Off the hook

Surf-enthusiast Wellington residents perfecting their craft

Surfing the Great Lakes has been both a hobby and sport for generations. Originally practised by a small core group of individuals, the sport has seen a recent growth spurt. There are over 15,000 kilometres of shoreline bordering the five lakes that have aptly been nicknamed North America’s third coast by the community, and are an emerging final frontier for surf exploration. Andrew Seale and Tyler Beatson of Vineland Surfcraft are a newish addition to the scene. They met surfing in Wellington and quickly built a fast friendship through hunting waves together, and are part of a new wave helping to expand the culture.

Ty and Andrew both confess to becoming more than a little obsessive over the hobby. When Andrew brought up the idea of making their own boards, Ty believed it was the next logical step in their fascination, and within a few weeks they were grinding away at foam. “Whenever I do something, I commit to it, and want to do every aspect of it. For me, immersing myself in the craft [of shaping] was exciting for me,” explains Tyler.

“We think a lot about the waves here, we know them well, their shape and what they require, what we are exploring is what boards make sense for the conditions here,” says Andrew. He explains that each wave around the world is different, and each surfboard reacts in its own way. Having a board designed specifically for the lake could dramatically increase their surfing capabilities. This is originally where the idea of building their own boards sparked for Andrew. “It’s about getting my [shaping] skill level up to the point where I can transfer my knowledge of the lake into an actual surfboard, I have an idea of several shapes that would work well here,” explains Andrew.

“If we are making them, we might as well try some experimental things too.’’ explains Ty, “I put some wild angles on my nose, Maybe it will scream or maybe it will do nothing, but that is the whole point in learning.” Shaping surfboards, like riding them, is a fine balance of pushing limits and moderation;that balance is found only through trial and error. Each angle of the board needs to be perfectly symmetrical, achieving this perfect balance comes down to hand sanding edges millimetre by millimetre— like shaving sideburns it’s easy to over correct mistakes.

Late bloomers to the sport, Ty and Andrew are not afraid to dive into the deep end. Their main focus is to establish that surfing here is possible and accessible. “I started surfing late, but I was infatuated with it since I was ten, reading about it in Sports Illustrated, but I didn’t get to try surfing until I was 21, discovering that it could happen on the lakes. I feel I am making up for lost time to progress. Building surfboards is a part of that,” explains Andrew.

Surfing is a commitment of time, energy, muscle, and mind “I don’t see it as a short-term thing, I am probably gonna surf from now on religiously until I am old,” explains Ty “It’s the most forgiving of extreme sports, there are some stakes to it. You have to be in good shape to surf all the time safely, but that just makes me a healthier human for my future. I feel I could do this until my late sixties if I wanted to.”

In a world of distractions, being on the water is a way for Ty and Andrew to turn everything else off and tune in. There is usually no music, spectators or scoreboard, the only participants are the surfer, surfboard, wind and the waves. Shaping is equally as intimate, the sound of the power tools like crashing waves creates a white noise in the shaping shack that allows a laser focus on the foam. A surfer’s performance is based on how they make the surfboard interact with the water and is somewhat subjective, but it is this focused connection that drew both of them in, “What’s more connected than riding something you made?” says Ty.

It will be some time before Vineland Surfcraft starts taking orders and selling boards. For now, it is a form of creative expression and experimentation. Not everyone can move to an ocean surf break, or take a major surf trip. Having a local surf community gives everyone the opportunity to get out on the water. “We just want to establish that it is possible to live and work and surf here. And what better place than Wellington, it’s a loving and beautiful community that’s really accepting,” says Ty. “the surf community here is a core group of guys that have been doing it for a long time, that have also been really accepting, and we are just going to try to keep that going.”