Bryan Elkus

Category: Surfing

  • It’s feeling like fall

    Today was pretty much one of the best surf days I’ve had on the Great Lakes. The forecast was calling for SSW winds 20-30. There was a large storm cell brewing over southern Lake Michigan which looked like it would stay just south of Muskegon. Amer, Edgar and I packed up the car and headed West. As we were driving over, the southern buoys were reading 45+ knots. We were getting excited. Fall was here! We drove through part of the storm and it was windy!

    We arrived to our location to find about 8 knots of wind and tons of waves. Marc was already out surfing when we arrive with a smile from ear to ear. I ran back to the car to grab my board and bolted back to the break. It was a great day with blue skies to the North and an ominous front brewing in the south. The water was warm so I wore a sleeveless-shorty. By the time I made it out to the end of the pier, the waves had picked up a lot.

    The sets coming through were at least over-head and glassy. I missed the wave of the day right off the bat and still kicking myself for it. Then, I took the set of about 5 waves on the head. The lefts were going for 100-200 yards. The wind never really picked up to kite. The waves really died down by mid afternoon. It was a great day and so rare to have a day with that big of waves with no wind. The lack of images is a testament to quality and brevity of the session.

  • Frankfort MI Delivers Wind and Waves

    The forecast looked incredible in Northern Michigan for kiteboarding and surfing. So, we gathered the crew and headed North. The conditions were good, but the waves were really fun. They were well lined up allowing for long 200-300 yard rides. There were a ton of surfers an paddleboarders out.

    The wind was a bit punchy all day. We rode 9m kites most of the day. I had a great session kiting my 9’3 In The Pink Longboard with my 9m Liquid Force Envy. It was a blast! It took me about an hour to get the turning down on such a long board, but after that it was game on. It rocketed up wind with no problem. I just had to remember to not jump or land hard in order to not break it.

    We did an improptue downwinder down to Point Betise, which was fun but much smaller waves than last week’s Frankfort Session. Louis’ dad Jim graciously gave us a ride back South. We spent the rest of the day surfing and kiting at the jetty.

  • A 19 Hour Excursion to Frankfort MI

    It has been a less than stellar spring and summer seasons this year for kiteboarding or surfing on the Great Lakes so far.  We decided to take a gamble on a good looking forecast for the upper part of Lake Michigan. They were calling for 20-25 knot SW winds and 3-5′ waves. We packed the gear and made the drive arriving in the morning to find a light slightly offshore breeze.

    We hung out for a while on the beach watching the surfers and standup paddleboarders catch some small waist high waves as the conditions started to build. I had a fun session on a SUP before the wind started to pick up. We rode larger kites at Frankfort for an hour. The wind really ramped up and we gathered up the crew for a downwinder to Point Betsie. It was amazing, clear water, shoulder high waves pinned on out 9m kites with good friends.

    We then headed back to Frankfort and rode powered for a few more hours. I had a really fun boost session while the wind was at its strongest. We packed up our gear as the wind and light started to fade. It was great to see so many people taking advantage of the water activities whether it was surfing, kiting or standup paddling. It was great to see a couple really good surfers with great style out riding too. I’m reminded every time I’m up north how great the northern MI crew is. Until next time…

  • A Northern Muskegon Adventure

    Edgar, Scott and I drove out to Muskegon to try and catch the predicted 15-25 knot SW forecast. Unfortunately, it did not deliver. We rode for an hour or two in light wind conditions and some fun tiny waves. The less than stellar conditions did leave us with some time to explore the area as we are usually so busy riding we dont get to check it out all that thoroughly.

  • Last Minute Surf Mission

    Jared and I made a last minute jaunt out to the west side of the state. We made it in time to kite head high waves on 7m kites for a couple hours until dark. It was a great session, there were a few surfers out and a couple kiters. We crashed for the night after a great dinner and woke early to check the surf. There was nothing in South Haven so we headed south to find a small wave. We had a great time meeting Jack Nordgren the author of Wave Chasers. We rode there for a few hours and headed back home. Thanks to Tanner and Trevor Lack for some of the photos.

  • Kiteboarding in Muskegon Michigan

    Vlad, Edgar and I headed to the westside of the state to catch the SW front moving in over Lake Michigan. We left before the sun rose and arrived to see sand blowing on the beach of Muskegon. We rigged 9m kites and had a great session with the local crew. I rode inside the jetty most of the first session. After lunch we headed around to the north side of the Jetty. It was waist high and fun! We kited for another couple hours until the storm moved in. The wind died and we got out the longboards for some Lake Michigan surfing. We had a couple fun rides and packed up the gear and headed home.

  • Photos on Imagista

    Some of my surf/standup photography was featured on Imagista. Go take a look!

  • In ESM with Kenny

    Zack Kenny in ESM January 13, 2013

  • First Surf on Lake Michigan

    We had a terrific weekend riding Lake Michigan. We rode at Muskegon Pier all day. I met up with Marc and Brad. I paddled out for the first time in the Lake, and I caught my first wave. It was a right and made 6-8 turns which pretty much made my day! Then we pumped up and went kiting for the next few hours. The waves were chest to head high and the wind was around 30 knots. We had a great session as the sun started to fall in the sky the wind picked up to 35-40 knots, which became too much for me so I surf for a while longer before calling it quits.

    I crashed with Brad and his family and headed back to the coast in the morning. The wind shifted West overnight, which made the wind and waves very sloppy. Marc knew of this “secret” spot that was small but fun on the logs. We long longboarded for 3-4 hours. It was another great weekend on the water.