Posted by Dave J on November 25, 19103 at 20:58:40:
In Reply to: Rough weather... posted by Ross Richardson on November 24, 19103 at 13:39:11:
:About 15 years ago I was out on Lake Michigan fishing with my father and his neighbor in an 18ft fishing boat. We were fishing off the Oak Creek power plant and it was overcast and drizzling but nothing real bad. The noise of the power plant hid the sounds of the oncoming squall line and we didnt see it until it was on us. We pulled up anchor and headed as fast as we could back to the launch at South Milwaukee, a 15 minute ride on a good day. We all guess the waves at 6-8 feet and I had to bail along with the bilge pump to keep from swamping. Wind blown rain stinging your eyes and cold lake water pouring in is a harrowing experience to say the least and we were only 50 ft from the shore. I can only imagine the hopelessness you feel when this is happening and land is no where in sight. I like to think that I kinda sorta know what it would feel like to have gone thru that, althought I know its NO comparison.
Dave J
Whenever a storm hits, as a couple have in the last few weeks, I find myself thinking about what conditions are like mid-lake, how these storms compared to the "great storms", and what sailors went through in these conditions.
: I believe I have these thoughts because if I were born a hundred years earlier, I know I would have been a sailor, and would have had to deal with those situations.
: I don't think I would have been a captain. I think I would have been and engineer or fireman. But I know I would have worked on lake boats!
: Does anybody else share these thoughts?
: Ross Richardson