Greg from Sheb. wrote:

You get the whole place virtually all to yourself on many occasions . Nice screen grabs. You've got your GoPro positioned nicely.

Friday (tomorrow) looking epic up there in brat country!

Thanks Reid. Yes, the area is not that busy except on memorial, fourth and Labor Day weekends. Feels a bit lonely at times though! The GoPro is mounted on my helmet on this shot. I sometimes have the remember to turn my head back to try to fiilm other points of views. This is tricky in choppy waters to not look where you’re going though! I’ve crashed a few times doing this because I didn’t anticipate a piece of chop pushing me out of balance...

Alan, yes the day looks good here. Plenty of wind. I plan to hit the water by 2:30. I was told the Lake is kind of tough though. If too rough on south beach, I’ll launch along the north jetty for a bit of protection away from strong shorebreak. We’ll see... cheers!

Friday, August 24.
I took a beating! Ha! Things got a little crazy here between 3 and 5pm: 8’ swell, punishing shorebreak, and SSE +35kn. Kite beach Sheboygan first. I rig my smallest sail, a 5.0, trim it as tight as it should and off I go. Pass the shorebreak and realize that the waves 200/300 yards out are as nasty as the shorebreak but somehow manageable. Then gusts above 35kn (I was told) flatten me out in the water. I get tossed by a couple of waves and make it on the board for a return ride down the swell that was scary. Clearly overpowered. I take my stuff, fold everything and move on towards north beach (where the surfers are) thinking that the north jetty would offer a bit of protection from the rough waters but nope! Still gusty-stupid and a shorebreak that I was decided to conquer anyway. Now that’s where I took a bit of a beating. First try, second try, third try wipe-outs essentially because of a localized “lull”, more precisely a wind shadow due to the marina building nearby. On the third try I loose the board and rig who take a stroll on their own in the side shore currents. Finally, once reunited, I make it through and enjoy a couple trips back and forth in completely overpowered conditions. That wasn’t brilliant but I did it!

A few pics here and a few more in the photo section.

Who’s going to get swallowed?


Brace for impact


And the kit goes away.,,


Let’s climb that one


Finally made it out past the shorebreak


Let’s go home!

Wow, way to go, Greg. Great pics!

Friday August 31: with the earlier SE +35kn the other day, the warm currents left the shores and dropped from 74 to probably less tha 55! No wind but a bit of swell breaking clean at the elbow and all along sheboygan north beach. That’s what I needed to take the Windsup on the waves to give surfing a try! Paddle out, return catching a wave. After 45min I was able to stand up surfing for 20-40 yards! ... of course an inflatable Windsurf isn’t the best equipment for this but I learned a thing or two and that was fun.

Sunday September 2: Barely any wind in the foracst and cold fog remained along Lake Michigan shores. However, Lake Winnebago has warm temp and water and that got the family moving! Fun day on the windsup with junior.

Thursday September 6, NNE 16-18kn from 9am to 10:30am. Launched at the blue harbor resort beach with the 125l Goya Bolt and the 8.5 Ezzy Lion. This was the perfect kit for the conditions. Small chop and some 2 to 3 feet swell. The Bolt is just such a nice board to ride - fast but not overly technical, comfortable but not lifeless and so quick to put on a plane; just amazing. So, no one the water - one kite; I had the spot almost to myself!. This was one of the most enjoyable session I had this year. Why? Just perfect smooth sailing, beautiful sunny day, no stress! And, I passed almost all my starboard side jibes in full planning condition! I don’t know why it happened; it just happened! That’s progress and I’m pretty happy about that!

Today Friday September 7 was a repeat of Thursday. Got out the office at 5:30, on the water at 6:00 for an hour of chop and swell. Had to watch for dead branches floating off the river mouth as the recent rain washed out plenty of debris. This time I scored a proper jump off a steep 3 footer and a little later a catapult after a so-so landing. Then, sharing a few beers with a couple of kite friends watching the sunset. Perfect way to end a week. Tomorrow morning is supposed to be more of the same except that the water warmed again in the upper 60s. Nice!

Friday September 21. This was a day where staying humble has all its meaning. Lake Winnebago, super gusty conditions at 20 to 35 knots, heavy chop, tightly-packed and disorganized 3-4 feet waves.
I sailed the 115l Starship with a 5.0. I wish I had a smaller sail... I was overpowered half the time in the gusts. Still, I had fun from noon to 5, and challenged myself trying to stay in control bumping over the chop that felt like sailing over exposed corrugated cardboard. Lake Michigan in big swell and tough shorebreak isn’t that bad after all!
And for once a proper catapult to remember! And Bill jumping to heart’s content!

Wow, raging Winnebago shows it’s teeth! Did you use the lower clew hole on the Revo?

Yes I did! But that wasn’t enough to ease the “pain”. You know the feeling: When things are going too fast, too strong, too hard to control... just on the edge. That’s when the board takes unwanted air, harness lines are a liability and downwind is no longer an option!

Like an aeroplane