I could see she was really into surfing and she was mentally prepared to surf anything that came up. If some people think we are crazy because we drive 3 hours to catch waves, than this surf chick is just plain nuts as she was coming all the way from Sudbury, Ontario. She drove nothing less than 6 hours to make it to Kincardine. Big props to her and her buddy that tagged along to make her good company and take some action shots of her!

I went into the water to meet up with Larry and Tim. From the outside it seemed like very small and even boring. I thought to myself I would just get wet try the board once or twice and get back into the truck and pass out. I was more than tired, I was exhausted. WRONG!!! The waves that were rolling in had a very nice shape and were kind of long rides too. All of a sudden the waves started to get bigger and cleaner. They reached shoulder or chest high. There were a few sets that Larry, Tim and myself couldn't believe were rolling in. At this time Helene joined us in the water as well as Geoff and his buddy from Toronto. After about 30 minutes or so it slowed down again and waves were not as good anymore. We decided to take a break and recharge for what was coming in later.

In the past couple of surf trips Larry and I have been in, we have developed this strange habit of taking breaks. Something we never thought of before. As Tim put it out nice and simple, we now have come to terms with the fact that YOU CAN SURF IN THE GREAT LAKES. It is not just luck and waves might disappear if we don't surf them all right now. Still, our break lasted about 1 hour to grab some breakfast and right after that we were back in the water!

When we came back and were getting ready, Brian L and his long-boarder friend Ben were coming out of the water to take a break. Adam and Darryl were at the parking lot as well. A lot of people from the Toronto crew were present. Of course some important figures were missing out such as Elias, Sonja, Robin Gavin, Warren and Matt just to mention a few because the list can be quite long....

We all went in the water and enjoyed some really good waves. Nice shoulder high waves peeling off from a nice peak. Rights and lefts were walling up nicely on the shorebreak and everyone was trying to get a piece of them. Behind the peer Adam, Darryl and Jeff were enjoying the bigger waves. Some bombs they had been surfing while we were enjoying the shorebreak. For a bit the shorebreak stopped working as frequent and I paddled out to see why these guys were constantly jumping off the peer. It all went like this: "What's going on Darryl?" "-Oh, it's going..." Next thing I see is a bomb walling up right in front of us and Darryl with no hesitation paddling right into it. It was a long drop. I stayed there and surfed some of those bombs too. The drop was amazing and they would wall up a bit too but wouldn't last all the way out. James Carrick was out there too representing the local crew from Lake Huron! He was pulling into some nice drops and only jumping off when people wouldn't get out of his way while dropping the wave. It was really good to be surfing there with so many friends from Toronto and other areas of the Great Lakes!

Surfer: Antonio Acuna Photo: Adam Shepperdley

I think the most intense part of this trip for me was jumping of the peer. I must say I am afraid of heights and this activity of jumping off of peers is not one I enjoy very much. It took me about 15 minutes to finally make the jump. It has been one of those few times where I have lost control of my body and it just started shaking uncontrollably. A lot of people came up to me and gave some words of encouragement at times when I was ready to walk back to the shore and paddle my way in because I was too afraid. Adam even offered to push me off the peer so that I wouldn't have to jump.... :) When I finally jumped I was very happy and proud but my body was numb and tired that I had muscle cramps on my back and arms. All I could do was push myself with my feet because my arms were useless at that point. The adrenaline at that moment was crazy and became even better when I reached the crowd where Jeff, Tim and Larry were cheering me up!

Helene came back into the water ready to catch ONE more wave before she had to go back home and drive 6 hours back. She jumped off of the peer and got swallowed by some big bombs on the outer point. She did not let the big waves push her away she paddled right back into the point and waited out for a nice big wave. She surfed it all the way out with no problem. Then we all went to the shorebreak and caught a few waves as well. Not long after, Helene had to say goodbye and start driving back home. We were all sad, especially me. I had met a super fun and easy going surfer girl! A surfers' dream! At this point, we stayed surfing there because the peak was building up very nicely and the walls were hollow and long. Not too long after that we went out for another break. Two breaks in a day! I don't know yet if this is a good or bad habit we are getting.... Anyway the afternoon came and we quickly went for a snack. Some power bars, Gatorade, Red Bull and even a couple of Corona's to refuel our body.

Surfer: Antonio Acuna Photo: Adam Shepperdley

Our late session was probably one of the most perfect and close-to-ocean-quality waves I've had in a very long time. We had less people present at this time of the day. Some faces had been there all day long with us and some were new. Mike from Surf Ontario and Rob joined us as well as some other guys from Toronto who were surfing in a Lake for the first time! We welcomed them all and shared some of the best waves of that day. There were two peaks one on the right side near the peer. That one was walling up towards both sides but the right side was longer, faster and more hollow. Further left of the peer there was another peak that was breaking and we were trying to catch the lefts on it because the rights were closing up too fast. Great snaps, rollers, bottom turns and drops were seen at this time. Everyone there was ripping and having a blast. The vibe at that point was amazing, all I could do was look at everyone and smile because it was a blessed day! Thanks mother nature!

I don't have any pictures of that day but if you do have some please share them with me at my email aantonioacuna@gmail.com so I can upload them on to the blog to share them with all our GLSAdventurers on the blog!

Happiness - lessons of 2012

2013-01-08T10:18:00.001-08:00

Surfer:Antonio Acuna - Photographer: Michele Del Duca

This past fall of 2012 has been quite interesting for me. I have been surfing few times throughout the season sometimes missing out on some good storms. This happened because of University and certain responsibilities at home. Work has not been a very big obstacle for me. It gets me really tired every single night that I work, but if there is surf in the morning most times I am up and ready to go – right Larry? I might be a bit sleepy on the way there but once I get in the water I recharge immediately! – right Tim? Sleepy enough sometimes to leave the car keys inside the car with auto lock and get locked out for about 3 hours in the middle of nowhere right in January with nothing else but our wetsuits on…but hey it is all part of the adventure, right guys!?

Surfer: Larry Cavero Owner of 'Surf Dreams Canada'

There have been some really nice days of surfing for me I won’t deny it. During the Sandy storm we all went out to the Cove expecting it to be super awesome and well…truth is that it wasn’t quite as good as we had expected. Mainly due to the lower water levels, choppiness and unorganized waves rolling in. Nevertheless, for about an hour or so the rights at The Cove started firing some large waves with large barrels. We all looked skeptical at the first 2 or 3 waves barreling on the other side of The Cove. It didn’t take much for most of us to start paddling like a child runs after a chocolate bar! We were so excited about seeing big barrels at this spot. You could definitely get inside and stay in the barrel for a few seconds and try to come out. I managed to catch three of the best waves I have surfed at this spot. Nice steep drops where I was pretty much standing with both feet on the tail of my board to keep the nose from sinking and had my butt against the wall of the wave trying to slow down the drop. Picture a Peruvian Kelly Slater at The Cove ;) – that’s what I picture anyway…. Once I hit the bottom of that wave and looked down the line I saw several faces of astonishment, some others were yelling out of excitement and maybe one or two right in front of me were freaking out – right Elias? …the wall of the wave was getting bigger and bigger and after the bottom turn I made it into the barrel of the wave. Everything went silent and I knew I was inside the barrel. This lasted a few seconds before I got pulled under and got rocked! I was able with some patience and good wave selection to repeat this same scene two more times. Every single time it was better and lasted longer inside the barrel.

Some of you might have seen me or remember that day. I know two people saw me getting shacked on my third and last wave of the day. After a long ride dealing with tricky sections of the wave and speeding down the line some of these surfers thought I was coming out from deep inside the barrel – right @Adam Shepperdley. I thought at one point the same thing until I felt I was losing speed as I was getting caught up by the foam inside the barrel. All of a sudden I could see the light at the end of the tunnel become more and more distant from me. I knew I wasn’t going to make it. Honestly though, who cares about making it out?! In a place where it is hard to catch barrels where you can stand in and fit your whole body inside, I was more than pleased I was delighted by being able to catch these three beautiful waves and get shacked!!! I did not make it out the barrel but the feeling is unique and only some of you know it!

Now, waves keep coming and going and I have learned that there is time to do everything; time for surfing, time for studying and time for the family and loved ones. It is small things that make our life a rich one. Our happiness can be found not on material things or secret spots, but on sharing these material things and secret spots with others. Sharing anything we have with others is the essence of happiness. In my experience, if I don’t tell about what I have done or about what I have to someone else I notice I am not fully happy about it. I’m not talking about bragging but about truly sharing what you have with a loved one. And this is exactly why I wrote today this post. I wanted to share with all of you the truth that I have come to learn by surfing the Great Lakes with some really good surfers and people. Share what you have to enjoy it even more. Holding on to things thinking you will be the only one to ever possess them is not only foolish but it keeps you from truly enjoying it to the fullest. And that my friend is what humble surfers and people do: Enjoy to the fullest!

Hope to see you all out in the water tomorrow Wednesday, January 8, 2013!!! Looks like an Epic day for some Lighthouse maybe?! Larry and I will be there for sure!

Surfer:Antonio Acuna - Photographer: Michele Del Duca

Just a thought on surfing ….

2012-10-27T22:35:00.002-07:00

For the past couple of weeks I have been talking with very close friends and family about what my main goals in life are. Among some of these goals I found one that I feel like sharing with all of you.

I started surfing when I was about 11 years old in Lima, Peru. To be more exact in Punta Negra about 45 km south of the capital city of Lima. The beach was known for some powerful waves breaking right on the shore. Waves here were really good especially for those who liked to get barrels or were body boarding.

A very good friend of mine, German Puente, invited me over to his house to let me try his body board for the first time - he was selling it. I thought that would be a good opportunity for me to try out surfing. After all I had been listening to him and another close friend (Roberto Balarezo - El Bot) talk non-stop and extremely stoked about surfing. They would spend 10 to 15 minutes and sometimes even longer talking about the shape of that one wave, the feeling and what they did on it. I was always curious about the feeling and would listen carefully to their stories.

The morning of my initiation, I could hear the waves exploding onto the sand of the shore. German saw my face and he told me not to worry it was not too big and that I would be just fine. I heard him and of course pretended to be just fine. I tried to hide my nervousness and remain cool all the way to the beach. What I saw marked me for the rest of my life. The biggest waves I had ever seen in the ocean – and I was about to go in and try to surf them for the first time. I had no idea what was yet to come.

German told me how to use the fins on my feet and how to hold on to the bodyboard. He had done this so many times already but I kept asking for him to explain one more time. These waves were at least 1.5 to 2 meters high. The waves were pounding merciless on the sand and I was supposed to right there somewhere between the wave and the sand…

German Puente surfing Explosivos. Image by Erik Henriod

Going in wasn’t too hard because the adrenaline that started flowing through my veins gave me enough strength and courage to paddle out quickly in between sets. It took me a very long time to finally kick and paddle hard enough to go down one of this slick, clean and beautiful dark green wall of water. It was an endless drop. Time stopped. My breathing stopped. Everything around me had stopped and it was only the wave and I. The adrenaline rush was exceptionally strong. My level of consciousness was at its maximum capacity. All this took place while I was getting covered over my head by a beautiful water curtain. It turned from dark and menacing into a very nice and translucent light green. Not too long afterwards I saw the light at the end of the barrel disappear. That is when it hit me. I was about to find out why they call this surf spot ‘Explosives’ or ‘Explosivos’. I had no time to breathe, the barrel closed up and I had time to look once more at this beautiful scenery before it would disappear forever. Truth is I felt my body getting pulled into all directions at the same time while getting smashed over and over again against the sandy bottom of the beach. Truth is I almost drowned.

German Puente surfing Explosivos. Image by Miguel Rodriguez

When I finally came out and got some fresh air I dragged myself onto the shore and just laid on the sand. My mind tried to understand how many things and feelings had taken place in such a small amount of time. I could not understand how I had felt so terribly afraid and yet in total ecstasy about dropping that wave and getting barreled. It was the feeling that only a surfer knows. It got into me and that was it. I was alive now. I did not get back in the water that day. But ever since that day in Punta Negra with my brother German Puente my life changed big time.

German Puente surfing Explosivos. Image by Erik Henriod

In many different instances of my life surf has been my best friend and has helped me to get through so many things. I am who I am in part thanks to surfing. It changed my life forever once back home. When I came to Canada 6 years ago, I never thought about how much it would actually hurt to stop surfing. I only realized 2 years ago that Surf was a big part of my life. When I finally found surf in the Great Lakes after 3 long years of searching I knew I had found my sanity again. The day I surfed The Cove with Larry Cavero I knew I had found part of my life again in the Great Lakes and gained my best friend and surf companion in Canada! I still remember the day I came back home and told my mum with a big smile on my face: “This is by far my best day in Canada!” Even today, my life keeps changing for better thanks to Surfing. Every day I go out surfing I meet great people. The day I surfed Kincardine for the very first time was even better than any other day before. I met during an early morning a very sweet, down to earth and strikingly brilliant woman. Stoked on life and surf, Helen Filion has changed my life in a way that I could have never thought even possible. I didn’t think that surf could be this great. It has given me happiness inside and outside of the water. Every time, surf provides me with something even better that helps me complete my life and for that I am a very happy person and always proud of what I do.

German Puente surfing Chilca - Image by Erik Henriod

Now…….You must be wondering what one of my main goals in life is. After all, I started this article saying I would share it with all of you. Well, here it is. I want to share the stoke, happiness and amazing opportunities life and surf have given me with everyone. It doesn’t matter where you are from, who you are, what do you belief or what is your experience level in surf. If you are slightly interested in learning how to surf or where to go in the Great Lakes to surf contact me please and I promise I will at least share with you all that I know about surfing. I will do this only so that you can start surfing as soon as possible. My life changed for good three times already thanks to surfing. I am convinced that your life will change for good as well once you get hooked on it!

Now if you excuse me, I have to go wax my board and get ready for a great surf trip with Larry C, Elias R. and Tim D. tomorrow early in the morning…. Have a good one and I hope you are catching some waves tomorrow and if you don’t surf yet, now you know you are missing out!

Cheers!

Forecast for this Tuesday....it is looking insane!!!

Surfer's do 3rd Battle of The Great Lakes at Lake Erie!

2012-10-16T11:14:00.001-07:00

(Click READ MORE at the bottom so you can see the video and pictures instead of being redirected to the article online)

This past weekend we had an amazing surf event at Lake Erie put on by George Holmes from NOTL Surf Club. The 3rd Battle of the Great Lakes too place Sunday after SW winds had been blowing over night since Saturday. For some reasons did not reach the size everyone was hoping for, but that did not stop more than 30 surfers to jump out in the water and do what we do best - SURF!

I posted some pictures and videos of this event. Hope you can all enjoy them! Don't forget to comment and share your thoughts about this!

Cheers!

Join me on 2013 on a surf trip to Peru!

2012-09-20T00:42:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noticed that we are starting to get more surf days here around the lakes. Temperatures are changing fast, and cold days are becoming more frequent in this area of the world.... and with that we get the surfing season going! Amen for that brothers and sisters!!

With that thought in mind, I can't seem to stop thinking about this surf trip I want to make back home to share with you the amazing food, people, music and beutiful waves Peru has to offer!!!
In order to get a feeling of what you may want to do or not on this trip I have started up a quick survey. Please take 2 minutes - it won't take much longer than that I promise- and answer the 9 questions I have.

Click the following link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/83JKP32 and you are almost done!

Thanks for your time and interest! If there are any questions or suggestions about this Surf trip please feel free to post them on this blog on the 'comments' section or email me at aantonioacuna@gmail.com I will gladly respond all your emails.

Check out this video to get pumped about the Surf Trip to Peru 2013
>> http://youtu.be/8zucs2Hzl54 <<

Key points for Winter Surf Equipment

2012-09-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Looking to buy Winter Surf Equipment? Read these key points on what you should be looking for...!

Post-freezing surf excitement @ The Cove 2011

That time of the year has come again... The time when tree leaves start changing colors and the air becomes crisp.... Slowly cold winter starts surrounding us and doing what it can do best... create waves! The best thing we can all do is get ready by suiting up to face this extreme weather and surf safely.

When I first started looking into purchasing the equipment for surfing in the Great Lakes during Winter, I started off with the wrong foot. Now that I have some experience I want to share it with those who are looking into buying the equipment so they don’t make the same mistakes I did. These are Key points for those who don’t know what to look for and for those who know, maybe something can be added to the list!

After 3 years of experience surfing in the cold water of Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Ontario, I would like to present you with a number of key points that will help you to buy the right surf equipment for winter in the Great Lakes. Remember this equipment will be there to protect you from freezing temperatures and water that without protection would give you frostbite to say the least, and could lead to a frozen death if you don’t have the correct equipment. Surfing The Great Lakes is not an easy task, let alone doing it during winter time.

Being safe should not be an option, it must be our choice. Being safe is something we owe to ourselves and to our families. Please, keep in mind these are recommendations I make based on my personal experience with the only goal of helping guide those new Great Lake Surfers to enjoy the sport in a safe way.

Wetsuit 6/5/4 with Hood attached. (CAD: $300 - $650)

The thickness of the wetsuit is very important. I’ve found the 6/5/4 mm the best option to endure strong winds and cold water. You will find two options for the wetsuit: I. Back zipper and II. Zipper across the chest. This second option should be the one you should be looking at as it prevents better cold water from filtering inside your wetsuit.

You might also find wetsuits with attached hood or no hood at all. In the last case you will have to purchase a thick hood as well. I definitely recommend having an attached hood as the best option. There will be no chance for cold water to filter through the wetsuit and hood.

I personally use everything from Xcel. It is funny how a company based in Hawaii – where the weather is mostly nice and warm – can produce one of the best wetsuits for extreme cold temperatures and provide high performance as well. I am very happy with the quality they provide.

Boots 7mm – Round toe (CAD $50 - $80)

Your feet are the first body parts to get cold. Maybe because these are the body parts the furthest away from your heart. After some time in the water (anywhere between the 1^st hour and on) your feet start getting cold, specifically, your toes. For this reason, keeping your feet nice and warm for as long as possible is very important. The possibility of getting frostbite is much higher on your extremities. 7mm boots have been more than enough to surf anywhere between 2-5 hours during severe winter storms in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Nevertheless if you really want to stay warm with the maximum protection out there and you got the extra few bucks get the 8mm boots! There's a big difference with only 1 mm more!

Gloves 5mm – Mittens (CAD $40 – $70)

These type of gloves keep your fingers all together with the exception of your thumb. They can be somewhat uncomfortable when you first get them. We are used to be able to use our fingers to grab things and move around. However, I think that keeping your fingers close to each other increase the warmth on your hands. As a result, this helps increase the time your hands can last in cold water before starting to get cold. After a while you do get used to having your fingers all together. I have yet to try the 5mm gloves – 5 fingers this winter. If you have tried them before, please let us know what you think about them and in what kind of weather you tried them on.

These are the basic parts of your winter surf gear. However, these are essential for a great surfing experience in The Great Lakes during winter. Keep in mind that these items can be a bit expensive when you first buy them but are totally worth it. Believe me; you don’t want to be telling yourself once in the water you should’ve saved up a couple hundred bucks more to ensure you would remain warm and toasty while surfing. Being cold during winter time is not nice and unsafe!

I have seen surfers wearing other kind of accessories as well during winter time. Items such as masks and creams are used to remain warm or protect eyes/skin from strong winds. What kind of accessories do you use when surfing to remain warm? share with us! Or if you have any question please address them right on the comments section!

Aloha Toronto definitely made some history in Toronto !!

2012-09-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Cole Slutzky

Aloha Toronto is an event that took place August 24 - 26 at Woodbine beach in Toronto, Ontario. This was a surf event organized by Surfer's Healing to reach out kids with autism. Pro surfers such as Izzy Paskowitz and Garret Mcnamara made their way to Toronto this past weekend together with a large team of surfers and volunteers to make this event happen!

The kids had an amazing time during these 3 days between playing under the sun at the beach and getting to surf some small waves in the lake. All the kids had huge smiles on their faces. Those smiles were more than enough to understand that surfing did make a huge impact in their life's. Even a close friend of myself had her nephew join the event and he was just so happy of being in the water, surfing and playing with the waves.

Courtesy of Preconceived Noceans project

Aloha Toronto was an event that did not only change these kids life's and that of their parents but it also changed my life as well. Surfing is an activity that has a lot of power and can fill people's soul in an instant. It doesn't matter where are you from or what kind of problems you have but being in the water and surfing can definitely make you feel better and see the world from a different point of view.

Courtesy of Cole Slutzky

At the event there were several companies of SUP and Surf showing their products and services to the public. This was a complete surf show with Hawaiian dancers and Luau's at the end of the day. The turnout for Aloha Toronto was amazing as the beach was buzzing full with beach goers and people interested in the surf scene.

Thanks again to the organizers of Aloha Toronto and Surfer's Healing for putting this amazing event together and hope they are coming back next year! So make sure you have some room in your schedule for Aloha Toronto 2013!!!

For more images of the event please visit Cole Slutzky's blog Preconceived Noceans

Courtesy of Preconceived Noceans project

Finally surf on July 20 (video)

2012-07-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

Finally after several weeks of having no waves anywhere in the Great Lakes and being close to total mental and physical dehydration due to lack of waves, just when all brothers and sisters that surf the Great Lakes thought everything was lost and were about to give up into total boredom and a spiral of unending thoughts about making a desperate trip to a destination with waves....... finally, we all saw on the forecast a chance for all of us! Winds started to pick up in favorable direction for Lake Erie and Lake Ontario surfers (winds SW and NE). This was finally the time we had been dreaming of for several weeks. It was so close I could almost taste it....!

Guess what? I missed it. The first day in weeks that we get waves and I totally missed it. I could not believe it but being responsible beat me this time. I had to stay home and study. I did not make the trip to Lake Erie like everyone else did. I felt such an outcast. Everyone was having an amazing time at Pleasant Beach surfing without a wetsuit and all day long while I was stuck at home studying finance. That was just unbelievable. I who surf even when it is raining or snowing under freezing temperatures missed one of the best days ever to go out and surf.

I wouldn't stay without surfing too much longer. After missing surf in Lake Erie on a Tuesday, a few days later winds came over to Lake Ontario and with them came the waves! This was my golden opportunity to surf my favorite spot 'The Cove' under almost perfect conditions. This date was Friday July 20! During Fall is when this spot becomes truly magical and is the reason why it is so popular among Toronto surfers. The NE wind was blowing from the day before. Not too strong and not too soft. Just enough to generate the necessary power to create waves in the lake.

Thursday at work went by quick. At the end of the shift all my friends and co-workers went for some wings and beer at the usual spot. I knew I had to surf early the next day but that didnt stop me from enjoying myself at the bar. There was nothing that would make me miss out on a surf day at The Cove. I went home with my friends at around 4 am and invited them over to keep chatting at my house while I got my board waxed up and ready for the so highly expected event! They stayed until 5.30ish talking about random things and learning a bit about boards and waxing boards. By the time they left the sun was starting to come out and I could not do much more than wait and wait for Larry C to come pick me up and go straight into that frenzy state that we always get into when going surfing.

He showed up with Dan F. who I met more than a few weeks ago on our last surf trip at The Cove. He has quickly shown a great style surfing and is not afraid of dropping some bombs despite he has not been surfing for too long. Under 30 surf sessions! (That's ridiculous! He surfs as if he had been surfing a much longer time!!) They both picked me up and we went to The Cove. It is pointless to say we had a blast that day and not many images were taken when the surf was at its best because everyone was in the water. We still got some video footage from later that day when things started dying down. Here is a video to show you all what a great surf day it was. (Keep in mind that because the video was filmed with my cellphone camera and Dan's camera the video quality is not the best. Also, the size of the waves when standing outside the lake seems to be pretty small but when you are inside, believe me, those walls of water stop looking small and become a very powerful pounding force! I wonder if other surfers have noticed this...if you have leave a comment please! For now enjoy the video!

3rd The Cove Beach Clean Up

2012-06-25T09:21:00.001-07:00

Successful Beach Clean Up!

We had a beautiful day this past Saturday, June 23. The sun was out the whole day. We sold several cups of lemonade and made a total donation of $56.12 to the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation to continue research and fight against Cancer. We also gathered several bags of garbage. Some people used more than one bag because they found so much garbage at the beach!! The turn out was amazing! Thanks a lot to everyone who showed up, the event was a success only thanks to YOU!

Dan with his 2nd bag!

It really meant a lot to Larry and myself. This one eventwas put together with the expectation of having a good time with family and friends. Also, to share with those surfer friends and non-surfer friends in a different setting environment. For us surfers, we usually meet under cold and stormy conditions which difficult conversation and the chance to share and get to know each other better. For me personally, and I certainly hope for most of you surfers, this event allowed us to share and relate to each other on a different level and get to know a bit more of those who we surf with under extreme conditions most of the year!

For those non-surfer friends and family, a change of environment is always good to learn more about each other. Definitely, same as in the case of us surfers, this gatherings help to reinforce that wonderful bond of love and friendship.

Who's got the garbage? Adam does...!

Another reason for us having made this event and the donation to Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation is a more personal one. I, not long ago, had to experience from first hand what it is to deal with a loved one having to face a disease like Cancer. Doctor's diagnosed my mother with Cancer 3 years ago. Only after several exams Doctors defined she had a similar disease to Cancer. It was a very rare disease that with time it's very easy to evolve into Cancer. This disease is so rare around the world that Doctor's at the best hospital for cancer in North America had very little information about and no concrete protocol to treat it. Doctors decided the best way of treating it was by applying chemotherapy and the whole procedure the same way as if it was Cancer. The months before and during the procedure were hard, but even harder were those days following the intervention. I don't know what is worse, having Cancer or the consequences of chemotherapy and medulla transplant. One thing is certain, both are things I don't wish anyone to ever have to go through.

The point is that I experienced the great service provided by this hospital to those who suffer from this terrible disease. It is not only a place of great knowledge about Cancer but also a place where they treat patients in a way I have never seen anywhere before. The patience, care and professionalism with which all patients are treated at the Princess Margaret Hospital impressed me. The services they provide not only to patients but also to family members are supportive and of great help. It is because of this first hand experience that Larry and I decided to donate the funds of our beach clean up to this hospital. Although a small amount of money, it is a symbolic donation from us Great Lake Surfers and myself to show gratitude for what they have done for me and several other families. We are all very lucky to leave in Toronto, Canada for several and this hospital is definitely one of them.

Again, thanks to all of YOU who showed up - without YOU this wouldn't have been possible. To those who couldn't make it, there's always a second chance! So I hope to see you all by the end of this summer on our 4th The Cove Beach Clean Up!

Cheers!

PS: Special thanks go to:

-Keana and Nailani, Larry's daughters for the Beach Clean Up signs!
-The ladies - Kat, Carla, Kim, Keana and Nailani - for offering the lemonade and telling people about the cause.
- Aurélien Bouché-Pillon for the 'Keep our Lakes Clean... Do Not Litter' signs. You will find them hanging around at The Cove. :)

Check out some of the images of our 3rd The Cove Beach Clean Up next!

Surfing Hurricane Irene!! Part II

2012-06-20T12:06:00.004-07:00

Surf trip to New York, Long Beach Part II

Antonio A. (me) @Quiksilver Pro New York by Brian Lourenco.

That very same night we made it back to my aunt’s house late at night. They had been waiting for us with food and tons of curiosity. We all served ourselves something to eat and shared some stories about our day. Neither my mum, aunt, uncle or cousins could really understand why we had driven from Toronto to New York looking for Hurricane Irene.

The dinner was short as we were all tired and couldn’t wait for the next morning’s surf session. Larry, Brian and Justin, all went to sleep. I stayed awake talking some more to my family. They were really happy for us to be there and wanted to make sure we were comfortable in the house. I assured them it was all just fine and that we were very grateful for their welcoming. I decided to hit the pillow right after that.

My family in Long Island, New York. Thank You!

Next morning, my uncle Ruben woke me up. They guys were already waiting for me in the car. They had been whistling and calling my name to wake me up with no success. I jumped on my shorts grabbed my bag and flew out the door. They were all mad at me because I had taken so long to get ready. I told them I had not taken long; I had been sleeping all the time until I got woken up by my uncle…..! They joked about leaving me behind if in the next five minutes if I didn’t come out… I think they were joking...

We drove straight towards Long Beach. The place we had been surfing the day before was empty. No surfers at the beach and big waves rolling in was all there was. We looked at the Quiksilver event, it was not on yet. They would start around 8 or 9 am. We still had a few hours before the event started. We jumped in the water and surfed some solid waves. The water conditions were similar to what we had experienced the day before. Water was warm enough to wear only a 3/2 wetsuit without gloves or boots. The current was pulling hard from left to right towards the Quiksilver event.

When I say the current was strong, I mean it. You would jump in the water at one beach and paddle hard for 10-15 minutes against the current trying to remain on the same spot with no success. If you managed to stay on the same point you were exhausted by the time you caught a wave. If you stopped paddling, it took only a few seconds to find yourself on the opposite extreme of the beach. The bright side of being pushed from one beach to another is that you would get to surf several waves in different beaches of Long Island. I also had the idea that with so much current there would hardly ever be a crowd at one spot…what a foolish thought.

After trying to surf at the same beach for a couple of hours we started noticing more and more people joining us. Some would come in paddling next to the rocks trying to protect themselves from the current until they got to the right spot. Some others would join us because they had decided to drift down along the shore with the current hoping to catch waves randomly at different spots. We all noticed this was the best thing to do because our arms were getting tired rather fast. We would see this guys who surf all year long at this spot going along with the current and us trying to battle the current. Of course they knew better! The only tricky part of doing this was to try not to get caught in front of the rocks which had once been peers.

I remember catching some nice waves that day. There was this particular one. I surfed it decently and had a blast speeding down the wall of the wave and making a few turns. Then, once I came out of the wave, I realized I was in great danger. I was right in front of the rocks. At that point the current is even stronger and pushes just straight into the rocks with no mercy at all. I decided to paddle towards the rocks and the shore at the same time and try my luck. I was able to reach the sand bottom on time and walked my way out. That was my first close encounter with the peers at Long Beach. Despite the risk, the silver waves were too tempting for me to stay away from the water. These were the biggest and nicest waves I had surfed in 5 years since I had left my home break in Lima, Peru. No way would I miss out!

The waves had definitely doubled up in size from the day before. They were breaking further inside and the speed you had on that drop was fast enough to ensure that if you made a minor mistake you would pay for it with a good wipe-out! After you had succeeded at dropping down the wave you had to get some speed to cross the closing section ahead of you and most of the times it would barrel up … I have never surfed fast and hollow waves as these ones. After getting shacked on the wave you had to make a tough decision. You could either get out of the wave and fight the current to try and get back to the take-off spot or you could just speed down the face of the wave and pray to make it across the peers on the wave and get into another section of that wave... Both of options were very tempting as all the waves were really good. At the same time both options were dangerous. A miscalculation when taking any of these options could land you a quick stop on top of those rocks and with waves breaking on top of them…that wouldn’t be a nice experience.

The day went by and we surfed all morning long, solid and perfect waves. Of course the crowd started growing half way through the morning until it became really hard to take off on a wave. There were several locals dropping deep inside the wave and making it hard for anyone else to give it a try. We all somehow managed to take a few waves here and there while battling the current as well. Once my shoulders got tired and I didn’t feel like fighting the current anymore I started floating down the shore much faster than ever before. So did everyone else. Around noon we decided to give our arms a rest and check out the Quiksilver Pro New York.

Brian L. @ Quiksilver Pro New York by Antonio Acuna.

Antonio @ hangout house for Pro's by Brian L.

We took a walk around the Quiksilver store set under a huge tent right in front of the surf spot where all Pro’s were surfing. You were shopping board shorts, leashes and everything else you wanted while those guys were pulling air 360’s and getting barreled just in front of you! What an epic experience! We went down to the beach and checked out some surfers and everything else that was set up on the beach. We saw interesting things such as the Roxy store and the surfer’s headquarters where all Pro’s hang out until their heat is on. We didn’t stay long as we were already starving. Next stop was Burger King and right after that we all got some large bottles of Gatorade to quench the thirst!

Heitor Alvez by Brian Lourenco

Antonio A. (me) & Brian L.

After taking a good break and gathering energy again, we suited up and jumped back into the water. Waves were still big and powerful but not as strong as they had been early that day. The amount of surfers in the water was unbelievable large. I have grown unaccustomed to large crowds while surfing in the Great Lakes, so I was definitely surprised when I saw the big crowd in the water. We all surfed good waves and everyone got that day at least a couple of waves that paid off the whole trip.

Same crowd in the water... by Brian L.

Towards the end of the afternoon I surfed one of my last waves of the day. My body was exhausted and I could already feel the pain in my muscles wanting to contract every time I would paddle and stand up. That pain did not matter when I was the one in the inside of the upcoming wave. How could I stop when I could see that silver wave ready to break around me and tuck me inside the barrel only to spit me out of it with great power, than only to feel more adrenaline rushing through my veins and throw a few rollers and cutbacks on that semi-glassy wall ahead of me... surfing is all about the excitement of dropping on a wave, getting barreled and make it through only to finish up the wave with a good cut back or roller at the top of the wave…. And that my friends, that’s what we had that day on those waves! That adrenaline rush I still cannot forget. That speed I cannot forget. That feeling I will never forget! That is what we surfers live for!

After having such a great day surfing, every single one of us was exhausted but 200% stoked. That’s what we run on during the afternoon, zero energy but so much stoke! We decided to finish up the day with a late session and a few beers at a local bar! Another great day! At this point we thought things could not get any better, could they? I mean we had great, solid waves all day long. We got barreled several times and we got to see some of the best surfers in the world surfing live at the beach! Let me tell you that the experiences on our last day at Long Beach, New York were definitely the cherry on top of the ice cream, the Pipeline wave on top of a sandbank, the 1^st Al Merrick board part of your quiver, your first wave surfing the great lakes.it was the best day! So you stay tuned for the 3^rd part of this great surf trip!

Cheers!

Enjoying life! Justin W., Brian L., Larry C. and Antonio A.

Best way to start the weekend!

2012-06-04T12:15:00.001-07:00

Larry and La Guerrera aka The Warrior

There had been a lot of expectation about this storm. All GLS had been following the storm's behavior trying to forecast the type of conditions we would get to surf in. Some, like myself, did not want to do this as the forecast keeps changing constantly. These changes can result in too many adrenaline rushes and having your hopes up and down consistently.... I rather keep my hopes up all the time until it is time for the truth.

So I went the whole week reading on Facebook and other places online comments of friends about how good it was going to be and how anxious they were for waves to come. Some days I would read good forecasts and some others some not as good
.....When the day finally came I would make sure I was ready for it no matter what happened.

Thursday morning all the planning begun. Larry and I on the phone. Elias and I on the phone. Again, Larry and I on the phone. Elias, one more time on the phone. We had arranged everything. When, where and how would we meet up. We were all excited about getting to surf one more time. For Larry it had been a couple of weeks only. Elias and I had already about 2 months without surfing. I remember this because we both were commenting how the lack of surf affects our lives, both at work and home.We get distracted, irritated, sleep long hours, don't feel like doing things.... these are only some of the consequences of not surfing.

The day of facing the truth came by really slow. My day at work was a long one. Every hour seemed to be a full day. When I finally got home and went to bed, I couldn't sleep. Thinking of the conditions for the next morning and listening the winds move the trees outside my house. Every time the wind is howling like it was that night, sleeping is difficult, more so when you know those winds are the ones shaping up the waves you will surf next morning...!

I woke up before the alarm clock went off. Got changed and gear ready. Larry called to say he was downstairs and I took off. We were so happy to know there would be waves and that the waves would be big.....that we totally missed the highway exit to meet up with Elias. We took another route and got to the subway station only to meet up with a puzzled Elias who couldn't understand why we took so long. He quickly forgot as he was very excited to try out his new GoPro camera in the water!

We drove down the usual hill at Bluffer's Park having a crazy moment as we usually do every time we know there is surf going on. (watch video) You could see white water breaking against the rocks on the further NE corner of The Cove. That only happens when waves are big. We all screamed and looked at each other with a very happy expression on our faces. We had waves 100%.

We both jumped on our wetsuits. Larry put on a 3/2 (with a whole in the knee), gloves and boots, 5mm and 8 mm respectively. I did the same but after a few minutes outside I decided to get into my 6/5/4 to be comfy in the water. Elias was wearing a 5/4 and his helmet with the GoPro camera on it. We thought the water was warm, but with the wind you never know.

Elias getting the boards ready

We got to The Cove and it did not look quiet as we had expected. Elias and Larry, both went in. I took off to Malaguas Point to check it out first. Malaguas point was breaking perfectly to the left and right. Matt, Leo and Adam were surfing at this spot already. I went back to call the other guys. It took them some time to finally get out of there. The current was very strong and the waves were big and hollow near the shore making it a difficult exit. While waiting for them I went back to the parking lot to change my gloves. The ones I had were too small and my hands didn't fit in it. At the parking lot I met Dan. He is new to surfing the G.L. but you can tell he really likes surfing and the cold of the Lakes won't stop him. He joined us for that session at Malaguas. I also found Josh Madryga. getting ready. We all went back to Malaguas point and jumped right in!

Some waves were shoulder high, but when the set rolled in we were all amazed... overhead waves peeling very fast and hollow. There is this point at which waves double up in size and go from fat and chunky to lean and mean waves in a matter of seconds. We all scored good waves that day. I had a few critical drops grabbing on to the rail of the board and even a couple of air attempts. Elias was killing it with the roundhouse on his new board and Larry was catching everything with a really good style and good turns at critical times on the wave. I think the man of the day was Josh Madryga. That guy is on fire all the time. Not afraid of anything he will drop in into the most gnarliest and critical wave without hesitation. I saw this guy taking off on a bomb I had to let go because I was too deep inside...he barely made the drop.The lip of the wave pushed him over on the air for a split of a second and he still landed on his board and continued with a bottom turn which Elias told me later about. I only saw him drop in the air and make it to the bottom of the wave. I think it was the best drop of the day.

Special thanks to Jonathan Ambeault for the video

Slowly, more and more people started to come in. You could start to see a tiny crowd at Malaguas point. Mostly friendly people, some others just very quiet and kept to themselves. The point here is that surfing in the G.L. is growing and will continue to grow. I just wonder if it will be this crowded when winter comes around again... :)

Larry and I called it up a day at around 3pm. He was freezing and I was on time to go to work. It all worked out perfectly. Elias stayed there for the rest of the evening with Josh, Adam and Darryl. Apparently it got even bigger late in the evening. This was an amazing way to start up the weekend!

Surf Report Saturday June 2

2012-06-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

After an epic day of surf in Lake Ontario we are getting ready for another great day of surf in Lake Erie.

The conditions are going to be pretty good again. The forecast is calling for waves at around 10 feet high on the NE area of Lake Erie the whole day. It should be slowing down during the day. However, I think there will be waves until late in the afternoon. So for all of you thinking about making it in the late afternoon, just take the trip it will be worth it! After all, how long has it been since you last surfed the GL's?

People from all over the lakes will be there! There are people from the Toronto crew, New York crew and of course the crew of Lake Erie will be present representing and welcoming as they have always have been!! Respect the Locals!

I am so tired right now but energy must be put together for one more day of surfing! What a life! Sunday night I should be having a post telling you all about my adventures with friends in the Great Lakes - if I don't collapse first... Stay tuned!

Surf Report for Friday May 31st

2012-05-31T13:19:00.002-07:00

Last minute Surf report for

Friday May 31, 2012

It's been a very long week for all of us Great Lake Surfers. Following ever-changing weather forecasts on the web can be really nerve racking sometimes, especially when all you want is waves to surf....

It finally made it to us!
Our so long wish we dreamed about for so long will become reality! This weekend, the big promise, our dream and hopes of enjoyment, happiness and good times with our brothers and sisters in the G.L's while surfing will become true!!

The forecast for tomorrow is surfable waves in the after noon for those who want to get the good stuff. For those who just cant wait and are stupidly stubborn (count me in this last group) and want to hit the water already there should be a small bump in the A.M. In the Eastern spots of Lake Ontario there should be waves in the waist to shoulder height. The later you are in the water the bigger waves should continue to get. By 9 o'clock tomorrow waves should be maybe head high or so at some surf spots such as The Cove or any other spot that can resist large swells.

For Saturday it seems like Lake Erie on the East side might be working good but stay tuned I'll post some more about that tomorrow with the last forecast information. Now check out the videos I posted at the bottom of the post to get yourself stoked and ready for tomorrow!

I hope to see you all or as many as possible out there because tomorrow will be a wicked day for all of us GLS!! So, go wax your board, put your fins on the board and clean up your leash -or w.e. you like to do before surfing- and wait for tomorrow...because tomorrow we surf or we surf !!!

Keep it real, keep it simple, go surf!

Surfing Hurricane Irene!! Part I

2012-05-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Surf trip to Long Beach, New York 

We had been talking about making a surf trip down to the East Coast for months…but life here in Toronto is always busy. Running from one thing to the next one, does it sound familiar? We sometimes forget there is much more out there for us to do and travel helps us to see these things. Finally, talks started to take a more serious tone with the quick approach of the hurricane season in the East Coast. We all got our eyes set on two locations; New Jersey & New York because it is only a few hours’ drive away.

Hurricane Irene - National Geographic.com

A few weeks before the surf trip, we were all glued to the computers following the behavior of hurricane Irene to decide whether to go or not. We read about the strength and possible consequences of her touching ground.

Also, informed ourselves about the prevention measures in New Jersey and New York. They had closed the beaches in some areas or restricted access due to fear of water levels rising. At last we decided to drive down to my aunt’s house in Long Island – New York in search of waves.

The ones who eventually joined the trip were my good friends Larry C., Brian L., Justin W., my mom and myself. My mom came over with us to stay at my aunt’s house for a couple of weeks. My aunt asked me to bring my mom along on the trip and she would allow me and my friends to stay at her house! So that was a no-brainer, we made space on the car and we all fit. They say Spanish people can fit any amount of people in a car if it is really necessary. That is exactly what we did. 5 people plus 6 boards and bags was plenty to fill up the rental car.

We left on a Thursday night from Toronto late at night. Brian was dropped off at my house and Justin came over with Larry who was driving the rental car. We put everything inside the car and took off. No one had checked the weather conditions for driving that night, so when the pouring rain started coming down on us and it was pitch dark on the highway we were not very happy about it. Nevertheless, the great driving skills of Justin under the rain saved the night. His driving skills proved to be much better than that of any of the other drivers - especially mine. At that time I didn’t know I needed to get glasses to read the signs from far away and the GPS we had was very confusing for me. When it was my turn to drive, we ended up missing several turns and going the wrong way more than once. Eventually, Justin decided to take over and drove us safely to the outskirts of New York city. At this point, Brian volunteered to continue driving into what was the welcoming of New York traffic.

Driving into New York - That is the trailer....!

Oh my…New York traffic. Coming from Peru as I do should have made this experience normal. However, the years I’ve been living in Toronto, Canada have made me become comfortable and used to good driving etiquette. Getting into New York and crossing the bridge over to Long Island was like driving back home or worse. Cars crossing from one lane to another, and for that matter , drivers would not follow the lanes they would just go after the empty spaces to keep moving. If you drove slow, too bad for you! Even tractor trailers would drive the same way. At one point we were close to get squished by one of these under a bridge. We all screamed in the car when we saw the big trailer switching over to our lane. Brian reacted quickly and sped up to pass him. Otherwise, we would have been on the morning news in New York!

When we finally arrived at my aunt’s house we were greeted by her and her husband. My aunt was very friendly with all my buddies. We chatted for about 30 minutes after we had settled in. Of course most of the talk revolved about us wanting to surf while the hurricane was passing by. You could hear the wind blowing and the rain falling that cold morning in New York.

At the same time we were looking up for surf spots nearby and were using the internet and picking on my cousins’ brain for that. We finally decided to go out and check out a spot ourselves and decide from there what was best to be done. We went to a spot which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road. We climbed up the sand dunes and what we found was stunning. Solid waves 2 and a half meters high rolling in one after the other. This was the first sign that our trip would pay off.

Long Island, NY. -by Brian Lourenco

We talked to some surfers who showed up after us. We got some info about some other spots further down the line and then we jumped in. The paddle out was tough. You had to time it very well otherwise you would hit by several waves before reaching the point. Funny part was that when we thought we had reached the point, we had already been pulled down half a mile by the current. Because the beach was completely open (no peers or rocks to be seen) the current was very strong. We tried to fight the current but after some time we all started drifting down the coast line. The waves were big and strong, however, most of them were closing really quick. After a few hours we decided to go further down the line looking for shelter from the current.

We ended up right at Long Beach. Finding parking was very easy as it was still quiet early in the morning. We got off the car and what we saw from the walk board at Long Beach was just wonderful. Small waves breaking back to back, several different small beaches divided by small rock-peers. There were some surfers in all spots but down the line we could see a very large number of people standing on the sand. All of a sudden we see this one guy surfing a wave pull out an amazing air on the wave and land it followed by a nice roller…I thought 'he surfs like a Pro….' Turns out I wasn’t too far from reality. Over the weekend we were there, the Quiksilver Pro New York in Long Beach was taking place. They had some of the best professional surfers participating that weekend.

Kelly Slater in the air! - by Brian Lourenco

At that very moment we didn’t know exactly what kind of tournament it was so we decided to go grab the boards and catch some waves first. Larry and I were the first in the water. Justin and Brian came up later and went to a different beach break. Even though we didn’t surf together that day, one thing is for sure, we were all extremely happy we had already scored such great waves in our first day. One thing you can notice right away between waves in the Great Lakes and the ocean is the power waves have. The ocean has most of the times powerful waves. This makes it easier to catch (small) waves, make better turns and try new tricks.

Waves of the 1st day @ Long Beach - by Brian Lourenco

Larry and I, we both got nice waves and a couple of barrels. We were so stoked the little kids surfing near the shore looked at us in a funny way every time we came out of a wave yelling and screaming out of excitement. Of course they couldn’t understand how good it feels to be surfing a solid wave in the ocean after one year of freezing surfing and mushy waves in the Great Lakes… After several hours of surfing the tide started getting high and waves started slowing down. Larry and I came out looking for Justin and Brian. We were looking down the line in direction towards the surf competition when we saw this guy with a yellow board do a critical drop on a big wave breaking right on the shore. He was successful to do the drop and then bottom-turned into the section of the wave getting a nice ride. We thought it was another local surfer. Nevertheless we were skeptical, who else could have a full yellow board other than Justin?! Once we got closer we confirmed our thoughts. It was no local surfer, it was Justin putting into good use all the advice we had been telling him since we left Toronto.

We all surfed there our first “late surf session” with an amazing sunset behind the city buildings. I thought we were in heaven or somewhere similar because nothing, nothing at all could ever beat the great feeling I had. Surfing good waves, a colorful sunset and great friends has no price and the feeling…well, I hope you know what I am talking about here…and if you don’t know, you need to go on a surf trip ASAP!!! It is pure magic – you have to experience it to know - only a surfer knows the feeling.

We finished the day very late at night sharing stories about waves we had caught throughout the day. Every single one of us was extremely stoked about the day we had. What was yet to come…. none of us could have ever dreamed of…

……To be continued.

Justin W, Larry C and Antonio A. - by Brian Lourenco

I got the travel bug - anyone else?

2012-05-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

I got the travel-bug on me! I'm craving waves... What to do?!

Sunset in Miraflores - Lima, Peru.

In the past year I have been traveling quite a bit within Ontario to catch some waves. I also went down to New York to surf waves created by ‘Irene’ (the hurricane) on the East Coast. All surf trips seem to somehow pay off at the end no matter what conditions you travel on or how big is the swell.

My friend Larry C. just came back from a surf trip to El Salvador. Talking about surf trips that pay off…

He is a very stoked person, but right now, he is so stoked about his trip. I can’t blame him - large, fast and hollow waves are only some of the things he was amazed by on his trip. The people surrounding him throughout the trip also played a key point to make this trip one of the best ones ever. Local people and Larry’s friends from his childhood were all friendly and happy about what they had in that moment. These two factors rose the stoke level all the way to the stratosphere!!

Longest Left in the world. Chicama - Peru

This is one more proof to my belief about what is the best part of a surf trip. It is all about ‘the search’. The group of people you travel with and how long it will take before you get there are the key ingredients to a great surf trip. The surf is just like the strawberry on top of the ice cream – and what a strawberry that is when you get good surf! I’m dreaming about that surf trip I made to New York right now as I write; perfect waves lining up one after the other….we even saw Kelly Slater win the Quicksilver Pro New York in Long Beach with his great surfing and amazing airs! (Read about this adventure here.)

Right now I want to travel back home to Peru to surf waves at La Herradura, Cabo Blanco and Chicama among many other great breaks that we have there. Anyone wants to join? Check the following videos and images and tell me if you want to come!

Where and for how long would it be the ideal place for you to travel to? Who would you go with and what would you like to do there?

La Herradura - Lima, Peru

Cabo Blanco - North of Lima, Peru

Chicama - North of Lima, Peru

GLS never give up!

2012-04-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

"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!

Giving back to Mother Nature

2012-04-13T13:06:00.001-07:00

This is the story of a great friendship beginnings and how "The Cove - Clean Up" came to exist, all together in the year 2010.

Friends & family @ 2nd The Cove - Clean Up - June 2011

Back in 2010 I had been trying to find waves in the Great Lakes. I had joined a forum called Origin Surf back then and met a few people who made it clear surfing the lakes was definitely possible. Nevertheless, I still had to learn where to go and when, learn to read the weather information and don't even mention buy the proper equipment to go out surfing in the cold water. All I had was
my board (thank you Maria L. for helping me out with this one!) and the support of some very important people in my life.

One day browsing over posts on that forum I came across one post that talked about a great wave in Peru - the wave of Pico Alto (High Peak). To my surprise the person who posted the article was Peruvian like me! His name is Larry Cavero. We both were trying to get into surfing the Great Lakes and decided to meet up ASAP.

While trying to find a good place to meet and balance it out with our family commitments and other things Larry came up with a suggestion. He had surfed The Cove a couple of times before and said there was a lot of garbage in the water as well as in the lake shore. He thought that this surf spot was such a great place and that we were blessed by being able to surf it, that there had to be something for us to do. Something to somehow, thank mother nature or God for this magic place to exist in the Lakes.

With no hesitation we decided the date for the 1st The Cove - Beach Clean Up to be September 11, 2010. It was a Saturday and the perfect time and place for us to meet, get to know the area that I was going to be surfing from now on and at the same time clean it up as a way of saying 'thank you'. Larry brought his two daughters, I came along with my girlfriend and more people also came along that day. We thought of this event as a family, networking & recreational event.

That Saturday I showed up at Dundas and Yonge to meet up with Larry and get a ride to The Cove because I had no idea where it was. Once at the location I took out the Colombian Sausages and Larry installed the electrical engine to power up the blender to make those amazing 'Pisco Sours' that we all love. The kids drank Kool Aids and the grown up Pisco Sours!! They were so good!

Antonio A. & Elias R. @ 2nd The Cove - Clean Up

- June 2011

We spent the day talking about Surf back home in Peru and in our new home Toronto, Canada. He was stoked about everything. He spoke with such an emotion about surfing back home, surfing in the lakes and having met each other. I had never seen anyone as stoked as him about life! I have never met anyone who can express this passion for surfing so well as he does. I thought I was a fanatic and got very excited when talking about surf (you can ask anyone in my family or friends) but Larry, it is special with him. I think that is why we both get along so well. He is always trying to give me a hand if I need it and so am I. It is like there is no age difference between us. When it comes down to surfing, we both become 12 year old kids who all we want to do is have fun surfing and enjoy life.

After having met each other, we decided it was time to do the most important thing of all. Start the Beach Clean Up! And so, we started to clean up the beach with the garbage bags and recyclable plastic gloves we had. We all cleaned up the beach at The Cove and some people walking around the park area talked and joined us in our first The Cove - Beach Clean Up as well.

After such a successful event, Larry and I decided we would continue to do this over the following years as a way to thank for this beautiful place, take care of it and pay respect to mother nature & the lake.

Keana & Nailani selling lemonade to donate profits

We had our 2nd The Cove - Clean Up on June 19, 2011 - this date is a very important one as it is the International Day of Surfing worldwide and numerous beach clean ups are organized around the world! The event was a success as well as the first one but this time even bigger. Larry and I decided to publicize it some more and invite friends and other surfers as well. Among this surfers was Elias R. who we had met that very same year and joined our crew instantaneously. Another improvement we did to the event was that we decided to sell lemonade and with the funds collected make a donation to a charity.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

This year, we are planning to have our 3rd The Cove - Clean Up on June, Saturday 23, 2012. Follow the link or click here to read more about the event. 3rd The Cove - Clean up

One Magic Surf Spot in Toronto

2012-04-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Cove - surf waves with ocean quality in Lake O

I have been surfing with Larry C. for a couple of years now all year long. We have found & surfed several surf spots in Lake Ontario, Erie and Huron. Nevertheless, there is always one particular spot we want to always go back to surf to - The Cove.

Small but clean day at The Cove - Spring 2011 Surfer: Antonio A

It might have been because it was a close surf spot for both of us. It is right next downtown Toronto. This spot allows both of us to get some amazing surf and get back to our regular lives without delaying or missing out from other commitments. However, this is not the only reason why we would cross fingers during several days and spend countless hours tracking weather behavior for The Cove to produce waves. After surfing this spot a few times we realized the power, shape and beauty of the waves in this place.

The Cove is a perfect surf spot because it is protected from the wind and based on the direction of the wind it produces left or right waves that can look jut like the ocean waves. A nice dark green at the bottom and green almost translucent at the top of the wave illuminate it. Waves peeling from right to left on one side of The Cove and on the opposite side, another solid wave, left to right breaking perfectly. For both, Larry and myself, surfing this wave on a good day is the equivalent of surfing again great waves back home in Peru.

Solid waves, with long walls that allow you to speed down the line and make a powerful roller and then jump off of the ramp produced by this wave.....Now, that is a type of wave you hardly ever find in the lakes. If you do, it is most likely that there is a strong rip current pulling you away from the line up making it really hard for anyone to catch a good wave.

Justin W., Antonio A. & Larry Cavero - The Cove 2011

If I had to describe The Cove in one sentence I would say it is a "Magic Surf Spot". First of all it is close to home and makes it easier to go and surf. Secondly, it produces high quality waves similar to those ones in the ocean with solid walls and power. The Cove environment is also a very special one. It is surrounded by a Marina and parks which have at the back really high cliffs where trees and houses can be seen. This view is just unbelievable during any time of the year. Personally I really like to look back at the cliffs when I am surfing this spot during Winter time. The contrast between the idea of surfing (in a warm place) and the cold climate (snow covering the floor and trees) always leaves me thinking how lucky I am and makes me appreciate the things I have.

Surfing The Cove for me is to have a lot of fun and pleasure. Most importantly though, is that I feel privileged to be able to surf such a high quality and beautiful spot in the Great Lakes.

Larry dropping a big one on this magnificent day! - Pulse Imaging Photography

Have you surfed this spot before? What do you think about it?