Are Great Lakes Really Rougher Than Oceans?
03-21-2018, 08:47 PM
#112
Registered
iTrader: (1)
In all seriousness I’ve boated on it, there it’s a great lake tons to do, awesome boats, plenty of hot girls to look at, and plenty of boat wake that comes along with a super busy narrow lake.
Last edited by mickeymcclgn; 03-21-2018 at 08:48 PM. Reason: auto corrected rougher to tougher
03-22-2018, 06:02 AM
#113
It's not boating season yet so I'll chime in on this "my water is badder than your water " thread again 
In my first post I admitted that I had very little ocean experience.
Last summer I managed to score a gig as "navigator" on a class winner in the Catalina Ski Race.
Disclaimer - I think "navigator" is Australian for "ballast"; my entire job was watch for stuff in the water (a dolphin would ruin a skiers day), stay out of the way, enjoy the ride, and drink a bunch of beer at the awards ceremony. It was an amazing experience & I can't thank the guys enough for the opportunity to ride along.
Lake MI gets "chop"; short time duration, steep, and "pointy" crests which can get very big, very fast.
What I witnessed standing behind our driver was a slightly less pointy version of our "chop" layered on top of the ocean swells.
Great Lakes guys: Picture a layer of an only slightly less gnarly version of our bumpy 2'-ish water ON TOP of another layer moving vertically and horizontally 5-6 ' at a time. Not uncomfortable, but enough movement you have to pay more attention than when in 2-3' in Lake MI.
Ocean Guys: Take that gnarly wind chop on top of your long swells, sharpen it, make it taller, speed it up, and lose 90% of the pattern and predictability. The moving swell is gone, but chop now is a series of brick walls that will rattle your fillings out and holes that appear out of nowhere and drop you like an elevator cable snapping.
That was my take...it's really tough to describe without a frame of reference for both environments.
When they're bad they both suck but it's like the difference between a hurricane and a tornado.
We can start that "which is worser" thread next winter....
Cheers
s
In my first post I admitted that I had very little ocean experience.
Last summer I managed to score a gig as "navigator" on a class winner in the Catalina Ski Race.
Disclaimer - I think "navigator" is Australian for "ballast"; my entire job was watch for stuff in the water (a dolphin would ruin a skiers day), stay out of the way, enjoy the ride, and drink a bunch of beer at the awards ceremony. It was an amazing experience & I can't thank the guys enough for the opportunity to ride along.
Lake MI gets "chop"; short time duration, steep, and "pointy" crests which can get very big, very fast.
What I witnessed standing behind our driver was a slightly less pointy version of our "chop" layered on top of the ocean swells.
Great Lakes guys: Picture a layer of an only slightly less gnarly version of our bumpy 2'-ish water ON TOP of another layer moving vertically and horizontally 5-6 ' at a time. Not uncomfortable, but enough movement you have to pay more attention than when in 2-3' in Lake MI.
Ocean Guys: Take that gnarly wind chop on top of your long swells, sharpen it, make it taller, speed it up, and lose 90% of the pattern and predictability. The moving swell is gone, but chop now is a series of brick walls that will rattle your fillings out and holes that appear out of nowhere and drop you like an elevator cable snapping.
That was my take...it's really tough to describe without a frame of reference for both environments.
When they're bad they both suck but it's like the difference between a hurricane and a tornado.
We can start that "which is worser" thread next winter....
Cheers
s
03-22-2018, 06:26 AM
#114
Gold Member
Gold Member
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Olmsted Falls,Ohio Marblehead,Oh
Posts: 11,634
Likes: 0
Received 204 Likes
on
132 Posts
Lake Erie 2017, first time I ever turned back.. got sibepics from my brothers live stream, this wave left me nowhere Togo and almost capsized my 35 footer, my wife was so scared she wasn’t right for a bit and she loves big water... if people think Great Lakes are not bad, I disagree lol
03-22-2018, 06:37 AM
#116
Registered
Not sure I’d its been mentioned as I didn’t have tome to read through this entire thread but I chalenge anyone to try boating in New England cape cod area!!
03-22-2018, 07:00 AM
#117
Registered
Try having super high drives, and coming off plane in 7 footers, that's no fun! Then the boat won't get back on plane because of the close span, and you almost get swamped/capsized, no bueno!.
03-22-2018, 11:42 AM
#119
VIP Member
VIP Member
Don't want to hijack this thread but you have no idea & it's not just guys. Kim Lumley holds the Women's Open record at just over 54 minutes.
A friend holds the Master's record and was the first guy over 60 to finish in under 60 mins.
I'd have to look but I think the youngest to complete the course was like 7 years old.
62 miles round trip from a dead stop, slow down around the turn boat, dealing with the ocean and other boat traffic; the top classes make the trip in under an hour so do the math on how fast they're skiing & the Aussies consider it an endurance race.
The skier we pulled skis back home behind "Superman", a 21' hull with a 540 TT in front of a number 6 - at well over a 100 mph and is skiing doubles.
Just my .02 but the athletes who water ski race get nowhere near the recognition they deserve. Most people not involved somehow aren't aware it even happens.
Again, sorry for the hijack
s
A friend holds the Master's record and was the first guy over 60 to finish in under 60 mins.
I'd have to look but I think the youngest to complete the course was like 7 years old.
62 miles round trip from a dead stop, slow down around the turn boat, dealing with the ocean and other boat traffic; the top classes make the trip in under an hour so do the math on how fast they're skiing & the Aussies consider it an endurance race.
The skier we pulled skis back home behind "Superman", a 21' hull with a 540 TT in front of a number 6 - at well over a 100 mph and is skiing doubles.
Just my .02 but the athletes who water ski race get nowhere near the recognition they deserve. Most people not involved somehow aren't aware it even happens.
Again, sorry for the hijack
s
__________________
There are 2 types of people in this world:
1. Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.
There are 2 types of people in this world:
1. Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.
03-22-2018, 11:49 AM
#120
Correspondent
Correspondent
I have been in some really big water, 15-plus-foot regularly spaced seas, in the Pacific Ocean. But I've never taken the beatings out there that I've taken on Lakes Michigan and Erie ... oh, and Holgate Inlet in freaking New Jersey.
