Sun, Jul. 8. A repeat of Saturday with a nice afternoon SE thermal that probably peaked at around 18-20kn later in the afternoon. The lake water has cleared nicely and it looked tropical! To the risk or repeating myself, every time I'm sailing the 125 Bolt, I’m amazed at how little effort it takes to get it to plane: This is so nice for shoulders and knees!
Still the only Windsurfer today but it was a great session anyway.






Show-off! That’s OK, he’s a friend! (Looks better quarter turn clockwise)

Yesterday in Sheboygan was anything but boring. The wind sensor at the light house shot up before I even started driving and kept steady above 20 mph for the next couple of hours. Unfortunately when I got close after 2 1/2 hrs some storms started passing through and killed the wind completely. That was a good opportunity to finally meet Gregory in person and he was so gracious to spend some time with me over a beer regardless of his busy schedule. Greg, thanks a lot for your time and the beer. We had a nice conversation in one of the cool pubs along the pier while waiting for the sky to clear and the wind to return, which it did, but not as good and consistent like before the storm /according to the some of the kiters who were at the beach earlier/.
Back at the launch I decided to rig my 5.7 with the 94 Kode hoping the forecast will stay and the wind will keep increasing until 4 pm, but that didn’t really happen and that setup has been too small. The wind was doing a strange thing inside that bay and was the strongest close to shore , so if I had a slightly bigger wave board or if I’ve brought my windsup it would have been fun surfing the small waves that become gradually bigger farther downwind. I actually didn’t bring my windsup on purpose. I’ve made it a mission to sail my Atom 110 and discover for myself if it will be more fun then at Greenwood and to experience what Gregory is doing there all the time. Well honestly, I didn’t like it. I don’t like long distance blasting in all that chop and swell at Greenwood and I didn't like it at Sheboygan either. My deepest respect for those that do it, but I might be too spoiled sailing at flatwater spots like Wolf, Clinton and the Wall. Big sail blasting in the open waters of Lake Michigan is too hectic and physical for my taste. I just can’t think of doing anything else for fear of losing focus on what’s in front of me. I’m not used to it , jumping with wide board and sail takes too much effort and looks dangerous to me. So I tried the 6.5/110 and that wasn’t enough either and instead of rigging the 7.5 I replaced the good fin of the Atom with a the crappy one it came with , put the 5.7 in place of the 6.5 and went wave riding just slightly downwind of the launch where I wasn’t in the way of the kiters coming in and out and where the waves seemed to be a bit bigger. It was fun but that board just can’t turn like the Kode or even the windsup in tri fin setups especially. The 38 cm fin was too long and hit the sandy bottom many times before being able to turn . At some point I tripped over the footsrap with my twisted foot that is still a bit swollen and the pain became too strong after that . I also was able to break the 2 lowest battens in the 5.7 when adjusting the outhaul in the shore break. It took me long time to engage the boom clips and a bigger set of waves came crashing over me and the loose sail and I even stumbled over it. In the mess of it the battens have snapped close to the clue and now I know it will be a lot of work to get out the small inside pieces , I may have to take out the rest of the battens.
This is not the end of it . When I came in and started to pick up my stuff I was able to bust a small minofilm panel in my 6.5 just by placing it on top of my head. Couple of lessons learned: 1. Don’t do shit in a shore break and 2. Don’t carry a big old sail on your head after leaving it in the sun for hours /never do it to be safe actually/. Alan came also after me and he had a good time on his 110 older model Carve and a 7.0 sail, but he is used to sail in this kind of conditions at Greenwood and he likes it. Gregory came back to say goodbye and those were the highlights of the day I think. Could have been better or worse, but I’m happy I went and was able to finally meet Greg in person and also to figure out for myself with certainty what kind of sailing I like. Success , but at a high price.

Damn, dude, sorry to hear.

I'm sorry to hear about all that! Take comfort in knowing we have all been there. Those days have made me question everything about my life! crazy. I don't leave home without my paddle board that i can windsurf if the wind is light. So much fun planning out and jibing on waves on light wind that otherwise would have me either slogging or sitting on beach. Shake it off and don't look back.

It was a short sesh for me WS at sheboygan yesterday, I arrived about 2 hours after the storms passed through, and as Ady said, the wind never fully recovered. When I arrived I saw that Ady was not planing on his 6m, so i rigged my largest sail (7m) and it was just right for the conditions. The water temps in sheboygan were COLD, maybe 15degrees colder than chicago, and I had to put on my 3mm gloves after a bit. I've been to this launch before, it is super nice , with friendly surfers (kite and wind), and parking/rigging on grass, just steps from the water. This launch is known as 'kitesurfers beach' (shows up on google maps as that too!).

The wind came down and all the local Kiters were off the water at around 6pm, so I packed up and headed over to the surfing beaches to see if there were any breaking waves to surf (I SUP surf a lot these days). Sure enough, all those south winds today gave us 2-3ft clean waves at a spot known as 'the jetties' which is just north of 'the elbow' (aka the 'malibu of the midwest'). This spot is not for WS or KS, it is for surfing (prone or SUP). I surf regularly in sheboygan, as the waves (when pumping correctly) are some of the cleanest waves the big lake has to offer. Anyways, we (myself and 3 other surfers) surfed till 9pm (!), and the waves were still rolling in after dark..

I decided to spend the night in sheboygan to see if there would be any waves left over (for surfing) at dawn. I planned for this in advance, and brought my camping/sleeping gear (I have a good setup in my SUV to sleep comfortably in my vehicle). This night, i returned to the now fully secluded and empty kitesurfing beach lot, parked 20yards from the water and overnighted there. I could hear the waves crashing all night, there was a lightning storm over the lake for an hour or so, and it was a beautiful peaceful night along the lake. I got up at 5am and headed over to the surfing spots, but unfortunately the waves did not last till daybreak, and so I didnt' get a morning surf sesh in. I'm still glad. I went, as the windsurfing was fun for the short 1hour sesh, but the surfing was even better and that was a 2.5 hour sesh. I am also glad to have finally met Gregory too. I am sorry that Ady broke some gear, but I always say that if you aren't damaging or breaking your gear, you likely aren't sailing enough!

Thanks for the encouragements guys! This year is so bad for me, boom tail and 2 fins lost so far and damage done to 4 sails mostly off the water, that I’m starting to wonder if I’m cursed or something
Ugh, water temperature, I forgot about that. Man it was cold! Close to 20 degrees F colder then Chicago shore water. Look at the charts:






I went initially in my summer 2/1 wetsuit that doesn’t even have any rubber in the back waist area where the harness sits and I remember feeling a bit panicked on my first fall and thinking to myself that I’ll be in trouble very soon if no gust comes to lift me up back on the 94L. I put on later a 2 mm skin type vest on top of it and probably I should have added to that the neo shorts and the beanie, but I didn’t. I swear I saw at least one kiter in a full hooded winter wetsuit!! Well I guess that’s the price to pay for having empty unrestricted beaches. Speaking of which there is little beach left with the water level this high.

Ady, Alan, it was very nice finally meeting and chatting with you. I just wish you had better sailing conditions. After the storm, everything got weird with the wind. On a sunny summer day, the SSE thermal winds are cranking pretty consistently 15-25kn and makes this spot a really fun place to sail in swell and chop. I'm sorry for all the trouble Ady had with his gear. I remember having my fair share of damages when I started sailing here too; my Atom bears the scars! At least I'm glad Alan had a few good runs. Yes, water temp here can be very cold one day and warm the next. Warm currents leave shores on SSE, SW and W days, and come back on NE days. We clearly need a NE to warm things up! 2 weeks ago I was sailing in 15-17kn in board shorts and a 2mm shirt!
Unfortunately, it was a busy week at work and I also injured my right knee last Sunday and couldn't sail. At least I was watching from shore for a few minutes and took a few pics with my iPhone. Not great quality but here it is for the records! Great to have been able to meet you both. Looking forward to a trip down to chicago and sail with you on a blustery SW day on flat water! Cheers.







Ady a bit lonely sailing with the lighthouse. Grainy but nice in b&w!

Cheers my friend! Don’t discount N wind in Chicago either. I’ll take you to the Wall, that’s THE Creme de la Creme of flat water. You have to experience it and getting up the rocks is not that bad when there is somebody to help you with the equipment. Hope to see you again soon!

alan schmid wrote:

To note: Wind was SSE before storms and then S after the storms. Then it turned SSW after 6:00pm.

Sheboygan Light



Can I get on plane with my Ezzy 6.9 wave with 108L, 68cm wide, FSW, 38cm fin when Alan is on his 7.0 Ezzy freeride. We'll have to test that sometime.

The wind was high up, probably bouncing of the very cold air above the water and was blowing somewhat consistently only near shore where it is warmer. You can barely see any white caps farther out. I planed with both the 5.7/ 94 and 110/6.5 just for a short distance immediately after launching and then farther out only occasionally and for very short in the strongest gusts. It would have been great for someone with a bigger freestyle/fsw or wave board to play in the shore break and even jump/loop on the way out. I was accelerating nicely with the 5.7/110 in both directions but that board is not good for jumping or wave riding. I wish I had Manuel’s 112 FireWave. Another lesson learned : check the water temperature if sailing on Lake Michigan. Ha, I’ve learned more from one bad day then from a hundred good ones. I know from previous experience how the cold Lake Michigan water affects the warm wind but only now realizing how to exploit it. You either rig big and go far out or rig small/ but on a relatively big turny/jumpy board and play in the shore break. I chose the later but until I get the right board for the job I’ll have to use the windsup, which is also fine.
Btw Alan is at least 20 lbs lighter then you Reid and he also struggled to plane farther out so he started doing mostly short runs .

Reid Fillman wrote:
Reid- The wind reading at the lighthouse, even though it is close to this launch, seems to not be accurate for at-shore conditions at that break (at least on S winds that I observed on several occasions). I was there a month ago, and the lighthouse was reading 18kn S, but at shore it was maybe 10kn. On this day that Ady and I went, it was quite windy at shore ( i could have been on my 5,7-6,3m) for the first 50yards, then it was much lighter outside. I weigh 140#, and usually sail 1 size smaller than others. I was guessing on the time the wind died, but it appears it was closer to 7 as per the lighthouse readings. I likely could have been on my 6.3 if I stayed close to shore (by the time i figured that out, it was kinda late in the day). I do think the wind wraps around the plant point (about 1 mile S ), and funnels close to shore a bit .

The wind likely also may be at a higher altitude due to the spring lake effect (cold water/warm air....where there is a air cushion over the water that doesn't get wind...and our sails are in that cushion). We get that alot in evanston/chicago, especially on SE winds in the spring (the crib meter 2miles offshore shows 19kn, but we have almost nothing at shore!).

BTW-next thursday looking good again for a repeat sesh at sheboygan (hopefully no rain !).......

alan schmid wrote:
That sounds like a great way to cap off an evening, Alan.