Michigan Windsurfing

Windsurfing & Stand-Up Paddleboarding in Michigan

I made the great decision to bring my board and sails along with me for a work trip to Bridgman MI. Once I was free I headed over to Warren Dunes and found the wind was blowing a steady 20mph with gusts in the high 20's. The beach was beyond crowded so I had to get everything rigged up in the dune grass and carry it down to the water. 

The wind was blowing from the South-West parallel to the shore. This made for minimal waves and allowed me to get planing very quickly. Once I reached the offshore winds I was in heaven, the wind was steady and strong while the waves were slow and rolling. I got a little carried away and found myself over a mile offshore. To my surprise I spotted a man swimming this far out. I offered him a chance to rest and hang on the board but he was content. 

The trip back in was much less enjoyable, with the strong winds blowing parallel to shore I had drifted considerably from where I launched on the beach and made little progress trying to sail back upwind. Needless to say I had to do the "Walk of shame" pulling the board through the water back to where I had launched. 

Overall it was a great session considering I had worked the first half of the day and was only planning on this being a trial run for my repaired sails. 

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A lone swimmer a mile offshore in big wind/waves!!??  That's very strange.  I have come across boats once in a while and figured they must be talking about seeing a lone windsurfer way off shore.  But a swimmer?!?!  Must be a confident swimmer.

He seemed to be training for some sort of marathon if I had to guess; he was wearing a wet suit and fins. There was considerable boat traffic that day so I was mostly concerned for him getting run over. Thankfully I saw him again as I was leaving, this time much closer to shore.

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