My cruising grounds - Lake Superior

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DannyS

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May 27, 2004
933
Beneteau 393 Bayfield, Wi
I came across this video on youtube of the Leap Day storm that dropped over a foot of snow on Lake Superior with winds over 50 mph.
http://youtu.be/uKbxQ6HYCpk
This is the spooky side of the lake where there are very few safe harbors and miles of rocky shoreline.
 
Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
We're 72 and sunny right now, expecting 86 and SW at 5-10 Danny. Come on down!
 
Jun 9, 2004
963
Hunter 40.5 Bayfield, WI
The north shore, while incredibly beautiful, is a harsh and unforgiving place. Even when the lake's power seems slightly malevolent, as it does in this video, I still find myself drawn to it.
 
Oct 24, 2011
20
Westsail 32 Racine, WI
It gets just as shinasty here on the shores of Lake Michigan. For all the Great Lakes for that matter. As Princess said too, I am mystically drawn to it. No snow down here in Racine though.
 

DannyS

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May 27, 2004
933
Beneteau 393 Bayfield, Wi
Here are some photos (courtesy of Bryan Hansel) of the land hurricane that swept through late October 2010.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryanhansel/5120538557/
I attached a photo to contrast the big waves seen in the flickr folder, same lighthouse in the background and our friends 45 ft. Nassau.
As a kid, I almost got swept off that breakwall by a big wave that knocked me off my feet. I think it was that moment that made one of the biggest impressions on me and the reason I sail Lake Superior.
 

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Oct 10, 2009
1,100
Catalina 27 3657 Lake Monroe
Awesome stuff. When I was going to school in Germany, the guy who hosted me had a boat in Kiel and we had arguments about the Great Lakes. He said there was no way an inland lake could have weather like the Baltic. Maybe I should send him this.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Awesome stuff. When I was going to school in Germany, the guy who hosted me had a boat in Kiel and we had arguments about the Great Lakes. He said there was no way an inland lake could have weather like the Baltic. Maybe I should send him this.
Point him to this. During this storm a weather buoy was reporting significant wave height of over 26 feet. To an oceanographer, that means 26 foot waves on AVERAGE, with 1 in 10 being 50% bigger (39 feet) and 1 in 100 being 100% bigger (52 feet). The Baltic can get savage too but it's got nothing on Superior.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dlh/?n=101026_extratropicallow
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Brings back memories of when I got paid to dive in those conditions. Never been so miserable or challenged. There is something extra vicious about cold sweetwater; you aren't as buoyant, and the water just seems to want to take you. Don't miss it at all. God bless you lake sailors, that's a hard lot.
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,722
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Wow. Impressive stuff. Good thing Leap Day only comes once every 4 years.
 
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