MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Fall 2017

FALL 2017 ML BLUE 51 says. “I logged in, made a profile and that’s where everyone was talking about Kincardine. So I thought, I’m going to this magical place. So I started checking the forecast and saw a good day. I drove overnight. I remember getting there at one in the morning and I rented a room in the little motel on the pier. At 5am I was bouncing down to the pier and the waves were pretty big. At that point Larry Cavero was there with Antonio Alegre and that surf crew and they were all in the water except for Antonio. I walked up to him like, ‘Oh my gosh, how are the waves?’ And he was like, ‘I don’t know, it’s my first time here.’ I was like, ‘me too!’ “That whole crew just took me in right away. They were like, ‘yeah come surf with us.’ At that time I wasn’t really a good surfer and seeing all the people in the water and having to jump off the pier, yeah it was really intimidating. But it was fantastic. That day was probably one of my best days ever. That was my first time surfing the Great Lakes with other people.” Helene would marry Antonio two-and-a-half years later. And the way she was welcomed into the Great Lakes surfing community is something she would perpetuate herself. “When I started surfing in the Great Lakes the only women I knew who surfed were Nadia Baer, Robin Pacquing and Sonia Burrows from Toronto. I started hooking up with them. I remember in competitions I was having to compete against the guys because the women didn’t have any categories. Eventually we went to a competition and I was like, ‘you know what? I’m gonna go in it.’ Then these other girls started coming in. And the next thing you knew there were four of us hanging out together and surfing. There are probably a lot of women who want to surf, but don’t have other women to surf with. And it’s super intimidating. You see all these guys in the lineup ripping, and you’re just learning to pop up and not to bail. It’s tricky. So I started a Facebook group and a group on Freshcoast for girls to get to know each other and hooked up with Great Lakes Surfers and started doing a blog. Then we started doing events. Then two girls from Toronto took it over and turned it into something amazing. It was called Ladies of the Lakes, but it’s now called Lake Surfistas. It’s like once a year, we meet at Crystal Beach and there are about 100 women that come from all over the Great Lakes. We run workshops, have surf classes, forecasting classes, and people are really getting to know each other through that. Now in Toronto there are tons of women that surf. And it’s so cool to see. It’s just taken off. Now there’s no stopping it.” With women like Helene Alegre pioneering places like Manitoulin Island, the number of Great Lakes surf spots continues to grow. Sponsored by Chick Stix, Aerial Clothing, Chik Wax and Jimmy Lewis (SUP), she’s the type of ambassador every sport should hope for: friendly, positive and welcoming. Oh yeah, plus she’s a ripper. “There are probably a lot of women who want to surf, but don’t have other women to surf with. And it’s super intimidating…” 12 Nelson St. E. 877.538.0463 Visit meafordhall.ca for a full event listing and sign up for our eblast! #MeafordHall S i n c e 2 0 0 6 Thurs. Dec. 14 Gypsy party punk Tues. Nov. 7 The Once East Coast Christmas Sun. Dec. 10