Dear Great Lake Surfers,

My name is Joe Ward and I'm Tom Ward's nephew. I know Tom has mentioned to some of you that my friend Alex Agnant and I are coming to Racine to shoot a short documentary film about winter surfing in Wisconsin on Lake Michigan. Alex and I have been working together in television production for the past several years and have bonded over our shared desire to make a documentary film about something that we are both fascinated by.

Neither of us have ever attempted to swim, much less surf, in the freezing air and 40ish degree water that you are well acquainted with and we are really curious to find out where, when, how and why you guys do what you do. We're particularly interested in hearing the stories, meeting the personalities, and capturing the sights and sounds of those of you crazy enough to take the plunge.

Ideally we have hopes of showing the finished film at various festivals and then putting it up online, but don't want to get ahead of ourselves yet.

We are going to be getting to Racine this Wednesday evening and will be around until the following Thursday (December 20th). If you are interested in giving us a glimpse into what surfing on Lake Michigan means to you, reach out to Tom or myself to let us know when would be best for you to meet up.

my phone # is 607 435 0785 or you can reach me via email at josephsdward@gmail.com


PS- I'm also looking for someone to convince me that surfing Lake Michigan in the middle of December is something that I have to do before I die. (And hopefully someone who has a 6'3" wetsuit that I could borrow!)

Hey Joe, I have been talking to TW and it looks like we will have some fun waves out of the SSW and SW going into Thursday and Friday of this week. We look forward to you coming to our town and I have a wetsuit and more than a few boards you can borrow.I will be calling you this week. Have a great and safe travel and we will see you soon. Burton

hi all,

I talked to Burton and he will be taking Joe and Alex North in search of waves on Thursday. Contact Burton if you think you will be able to go. I have to work Thursday and Friday. It's the end of the semester and I can't get any time off until this weekend. Joe and Alex will around Friday if anyone is available for interviews. I'll be able to take them around on Saturday and Sunday if anyone is available. It will be cool to do the interview on your 'turf' to tell your story. Post up here if you will be available or give me a call, 262-930-5216. happy surfing!

Hey all -

This looks like fun. I'll be sending you all positive vibes from the Marquette and Lake Superior that you get really awesome waves to document. I've yet to make it down to Racine but am always watching the wave forecasts (it seems you get waves more often than we do at the Zoo). If the crew gets time to swing through Michigan afterward, there's a few surfers here, too, but nothing like the guys are well-recognized in Racine.

Way to share the stoke, all!

Tim

Super ,Super fun and a long day of traveling and surfing yesterday. I am glad we stayed at that spot and we did and not go to the other spots because that was the biggest and cleanest with waves well overhead. Cannot wait until the documentary come out I truly know it is going to turn out just awesome. Also it was my first time ever using a Go Pro on my surfboard and a few of the waves turned out awesome. Joe and Alex you guys are THE REAL DEAL and we had a blast. ;

T-Dub,

Are there going to be any interviews, or just the footage shot in Door County?

I'm still available this week at home, but won't be doing any surfing due to the baby.

Hi Dave and all that showed interest in being part of the 'documentary' -
Joe and Alex have made the decision narrow their concept to concentrating on Blake, Burton and myself. When they were coming here they didn't know what they needed, but decided in this short time frame to keep it to 3 surfers. I want to thank all of you who were willing to help out 'uncle Tom' as I tried to arrange the best possible experience for us, and them.
They did get some excellent footage of up north...I wish I was there!
Thanks again everyone who responded.
Merry Christmas and happy surfing!

I was able to get to COTU for the last 2 hrs of light and experienced classic elbow. Light/offshore and waist to chest. Multiple racy sections along 200-300 yd rides. Never got cold and didn't want to quit when it grew dark. I kept wondering what it looked like up in the Door. Guess I'll get my chance...can't wait to see the footage.