Ode to a Friend

We're into the date window for the annual "Bill Lemmon's Memorial Contest", held in late October/early November on the South End of Lake Michigan.

Bill was a long time South End surfer who passed away unexpectedly a few years back. His infectious enthusiam was much loved in the "old" days when there were only a handful of dedicated guys sliding waves down here. Surfing the Lakes back then was much simpler - the only forecast you followed was the one spat out of your trusty weather radio, the only spots you surfed were the predictable ones with mostly onshore, sloppy surf, and the only guys you surfed with were the ones that would show up every time the wind was right.

Bill was one of those guys. And, though times have changed since then, and surfing down here continues to evolve, the pure joy that we feel when sharing waves with friends hasn't changed. That will always feel the same.

Every year, when the crew gets together to share waves in Bill's memory, we know that he is smiling down upon us. With beers in hand and smiles plastered on faces after a long, cold day of surfing at this year's Memorial, we'll be thinking of him, too.

This wave's yours, Bill.