AngerMgmt

Just watched a show on Nat Geo about great lakes shipwrecks, and a few questions came to mind. Do you Michiganders et al, actually boat on these waters? Damn, they made it sound like they're just waiting to gobble you up! Do y'all dare these, or stick to inland lakes?? They said they're so frickin big, they create their own weather. Water can go from 1' to 8' in less than an hour, and can get worse than the oceans! (35' feet or so)
Keep in mind I'm a Southern Boy and have limited experience with BIG water. Once 6-8' in a 36' SeaRay cruiser from Boca Grande to Key West.......wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't have wanted to be in my Enticer!!
Anyway, 3 quick questions:
1) Do ya stay close to shore?
2) Does it ever get warm enough to swim in?
3) Any interesting stories?
Hell, I don't think I have more than 40' of anchor line

specialk

We do our boating on Lake Michigan. Yes the lake can turn in pretty darn quick. We usually dont shoot across the lake. Most times always have shore in eye sight. Been out a few times and help rescue stranded people. Once there was a sailboat that was tipped on its side in about a 6-8 foot chop and it was heading toward the breakwall. We tied a rope to the sail boat and strapped on ours to upright the boat. scarred the poop out of me when it uprighted and the mast started tipping towards us. Was out another time where fog rolled in within minutes to the point where you could not see the front of your boat. Had to just stop and wait for it to clear and hope you were not in anyones path. when the fog cleared, we found ourselfs only sitting a couple hundred feet from shore.

The safest bet is usually never try to out run a storm you see coming in unless you are super close to a harbor. stay put and ride it out. They are usually fairly quick for the nasty stuff to pass thru, then you can try to get home.

hotjava66

1. Mostly, but I have been across a couple times, and out of sight quite a bit. I live on the east side though, not quite as tempermental as Michigan, Superior, or Erie.
2. Yes, but never warm like southern waters.
3. There are always good stories! I have been out in 6-8's in my 28. When I was younger I was out fishing in Lake Michigan with my uncle in BIG water, breaking over the breakwall kind. I was so seasick I thought I was going to die.

THE 288 KID

Guy at work runs his 25' velocity across to lake Milwaukee all the time. Lake Michigan is great to swim in mid summertime. You tube Sunsation lake Michigan and Ull see a 288 in some nasty waters!

Drock78

iTrader: (2)

about 8yrs ago we tried to beat a storm, we were on our way to muskegon from grand haven in my buddies 216 checkmate convincer in about 2ft rollers. when we were about half way there we could see a storm rolling in fast and turned around to head back and before we knew it we were in pry 8-10 footers. would lose sight of land everytime we dropped down in a wave. we were pretty much ****ting our pants. haha. that storm came out of nowhere

PQ26

The main reason that we live in Holland, MI is to boat on Lake Michigan. We always try to get out on the big water but stay inland on Lake Macatawa if its too windy (a.k.a. waves). The beaches on Lake MI are second to none and there's no sharks or nasty creatures to get 'cha.
When the lake is calm, screaming along the shore line is a fantasic way to enjoy boating.
She can turn on you when you're not paying attention (and even when you are). The day can start out as a calm as can be, you're sitting on the beach with your boat anchored just off the sand and the next thing you know, you're scrambling to get loaded up and back to safe harbor because the calm turned to 6 foot waves.

PQ26

Here are some pics to illustrate the variation in waves on Lake Michigan.
By the way, last summer we have over a month of 75 deg water which was record breaking in duration.

thirdchildhood

iTrader: (6)

I take my 22' Donzi Classic on the Great Lakes all the time. You do have to be very careful of changing conditions. Western Lake Erie scares the hell out of me. I never can be sure what I'm going to run into on the way home from Put-in-Bay and the weather radio is not very accurate. The waves on these lakes are not evenly spaced rollers that you can ride on top of in a small boat. It is more like being in a washing machine and the going is slow and tedious when you run into heavy weather. I would like to have a wireless internet device connected to a monitor on the dash and I could have live streaming weather radar. Mostly I run not to far from shore but I do like quick runs that take me out of sight of land. On a good day I doubt there is any better boating in the world and these lakes are all that is keeping me in Michigan. Funny how the Great Lakes docks make my boat look so tiny!! And, yes, the swimming is awesome on a hot day and there is nothing in the water that might eat you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCbFrcW54dM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hBkc9TaaAo

mainstreet

Spent alot of time on Lake Michigan, you have to respect it and keep your eye's open. Many stories, about 12 years ago ran to Northport on a calm sunny day. Got caught in 5 to 6ft rollers in a 19ft Regal. My buddy had a 22ft Bayliner, we cracked the fuel tank and it started to dump fuel in his bilge. Thank god we where within 2 miles of Charlevoix by then. That day started with the Lake smooth as ice, it had turned in a hour.

mainstreet

The lesson today, don't take a Bayliner out in Lake Michigan!