What The Big Water Teaches
This story was originally published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle
Like many of my stories, this one starts with a friend, Beth Price.
Beth is a photographer whose images of freshwater surfers, waves, and Lake Michigan have given me a glimpse into a world I mostly admire from shore — or from my bedroom, where one of her prints hangs above my bed.
I’m not an open-water swimmer. I don’t surf. I don’t paddle. Like many northern Michiganders, I enjoy our big lake without fully understanding it.
Last week, Beth suggested I talk with a woman named Faith Hoekstra.
“Faith does a lot for our community to keep us safe,” she said.
That introduction led me into a world of surf rescue boards, rip currents, lifeguard training, and the science of how big water moves. But mostly, it led me to a woman who has spent years learning how to move confidently through big water, and who now spends her time sharing that knowledge and helping her neighbors do the same.
The first thing that struck me about Faith wasn’t her long list of certifications or her experience as a beach lifeguard. It was something she said when I asked why she spends her free time teaching water safety and surf rescue skills to neighbors.
“I thought the ocean was really cool, but I was really scared of it,” she told me.
Years ago, while studying abroad in Wales, Faith took surfing lessons in the Atlantic and quickly fell in love with being in the water. To become a surf instructor, she also needed beach lifeguard training. What started as a requirement soon became a passion.
She went on to work as a beach lifeguard in Wales, later lifeguarding at several National Park Service sites here in the US, and eventually became head lifeguard in New Buffalo on Lake Michigan.
But the most interesting part of her story isn’t where she’s worked.
It’s what she’s learned.
As her knowledge and experience grew, her fear of big water began to shrink.
The water didn’t become any less powerful. What changed was her understanding. She gained a greater appreciation for just how dynamic and unpredictable large bodies of water like Lake Michigan can be.
Learning how waves form.
Learning how currents move.
Learning how to recognize hazards.
Learning how to help someone in trouble.
“The less scared you are, the more you can appreciate it,” Faith said.
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Many of us live here because of the water. We swim in it, paddle it, fish it, sail it, surf it, and stare at it from our favorite beaches. Yet most of us know surprisingly little about it.
Faith believes knowledge builds confidence. And confidence allows us to more fully explore and enjoy the places we love.
But the more she learned, the more she wanted to share it.
Last summer, Faith began organizing informal Saturday morning community training sessions at Esch Beach that blended beach safety, water confidence, rescue skills, and fitness.
The idea wasn’t to replace existing water safety programs. It was to create another opportunity for people to learn, practice, and spend time in the water together with purpose.
Faith hopes to make her trainings accessible to even more people, emphasizing that not everyone needs to sprint through the surf carrying a rescue board. Watching conditions, recognizing hazards, and knowing when to call for help are valuable skills, too. We can all learn something that makes our beaches safer.
What became increasingly clear as we talked is that Faith isn’t motivated by fear. She isn’t trying to convince people to stay out of the water.
Quite the opposite. She wants people to enjoy it more, to explore it more.
It’s the same impulse that motivates coaches, mentors, volunteers, and community leaders. It’s the desire to take something that has brought meaning to your own life and share it with others.
For Faith, that means helping people learn the skills to care for themselves and help others.
Tomorrow evening, Faith will be helping with a free surf rescue training hosted by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project (GLSRP) and Sleeping Bear Surf in Frankfort.
“Surfers and other watermen often become life guardians in the water,” said Ella Skrocki of Sleeping Bear Surf. “The more people with lifesaving skills who understand the power of Lake Michigan and feel comfortable in it, the stronger and safer our water community becomes.”
The goal of Friday’s training is simple: To build a more equipped, capable, and knowledgeable community to keep ourselves and those around us safe in the water this season. And in the theme of not being “too serious” — they’re pairing education with a community social to celebrate a shared commitment of looking out for one another.
The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at the north side of the pier and is open to the public with RSVP and a suggested donation to the GLSRP.
Faith will also be resuming her own weekly community-based trainings this summer, offering opportunities for people to learn everything from beach awareness and hazard recognition to rescue fitness and water confidence. You can follow Faith on Instagram (@faithhoeks) for updates and future training dates.
As summer arrives and our Lake Michigan beaches begin to fill, that mission feels especially important.
At some point, Faith stopped asking what the water could give her and started asking what she could give back.
Her answer was simple: teach.
Teach people how currents and waves work.
Teach people how to recognize hazards.
Teach people how to help when help is needed.
Because the confidence we need to safely explore Lake Michigan isn’t something we’re born with.
It’s something we learn.
