by Dan Hoyle

A lone surfer off Greenwood Beach. - photo by Dan Hoyle

Look hard at this blue, frothy expanse and you’ll notice that some of those buoys are actually people; dark, wet-suited silhouettes bobbing against the horizon. They’re surfers, but this isn’t the ocean or even the sea. It’s a dead-end street in the Midwest where the waves roll over a bit more than they do in most parts, where a small crew of burly, suckle faced, pale-cold sturdys hustle out to catch a few waves. It’s the Greenwood Street Beach in Evanston, where the normally calm and cerebral Lake Michigan yields enough breakers to host a small surf community and claim title as a veritable surf spot.

Ed Coyne is one of the veterans of this crowd. Strong and stocky, with a well-kept goatee, sharp blue eyes and a Chicago accent as thick as his two wetsuits, this bulldog wave carver is known as “Shredward”. He’s been surfing the Great Lakes for 12 years, a passion that grew out of a windsurfing hobby he’s pursued for 25 years. He’s a real estate agent by trade, but his priorities are clear.

“If there’s waves, everything else is secondary”, Coyne said. “I’ll cancel my appointments, whatever’s necessary; we call it a board meeting.”

His passion is no secret to his clients. Often they’ll call to confirm an appointment if the wind begins to whip up and there’s a chance the lake might start to buck a bit. “I got a client the other day who called and asked, ‘You sure you can make it, it’s pretty windy out there’,” Coyne chuckled. “I’m like, yeah, I’m sure.”

The weather that creates Greenwood Beach’s waves generally comes from the north, and the break shifts with the movement of the sand, yielding about 15-40 days of modestly-sized waves each year. But other parts of Lake Michigan can get even bigger. Last month in Indiana, Coyne said he surfed “solid 10-footers”.

With established venues and competitions, surfing in the Midwest is more than just a comfort activity for displaced and homesick Californians. Hot spots include Grand Haven, Mich., and Sheboygan, Wisc., home of the Dairyland Classic on Labor Day weekend. Coyne still has his 3rd place trophy from a competition in Grand Haven years ago.

The Evanston surf scene is comprised of a core of eight to 10 men, most of them self-employed. They rely on the reports of Matt Dolce, known as “The Scout”, who faithfully checks the waves three times a day and keeps the crew updated via phone and Internet. Dolce, a dentist endowed with a durable-looking thickness – except where his hair is thinning – bears the markings of a relative rookie. But in the atypically non-competitive, friendly Evanston environment, Dolce regularly rips the point break in only his second season afloat. The turf wars and petty rivalries that pervade coastal surfing are a joke to this crowd. Often after a satisfying “sess” they’ll tally the floaters and longest rides of the day together over a beer. “The waves are always a lot cleaner and bigger at Nevin’s,” Coyne said.

Three of Greenwood's finest. - photo by Dan Hoyle

Although he’s unaccustomed to the Chicago climate, Hobi’s enthusiasm conquers all. He’s been known to make like an alcoholic to a beer keg and hightail it to the freedom of Greenwood Beach after an afternoon lecture. But few other Northwestern students even know about the beach’s hearty hardcores, as these north-shore gnarlies aren’t allowed to surf off the campus beaches.

On this particular Friday afternoon, thick, black-edged clouds box each other out of the ominous horizon and grayness descends on the water. Only a small, pink Homeric glow fades in the north. Half of the little rollers make like they’re going to crest but instead continue on, slight sliding masses of blue water. Still, Lake Michigan musters up enough long rides to satisfy four surfers. The temperature is 40 degrees, 27 with the wind chill.

As they towel off, Coyne and Dolce aren’t bothered by the flurry flakes that spit out of the bleak sky. The men say they’re accustomed to paddling past chunks of ice in winter months. Dolce stands in shorts, a sweatshirt and tennis shoes with no socks, his hair still damp. The hot water Ed reserved for immediate relief seems like a meager antidote for the devious, skin-seeking winds that run from the lake.

Coyne described surfing as “Exhilarating. You get stoked up, and it’s fun and fast.” He says that “the connection between you and the earth is Zen-like”.

He also attests to surfing’s unique redemptive quality and consistent satisfaction. “I play tennis and golf, and sometimes after that, I get irritated and disappointed, and I walk away wishing I just hadn’t played. That never happens with surfing,” he said.

Perhaps that’s why you’ll continue to see them bobbing in the breaks, patiently awaiting the next day-maker even as the temperature dips below freezing. The brave few off Evanston’s south shore appear on an epic conquest, neither boyish nor macho. As a group, Greenwood’s surfers lack a name, but their Nordic wave knivery deserves the praises of Poseidon himself.

Dan Hoyle is on loan from the Chronicle. You can reach him at maltshere@yahoo.com.

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