A full weekend of big waves and rough water

This has been a stormy start to summer in Chicago. We've had lots of rain and, to our delight, several days of strong northeasterly winds.

Northeast winds yield big waves on the southwest side of Lake Michigan. 

Better yet, this happened over a weekend. And even better than that, we had a contingent of kayakers staying at our house.

Paddling out into 5- to 7-foot waves during one of three weekend paddle outings.

Mountains of water, and no other boats to share it with.

The winds were in the 20- to 25-knot range for most of the weekend. One evening, we paddled into the wind for more than an hour, then turned around and paddled back in 15 minutes. North-facing beaches had excellent surf, though paddling out against the wind and the waves was a workout.

Taking photos of surfing is uniquely challenging. It requires getting out of your kayak and snapping pictures while your friends continue playing in the waves. Some days we do it; some days we don't.

This time, we didn't.