From the Archives: Sheboygan

NOTE: TCSS owner Ryan Gerard originally penned this blog post in November, 2009.
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Erin and I took the dog and boards up to Sheboygan for Saturday's south swell and had a good old time.

Jim and Lester, the Eastern Surfing Associations' Great Lakes District directors, decided to hold the annual Bill Lemmons Memorial Contest up there because it hadn't worked out on the South End yet. A big south push overnight filled into Sheboygan all day Saturday as winds turned offshore and groomed the long, soft lines really nicely. As usual, the Elbow held dozens of folks scratching for the bigger sets and happily sharing waves together. What was interesting to me is that no one was surfing the inside.

The Elbow wave is big and soft, ideal for an 11' or 12' log and full on trim mode. Larry, Teek, and some of the other guys have it dialed in on their big boards. But what happens on the inside intrigues me. What was a soft burger on the outer bars quickly becomes a fast, steep curl on the inside - a perfect hot doggin' wave. The right one lines up and peels off quickly before the stretch becomes too much and it shuts down. But man, what a fun zipper while it lasts. The alaia and 9'6 Slim Noserider both went well.

The boys congregated on the cliff in the afternoon to run the contest, drink beers, enjoy the incredibly unseasonable weather, and share each other's company. I didn't see or hear anyone complaining about the crowds - in fact, I think most people enjoy that part of it (minus a couple bitter locals).

What a great town.