http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...ou+ever+ran+in. Glassdave tells it all,,,,love reading post 87

I'll only bore you with one Navy story.

In the summer of 1985 I was stationed on the USS Stark (FFG 31) out of Mayport FL, One weekend Hurricane Gloria forms in the Atlantic and is projected heading our way. The Navy declares a "Recall" which means every sailor assigned to a ship in the port of Mayport must return to their ship.

The Navy figures it is better for their ships to take their chances at sea during a hurricane than to be beaten against the pier (and each other - yes, Navy ships raft off each other just like we do) in 100+ MPH winds. So all of the ships man-up and the order is given to get underway. Every ship capable of making-way steams out of Mayport Harbor single-file in two columns.

Once out of the harbor I was free to leave my duty station in the engine room. I climbed up the ladder and literally wedged myself in the escape vestibule so I wouldn't get tossed around but could see what was unfolding outside through the port hole. About 400 yards off our port side was the USS Biddle, a 550 foot Cruiser. We were in the crest of a wave as the Biddle was in a trough and I literally watched the USS Biddle disappear in a trough - all 550 feet of her - and come shooting out of the other end. I have no idea how tall those waves were but you would not want to be out there that day in anything short of a 400 foot ship, and even then you got the snot beat out of you.


I know the Great Lakes get rough, maybe even rougher than the coastal waters on a normal day. But when the Atlantic and the Pacific really kick up, well the Great Lakes have nothing on them.

The Great Lakes have nothing on them??? Um so thought the captain of the 729 foot Edmund Fitzgerald, till it went down.

October 25 2010 lake Superior
* DURING THE STORM WATCH...PLAN ON THE STRONGEST SUSTAINED WINDS
OF UP TO 51 KNOTS FROM THE SOUTHWEST TO OCCUR AROUND 1 PM EDT
WEDNESDAY. GUSTS OF UP TO 65 KNOTS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. LOOK
FOR THE LARGEST WAVES OF UP TO 38 FEET TO OCCUR AROUND 2 PM
EDT WEDNESDAY.

I had no idea it was the time of year for the annual " lake VS. Ocean, who is more of a badass" thread.

This is pretty bad !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL2X...ed#t=16.379081

1st - Thank you for your service.

The Great Lakes has had many recorded wave heights in excess of 30'.

The list of (sorta) modern ships which have sunk on the Great Lakes is impressive and includes several freighters exceeding 300', the most famous being the Fitz which was over 700'. She sank so fast there were no distress calls.

Look up the storm of 1913. The Great Lakes lost 19 ships in 4 of the 5 lakes. Some of the ships exceeded 500'. The Charles S Price was a fully loaded 450' ore carrier which capsized and was spotted floating upside down near the mouth of the St.. Clair River.

Google "November Witch". Our version of a hurricane can produce waves up to 50' and while you normally associate rain with storms, November gales can substitute feet of snow. In a few hours.

Ships leave port to ride out a hurricane in deep water. Lake Superior is just over 1300' deep with an avg of around 500' of depth. We don't have deep water.

I'm not trying to start a pissing contest or a "my dad can kick your dads azz" argument .

Everyone knows the Ocean can be rough, but I think what winds most Great Lakes boaters up is the number of people who don't really realize what the Great Lakes are capable of. If you've grown up in MI or one of states bordering the Lakes, when you were a kid that's what the "old timers" talked about when they weren't telling you about walking uphill both ways through the snow in their bare feet to school and how happy they were to do it.

I'm sure the reverse is also true; most of us with no ocean experience think it's just huge swells and we're jealous of those great launch pads with easy entry that makes for those awesome pictures.

This is Ford v Chevy, 30-06 v 270, Ginger v Mary Ann and makes for great discussion but to do it properly we should be in a pub somewhere.

Chuck Norris says Lake Michigan is his backyard bird bath!

Inland seas.

Navy stories.......my dad was on the Pacific tour aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CV 43 I think). He said he saw "green water" breaking on top of the flight deck 90' off the waterline, more than once.