need lots of options
I raced out of Montrose Harbor in Chicago for many years. I agree with a previous post on the 135. But "normal" on Lake Michigan describes at best about 40% of the time, statistically. You will need to be able to shorten down quickly and easily, to less sail than a 135 rolled up 20%. That lake is 66 miles wide at Chicago. If you go offshore very far, you'll need to be able to handle 40-45 mph winds of short duration a few times a summer, maybe with some embedded high gusts, and prolonged 30-40 mph occassionally. Don't neglect your main. You need a second reef point. You need to be able to treat the lake like an ocean. I've experienced 15 foot waves out there, and talked with people who claim higher. And because it is fresh water, the shape is short, brutish, and steep. You really need to be able to SAIL, not power. The other side of it is that a real light 150 is a nice sail to have around too. And, don't let my descriptions put you off ... it's a wonderful body of water! One day, we were running before a 10 knot breeze out of the southeast, 5 sails up on a yawl in a race, saw this fully developed line bearing down on us from the north. Got everything down, switched to storm jib and reefed mizzen, and were sitting there waiting when the wind went instantly to who knows how much out of the north. The change was so fast and dramatic that a small aircraft flying above us into Meigs Field lost lift and went right into the lake. You have to have a LOT of flexibility to efficiently and safely sail that lake. Tom Monroe Carlyle Lake
