Women on the water: Surfing Lake Superior
The wind is gusting on the Duluth’s shore of Lake Superior. Cars pull into parking spaces as they surround the mouth of Lester River. The spring surfing season is underway for Lake Superior surfers. Among them, three women can’t help but smile as they prepare for the water. Their car is packed to the brim with boards and gear. Even the roof has a couple boards strapped to the top. Priya Sulzer shouts for joy as she gets ready. The boards are carefully pulled out of the trunk. Patrizia Zanella puts on, not one, but two neoprene hoods for extra warmth. Jenny Schwietz pulls her surfboard out of its protective sleeve.
Wax is rubbed on the top surface to wick water away and increase grip. As a group, they help each other roll their neoprene sleeves over their neoprene mitts. Every inch of their body, with the exception of their faces, is covered in this seal-like skin. Eager to run to the water, they attach the boards to their ankles using what are called leashes and scamper toward the shore. These three women look confident and comfortable.
The Duluth, Minnesota, area surfing community is strong, but if you look out on the water you see a common theme: men. Women are surfing around the world and have done so for as long as surfing has been around, but looking at Great Lakes surfers, men seem to dominate the waters of Lake Superior.
That may be changing.
Historically, surfing icons tend to be male and articles about surfing typically showcase males. On the plus side, there have been recent films featuring women surfing: Soul Surfer (based on a true story) and most recently, Shallows. For young girls, this can be a great influence in the surfing world.
The surfing culture has built up a barrier for women over the years. Pioneer big-wave rider Buzzy Trent said in 1963, “girls are better off and look more feminine riding average-sized waves.”
These cultural barriers were once substantial, but Lake Superior surfers say more women in surfing are breaking down these barriers. Lake Superior, especially the Duluth area, has a populated surfing community that takes every opportunity to surf on the lake. Dedication and passion live inside these Great Lake surfers as they chase the unpredictable surf up and down the shore.
Yvonne Wilkie, Wisconsin resident near the south shore of Lake Superior, used to watch her husband and kids surf when they lived in California. She decided to join her family shortly after moving to the Midwest in 2008.
Wilkie said it is never to late to learn a new skill. She started learning how to surf when she was 40. “It renews me. It re-centers me,” Wilkie said.
Wilkie is one of the North Shore surfers who represent the female population on the water. Wilkie estimates “1 woman to 35 men,” on the water on a given day. After spending a full morning watching these surfers at Stoney Point, I can believe that ratio. Almost everyone was male.
On the pro level, women are a force to be reckoned with, but that is warm weather ocean surfing. Lake Superior is not exactly an inviting body of water to your average warm water surfer, let alone your average human. The freezing rocky shores of Lake Superior make for dangerous surfing conditions. “You could break a board in half. I’ve done that before,” Wilkie said. Proper preparation and training are needed for surfing in this environment.
Whether it’s the “Minnesota Nice” or just the local surfing culture, here on the North Shore, the surfing community, according to Wilkie, is “really accepting of newbies.” This was encouraging for Wilkie when she started to surf with her husband, Erik. Women are starting to be more present than before, and it has been influenced by women like Wilkie.
Driving up the shore, the deep blue water of Lake Superior is almost flat and I question the wave forecast. Just before sunrise I arrive at Stoney Point and hear the waves crashing on the shore as I park the car. It was like magic how the waves appeared almost out of nowhere. I can hear the roaring sound of the surf that people have come to love and seek for relaxation. I watch the sun peak its way through the clouds on the horizon and fight for that first beam of light.
The cool wind is blowing on my face. Snot escapes my nose as I watch these surfers bob in the waves. More surfers enter the 35-degree water. Ice covers the smoothed-out rocks on the shore and make for a treacherous entry into Lake Superior. They each take little steps to avoid slipping. Once they are thigh deep, they take the first leap into the cresting waves of Lake Superior.
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Looking out to the lake I count one, two, three, four men. The waves reveal more. Five, six, seven. There are almost too many to count. They are all wearing black neoprene wetsuits. It almost looks like a heard of seals floating on the surface. Individually, they disappear behind each wave and re-appear as waves break toward shore.
University of Minnesota Duluth’s own Patrizia Zanella has international surfing experience and has come to love Lake Superior surfing. Zanella, from Switzerland, is a doctoral student and visiting research scholar in American Indian Studies at UMD. She has surfed in Costa Rica, Canada, Spain, California, and Australia. Zanella appreciates how “Lake Superior is so clean compared to other places.”
Zanella’s international experience has given her a broad perspective on the surfing culture around the world. With that, she brings a unique presence to the Lake Superior surfing community.
Leading up to her first time surfing in Minnesota, her expectations for Lake Superior were similar to the Mediterranean. Zanella knew that it was going to be an experience being in a place she didn’t even know had surfing, especially a surfing community until she moved here.
“Lake Superior is so special, because not many people do it,” Zanella said.
The waves and the power exceeded her expectations. It was a misty, fall day on Park Point and the Duluth hillside was vibrant with the colors of autumn. A tanker joined them on the water to give Zanella the ultimate Duluth surfing experience. “Those tankers really make the experience special,” Zanella said.
“When there is a storm, the waves are comparable to the ocean,” Zanella said. She has had a positive experience with other women on the water. Since she has been at UMD, she has surfed with mostly women. Zanella found a welcoming peer group to surf with. Because of her experience, Zanella is constantly looking for waves while on the water and is supported by other women.
This peer group has been jump-started by UMD’s Randy Carlson, coordinator of kayak, canoe, and kiting in the school’s Recreation, Sports Outdoor Program. He has helped women explore the water and has given them an opportunity to learn and pursue this epic sport.
Carlson has been surfing on Lake Superior for about 20 years and has many years under his belt instructing students at UMD. Carlson believes it is true that women are underrepresented on the water, but “there are several women who have done very well surfing Lake Superior.”
These three women have stuck together at UMD and have become self-sufficient and independent, which for Carlson is the real success story. They reach out to him for advice, further instruction, and conditioning, but are more than capable to surf on their own, he said. These women, along with the rest of the North Shore surfing community, surf for the pure enjoyment. There are no trophies on the beach. They just want to surf.
“Their attitude is positive and enthusiastic. And with that, they find the most enjoyable parts of the day,” Carlson said. This is encouraging for him. Another positive is that more than half of the UMD surf pass holders are women. It is safe to say that UMD, with the help of Carlson, is increasing the female presence on the water.
There has been progression with women on the water and hopefully more to come on the horizon. With the growth worldwide and locally, women are becoming respected as surfers. Their hard work and determination can be seen as an inspiration to other female athletes. Wilkie and these other women have a strong demeanor and want to continue to surf in this incredible place. Looking at the wave forecast, it looks like the spring surf season continues here on Lake Superior.
