The meteorology is the thing....it is so changeable that it is difficult to
get an accurate forecast...the Great Lakes region is known by NOAA to have
some of the most challenging meteorological problems in the world....there
is one section of Lake Michigan, the Little Pointe Sable area, that defies
forecasting...the rest of the lake can be perking right along in a normal
fashion and you get within a mile of this area and all hell breaks
lose...the topography of the land does a lot to make this happen, as does
the corresponding topography over in WI....confused water, freaky wind
patterns...our own little "rounding the Horn"...add to that the windstorms
that we get off the great plains and the humidity levels that produce huge
convection storms, it can be a real picnic out there...one year we were
toodling along quite happily and all of a sudden this black roll cloud
appeared in the west...there had been no forecast of any violent frontal
movements and the sun had been shining. We ran for our foulies and reduced
sail. Ever been pelted by 1/2 inch hail? Was not a fun experience....and
within 10 minutes of winds leaping from a lovely 10 to 35 ...and then it was
over....summer squall...

OzOne wrote in message ...
On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 05:50:21 GMT, "Maxprop"
scribbled thusly:


OzOne wrote in message

Well said Thom.
I believe that calling them "seas" is purely a vanity thing....the
sailors like to think they've been to sea.

They should just accept that they are lake sailors.

What gave you the impression that we think we are anything but "lake
sailors?" We never denied it; to the contrary we are proud of it. But
the
characteristics of the GLs are often more aptly described by the behavior
of
a sea than what one generally thinks of with the term *lake.* Many salty
pilots find themselves in a world of hurt in the GLs after crossing the
Atlantic and adopting a feeling of relative security, now that they are on
just a bunch of big *lakes.* The survivors go back across the pond, tail
between their legs, telling everyone in Europe and Asia about the
malignant
inland "seas" in the American East and Midwest.

Max

Only thing I see is the long long fetch and shallow areas that would
produce some really scary waves....plus the fact that it's always so
frickin cold!


Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.