Female surf community growing on Great Lakes
Lake Surfistas crew drawn to Lake Erie
When it comes to surfing the Great Lakes, women can rip just as hard as the guys, says Robin Pacquing.
And the community of female surfers and standup paddleboarders (SUPs) keeps growing, says Pacquing, one of the organizers of the fifth annual Original Women’s Great Lakes Surf Fest put on by the Lake Surfistas Saturday afternoon along the shores of Lake Erie.
“We’ve built up the surf community as a whole, bringing in more women. With the conversation of women these days being very important, this is that much more important to us,” she says of the gathering, which saw more than 50 women from across Ontario and beyond take part.
Pacquing says there seems to be more female surfers from other areas living around the Great Lakes who realize they can surf the fresh water.
“And they’re doing amazing … and we can rip just as hard as the guys. We just want to get more women on the water.”
Shazia Mazhar, who has been involved in organizing the event for the last three years, says she’s enjoyed watching the community of women on the lakes grow.
“I think there’s an acceptance … women are feeling more comfortable being out in the water. They’re helping and coaching each other,” says Mazhar.
She attended the first event — it was called Ladies of the Lake then — as a brand-new lake surfer and says there was a small group of 20 women who took part.
“I’m pretty happy with the number of people here. I’m encouraged to see so many new faces. We’re creating awareness that you can surf a lake and there is a community here to help and to encourage women to do it the right away and understand the history,” she says just before heading out into the waves.
While there were somewhere between 50 and 60 women at Port Colborne’s Pleasant Beach, past events have seen upwards of 100 women attend, says Sonja Burrows, one of the event’s other organizers.
She says the event recognizes women are a legitimate part of the lake surfing scene.
“It offers support, encouragement and is super fun,” Burrows says of the day, adding the female surf/SUP community grows exponentially every year.
Burrows started surfing in Costa Rica. When someone mentioned that a person could surf the Great Lakes, she ‘poo-pooed’ the idea.
“But then I looked it up and found a forum and connected with Robin. We’ve been friends and surfing buddies ever since. I also connected with Mike (Sandusky) and Grant (Kennedy) from Surf Ontario who kind of took me under their wing and showed me the ropes as it pertains to the lakes.”
Jordan-na Belle-Isle, another event organizer, says her first experience with surfing and SUP came when she was on her honeymoon in Hawaii.
“I thought, ‘How can I do this in Toronto,’ and then I found the SUPGirlz who were giving firsttime lessons for SUPs.
“I fell in love with it immediately, took more lessons and became a certified SUP instructor,” she says.
Belle-Isle met Pacquing in the SUP scene and became involved with the Lake Surfistas.
“It was an amazing event when it first started. I offered to help her out because it was such a great initiative for women.”
Belle-Isle says while she mainly rides her SUP, she does do some SUP and prone surfing on the lakes.
The organizers of Saturday’s event, including Kristen Hanna who was unable to attend, scaled it back this year to bring it back to its roots.
Burrows says this year’s event was about surfing, paddling, camaraderie, story sharing and sisterhood.
“We’re not doing the formal workshops this year. We just wanted to get everyone together to hang out,” Pacquing says, adding the ladies were glad to see there were rideable waves.
Pacquing says despite a smaller event, the vibe was still strong.
“That’s one of the most important things.”
That vibe showed as one woman flew in from China a couple of days before the event so she could take part, says Pacquing.
“And she’s off to Costa Rica after this.”