Mike Chamberlin~a pioneer passes in wind world

 

mikesbMike

When I started getting into windsurfing waaay back when I didn’t see myself racing or putzing along(we call it schlogging now) as all the other windsurfers were doing, I saw myself terrorizing the water ways, riding waves & jumping everything in sight, there were not a lot of guys close to doing what I considered  “windsurfing” BUT 2 guys in the area seemed to have the same vision, they were the Chamberlin brothers. They seemed to be riding at a level light years ahead of all the others. They rode shorter boards than most, they did dumb stuff, they drank & carried on, they rode big wind, they chased the wind & they rode Lake Erie. Man I wanted to ride like that! Mike & Tom were really fun to ride with, I learned all I could from them watching there every move on the water, trying to emulate how they rode. If  I could just jibe like Tom I would be dangerous! Tom was more of the technician, Mike was…..well Mike. I remember riding at Crane Creek & Mike rams my board- board tag he called it- jumps on it & walks down to me as I holding the sail & pushes me off my board & sails away with it. I was pirated, how cool was that I thought to myself. They allowed my sorry sailing butt to ride with them, took the time to give me pointers & kicked my rear end out on the water.

Skip back in time for a little history~ Mike founded 1 of the 1st windsurfing groups in the US-the Blackswamp boardsailers. He did lessons & demos to get people into the sport & he did a lot of the selling & buying of windsurf gear when it was in its hey day at the Mountain Man shop. Mike was instrumental in the growth of windsurfing & water sports in this region. He was fun to ride with & a good guy. Mike died last January after a long battle with cancer. If you windsurf or kiteboard around Maumee Bay Mike probably had a influence on you that you probably aren’t even aware of be it water access or just the simple fact there is riding scene around here. Mike was very influential on my riding & as the years passed I took great pride in hearing Mike & Tom, my mentors, compliment my riding, pics & vids-basically all rooted in their riding-it’s what I learned from them & ran with. Mike Chamberlin- R.I.P.

trainer

 

96 thoughts on “Mike Chamberlin~a pioneer passes in wind world”

  1. Luna Pier was kinda all right today, Little waves & not wind but still a pretty fun day. It was also almost crowded, 4 kiters & 3 windsurfers(counting G & his deep pulls)

  2. hmmm, could it be an E wave-ish day today????? Forecast on Sailflow shows around 2pm to be the time…..

  3. Looking to cut out of work early today, gonna hit MB most likely unless the party is happening somewhere else. 1-2 o’clock @ MB is the plan right now.

  4. Could it be the ever rare Luna Pier east wind/wave day tomorrow????? Maybe, we’ll soon see.

    1. Pete, Jay and I at MBSP. Big kites and big boards. We will probably settle for MB again after work tomorrow. Saturday on the other hand….

    1. Maumee Bay state park seek & destroy today, hopefully around noon(if it’s blowing). CI report from Ryan was that it was just starting to show small white caps, I’m waiting fior the wind to shift to NW before rolling to MB. Pick your poison, remember that CI is an advanced ability only launch & ride spot.

          1. It was only Don and I at Catawba. Blown off the pier with 13’s at about 10AM. Switched to nines and rode till about 3-330. That was a great direction for CISP. One reach we went all the way South to the Rock Ledge Inn. Nice clear water and big swell

      1. Sorry Sprint sucks out there so I normally don’t check here after getting there. Better than yesterday before it came up. Pete and I on 13’s. He was on his TT. I went back and forth between the TT and surfboard.

  5. Pssst…..Don’t look now……Saturday wind(maybe)……..out of the NORTH….maybe a baby wave day….

  6. could it be???? It looks like it might happen today (8/24) NOAA has a SCA up “I” is forecasting 18. Winds look to be out of the W so that means Maumee Bay.

      1. Harbor lt 2 is showing 20 knots gusting to 23 out of the NW! Grabbing lunch & rolling, hope to hit the water around 2:30ish….

        1. well, that sucked, hopefully the after work crew scores better. Judd & the Traveler were coming in as I got there. I watched a very green deep outside wind line(about 1/2mile out) from 3 to 4:45 & called it.

  7. don’t look now but I think today is looking pretty good all you are left now with is the age old question of where to go????? Boobies of Maumee Bay……hmmm….

      1. Judd report: Maumee Bay sucks! SW winds at MB, wind line is about a mile out where it is blowing about 30.

        1. Boobies is a ghost town. Wind is steady and much more south then west… at least on the shore line. My scrawny butt is going to rig an 8… that is if the attack ducks let me.

          1. Maumee Bay state park was nice. 9 kite out in front of UT LEC to the channel. Fun little swell. Almost made it back in too! I leashed the kite and had to paddle a little

          2. no drama for Gary, Pete & myself. 5.5 sail & 9 kite, green water but we could walk in 😉

          3. If you look at the black and white shot of me in the latest pics you can see part of the huge tree that has planted itself in the middle of the bay. Watch out!

  8. Need I say it, really? OK, here it is, Ride Night is not happening BUT Thurs(& maybe Wed) looks possible.

          1. I just scheduled 1/2 day of PTO for tomorrow thereby guaranteeing that we won’t get any wind. Thanks me later.

      1. Thanks. I concur. I did learn plenty along the way so I hope to be able to translate those learnings to be beach to make our “water sports” shots better.

  9. Today holds just the slightest glimmer of hope, but it looks like if you’re going to bite the earlier the better!

  10. Ride not has been postponed until next Tuesday due to light winds & a diminishing forecast! Hang tight my friends it won’t be long………

  11. Just picked up a beautiful 17m Turbine from the best shop around. Maybe the dickfish joke will subside. (Not likely) Slowly but surely making my way from the dark side! Thanks Mark for the swag and sweet kite. Can’t wait to throw this thing up to pull my fat ass.

      1. Did you get it out today? Seems like you would have been lit with the Turbine and your wake surfer

    1. This report just came in from Gary:

      gary smith
      12:40 PM (8 minutes ago)

      to mark
      northeaster with green waves.

  12. 8/4 Ride Night is a fend for yourselves. The forecast is not favorable & the sensors are not showing a whole lot right now BUT stranger things have happened.

  13. The last few days have been great considering the end of July/early August time frame. Could we get another sneaker session in later today?????

      1. It’s on! Thursday that is……Maumee Bay SP is looking to be the call, don’t miss it(if IT happens that is)

  14. Tonight’s Tuesday ride night is cancelled because the wind & forecast sucks on the flip side I’m cutting heavy deals on Slingshots lightwind kite, the Turbine. Hit me up for some unbeatable prices.

    1. and if you haven’t figured it out yet, ride night is not looking too good, you can hold out hope for a MB thermal, it is every man for himself. Good luck.

  15. Melissa Tyler (Chamberlin)

    This is an awesome article about my dad! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this up and find these great photos! I had no idea my dad had such a big influence in the windsurfing world. Thank you!!!

    1. Thanks, I’m not much of a writer. Tom & Kevin supplied my with the photos so thanks to them for helping me out. Mike(& Tom) got it all started around here & I’m grateful that he did. This is my way of saying thanks to him.

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