High Rollers in Burlington - Surf City

Surfers and windsurfers in Ontario need to take advantage of every passing storm that brings high winds and rolling waves that crash onto the beach. And when the conditions are ripe these athletes head into the swells and ride the waves until their wet-suits can't keep them warm or the waves start to calm. This is the life for Great Lake Surfers year round. These guys were working hard as most of Burlington was next door at Spencer Smith Park for the "Canada's Largest Ribfest".

Bad weather threatened the skies over central Ontario for quite some time on Sunday, September 2, 2017 but in spite of a few sprinkles the rain remained at bay. Watching the whitecaps on the lake as the waves crashed along the shore, throwing up spray at the along the piers and rolling through the canal into Hamilton Harbour, you marvel at the power of wind and water. You had to pick your surf spot carefully because in some areas the waves hitting break-walls caused reflected waves that crashed into the oncoming waves, exploding in a fountain of water and showing that under water currents were probably active in the area.

There were several groups of surfers spread out along Burlington Beach and Hamilton Beach, trying to head out into the pounding waves with their big boards, riding the peaks until they were out far enough to catch a wave and stand up on the surf boards.

More Sundial Folly

Biking in #Toronto is a treat along the waterfront trail running between the many condos and parks by Lake Ontario. You can go pretty far but my favourite area is Queen's Quay. The sun was just perfect on Easter Weekend and I go by the round ball structure known as Sundial Folly.

Ducks seem to like the pond at the base which flows into the tiny waterfall and they quickly swim over - I take it that they get fed a lot here.

Scarborough Bluffs

The weather forecast had wind warnings so we made the journey to the Scarborough Bluffs to see if anyone was taking advantage of the wind to get some surfing in. There were some cars with surf boards waiting for the perfect conditions of wind and surf to provide some good waves but that didn't happen while we there.

The waves were churning the beaches and the wind was blowing very small parts of the bluffs into our faces. Coming up to the bluffs we looked way down upon Lake Ontario and Bluffer's Park - when they say steep drop ahead they really mean it. You could see the sediment along the edges of the bluffs turn the water brown and further out the water was different shades of green and blue.




The rain started to fall and the drop in temperature also brought snow back to us in May so the wide expanse of sandy beach of Bluffer's Park was empty of sun worshipers and the lifeguard stations were left waiting for the season to begin.

Surf City - Canada Style

Some crazy Canadian surfers hit Lake Erie's Crystal Beach to surf in the blowing wind of an early winter day - it was cold just taking the pictures!

The Great Lake surfers gather in their wetsuits and drop their boards into the water and then jump right in - no taking your time getting wet inch by inch. The have to spend a lot of time waiting for the right combination of waves before they face into shore, kick off and catch the wave.

A competition was soon underway as the flag changed from red to green. The only dangerous part seemed to be avoiding the guy on the boogie board. It was a lot of fun to watch. Keep an eye out for them in Toronto along the shores of Lake Ontario.



See more photos after the jump.