Surf’s up in Canada … in the winter

While some may choose to stay indoors during the frigid and snowy Canadian winter, Vesa Luomaranta tries to make the best out of the cold weather.

But he doesn’t play pond hockey or go for a ski, or even try his hand at ice fishing. 

Luomaranta surfs. Why?

“For the love of surfing. For just the love of the waves,” Luomaranta, who owns Superior East Board Shop in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., told The Current host Matt Galloway.

And while the waves may not be as warm as the north coast of Oahu along the Hawaiian islands, Luomaranta says there’s no shortage of places to catch some winter waves in Canada. You just have to be okay with a bit of snow and ice. 

Why surf in winter?

Luomaranta’s favourite spot is Lake Superior, but others take their board to places such as Tofino, B.C., and the East Coast. Surfers say winter waves hit different than their tropical counterparts, and they’re the best Canada has to offer, so if they want to surf, winter is the time.

Jess Dimis wasn’t so sure about surfing in cold waters, but a push from a friend got her onto the board. And even though the trip off the coast of British Columbia was a much different experience than her first expedition in Costa Rica, she was hooked. 

“Even my coach at the time, he said he saw the look on my face and knew that it was a game changer for me,” said Dimis, who now teaches surfing at Surf Sister School in Tofino. 

“It’s kind of changed my life since then. I absolutely fell in love with it.” 

For former professional surfer Dean Petty, surfing in the cold is a part of his upbringing. While he’s able to make trips to more tropical locations now, his first surfing experiences were in the North Atlantic, off the coast of Nova Scotia. 

“There’s some romance to the pain of it,” said Petty, founder of Camp Bueno Surf Sanctuary in Cow Bay, N.S.

Since fewer people want to do it, the community is smaller and therefore tighter, Petty said. 

And if you want to surf in Canada, Petty and Luomaranta agree that winter is when the waves are best. 

“They are just enormous waves that pound onto the shore,” Luomaranta said of the winter waves on Lake Superior. “When those winter northwest winds kick up, it generates a pretty big wave. It’s pretty spectacular to see as it hits, and the sound of the water — it’s awesome.”

But frigid waves come with their own set of safety precautions. The temperature in the water drops to about 3 C and can vary depending on where on the lake you are, Luomaranta said.

A wetsuit is a must, he said. With it, the cold isn’t so bad, though he confesses even he adds some extra layers underneath.  

“The post-surf, once you’re wet and covered in ice and trying to get back to your car, that’s the downside,” he said. 

Just get past that cold

Dimis says a third of her wardrobe is wetsuits.

Now, as a teacher, she gets to see other people have that same first experience she had. 

“It’s really hard to explain until you feel it,” Dimis said. 

“Every lesson that I teach that’s a beginner lesson, when everything kind of clicks for them and I see that moment of happiness, I’m like, yeah, I know that feeling.”

“If there’s one thing I can guarantee you, you will be warm in a wetsuit in the water, and it will be the best time of your life.”

Like Dimis, who was unsure about the cold at first, Luomaranta says once you get over that trepidation, anyone can do it. 

“It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. It sucks, most of the time, but most things that are challenging and hard are worth it,” Luomaranta said.