Unless you have lived on the Great Lakes (especially West Michigan or the South side of Lake Superior) then you most likely have not seen really rough (fresh) water. I was forced to experience it with my dad who was in the Navy and I think he must wanted to re-live some of his past. I can remember when I was 8 or 9 years old he bought a 44 foot Uni flight-we picked it up in Holland Mi. and were taking North to Grand Haven which is approx. 25 miles pier to pier. The salesman and service manager both begged him not to go-he looked and me said lets go get a couple of good life vest at the ships store "there was my clue". As we proceeded thru lake Macatawa a coast guard auxiliary boat pulled up to us to inform that there were gale warnings and small craft advisories had been posted for the last two days "my 2nd clue".

We went out and the pier was only visible for brief moments on the North side along the state park (these were true 12' to 14' swells) and as we passed the end lighthouse waves were exploding against it and blowing higher then we were sitting up on the fly bridge. I told my dad, "lets do this tomorrow"-his response was this will be a trip you will never forget and we will be fine. It took us 3 1/2 hours to get visibility of the Grand Haven pier head and we went North of the pier to turn around so that we could come in with a true following sea as the wind was coming from the N.W. When my dad turned out to make our entrance, we took a monster square over the front, water was blasting the bridge and blew one of the forward facing cabin windows out. I am guessing that we took on two hundred gallons of water into the galley of that boat and the pier had never looked that narrow to me "still hasn't" as we were being pushed in and to the South. We had a another massive roller lifting our stern as my dad is turning the boat to the left and all could hear was the turbos spooling up hard as the boat listed so hard to the right "I could have reached the water with my hand from the bridge", I dove down out of my seat and grabbed the base of his center captains chair thinking we over and then the boat straighten back up with my dad still on the gas saying "what are doing down there?" If he hadn't stayed with it and been on the power, that thing would have kart wheeled us into the South pier for sure.

It was so rough that we couldn't pull into North Shore marina where we had our slip and had to go down to Grand Isle to dock (never to this day has land felt better-dad was right 40 years later and I remember it like it was yesterday). You have to respect lake Michigan for sure.

Joe

Well it looks like your dad was right you never forgot it,Thanks Dad.

Is this like the “I caught a fish and it was this big” or the “ dude that jump had to be a 90 footer” lol
I couldn’t say how big the chop I’ve been in is or was on a particular day, all I know is it tells me “should have bought a bigger boat” lol
it was a fun read though

Thats a no B.S. story. I can remember the guys bringing a trash pump out on the gas dock to suck out that galley area-he said to my dad "what the hell were you thinking?" now when we laugh about it, I say the same thing. He has never been a "normal" guy-He lived on Spring Lake for a long time and used to think it was nothing to take his little 22 ft Whaler Outrage with twin 130 yamahas and run to Chicago for the night (He never got me to go with him) but we did take my Fountain and Top Gun several times. Now he is Florida and at 75 years old isn't so brave with running the ocean but loves the intercoastal thank god.

Joe

NOAA estimates there are 4000 shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico.
There are 6000 in the Great Lakes.

hey joe that wasn’t directed at your post.i typed that before I seen your post.i wouldn’t doubt anyone’s story because I have no experience on any of the lakes.
i was caught out on Narragansett bay about a month ago. Storm rolled in,it got so grey,rained so hard,black clouds with lightning and I could hardly see the tip of my 20’ boat from the helm. It was a a$$ pucker moment for me being my first boat and not knowing what to do. I didn’t want to just sit there with all kinds of boats headed north on the river for fear of them hitting me with the zero visibility. I was also worried about the lightning hitting the boat so I just pushed through it in course I was on. Once I got north of a bridge where sea’s are always much calmer it was just light ran. The wife and me just sat there barely off idle looking at each other soaked to the bone like wtf was that . We were out there with my sister and brother in law on there own boat and it was nerve racking trying to get them on the phone not knowing how they were making out. New England weather and Mother Nature letting there wrath out. The real kicker is my neighbor said it barely rained at our house which is under a mile from the boat ramp.

This thread is a good lesson in a mantra I learned from Trump - EVEN BAD PRESS IS GOOD PRESS for one looking to sell a 33 Scarab AVS.

Touché' to the OP. Of all the post think mine was the only one that opined on his question.

Brilliant marketing ploy? Nah, I wouldn’t touch one now because every time I looked at it I’d think of the hilarious ocean/silent joe/ 007 concrete cannabis dude.

I took one over the bow in ALL IN! one time on Lake Barkley - those barge wakes are huge sometimes!

but how many in lake mead?