Newspaper Unknown Mid-1970s

Surfer Catches Summer on the Downhill Slide

Once in the Surf, It’s a Short Chilly Ride to Shore

   Summer is with us until the autumnal equinox at 10:55 a.m. Sept. 23, but even as Kirk Kisinger of Grand Haven tried Sunday to catch a good ride on Lake Michigan waves there was a hint of fall in the air.

   The water temperature was 52 degrees and the air in the low 50s.  Kirk wore a wet suit, so he wasn’t bothered too much by the cold.  However, the waves were running from 2 to 5 feet and ideal is 4 to 8, so good rides were sparse.

   Lake Michigan surfing doesn’t compare with riding waves on the ocean, area surfers agree, but when the southwest winds are up — and small craft are advised to stay off the lake — about 75 devotees hustle out to the Grand Haven pier to ride the waves.