Marc Hoeksema

By Marc Hoeksema
Local Sports Journal

Not so long ago, I was introduced to Muskegon’s  wonderful world of water and wind.

I was just a kid, but sailing ran in my family and the sport of windsurfing had started to catch on in the world and the Great Lakes.

My dad was one who got the fever for that new, exciting sport that harnessed the energy of the wind, transferred it through your body and turned it into excitement. Luckily for me, he and my uncle decided to take some time to teach me as a youngster and I was hooked for life in a sport which nature is the propellant.

For years I obsessed over the wind, and when The Weather Channel was in its infancy, I was an early subscriber to help me plan my days and consequently my life.

Years have gone by and some commitments have been blown off, grades in school did suffer and perhaps I would even be earning a better “living” if it weren’t for the obsession of the water and wind.

But for me “living” means LIVING and I have tried to fulfill my definition the best I can within my surroundings and my surrounding is Lake Michigan.

Sailing, windsurfing, surfing, and more recently, kitesurfing and stand up paddlesurfing have joined the mix.

My van is always a mess as is my garage and my office, for where is the time for organization when one must transfer all the energy of Mother Nature into pure fun?

If I am lucky/unlucky enough to have 3-4days of calm weather, I try and catch up the best I can (always with weather.com on the secnd monitor).  Then, inevitably, the wind will come and my duty to recharge and transfer the power will begin again.

Marc Hoeksema

So far this is how I have lived my life, not without some hardships as life can present to any of us, but this is how I wish to continue and this lake is the place I want to do it.

Marc Hoeksema is the LSJ’s newest reporter covering wind and waves to give the Muskegon area a taste of Lake Michigan and the recreation it provides. Marc is a local artist who not only rides waves and the wind in every season but  also is an avid photographer.