Fredo--
After all of that I can't believe no one has recommended this guy sign up for a power squadrons course or USCG boater's course
somewhere. We all had to start somewhere and most of us were extremely unknowledgeable at some point in our boating past.
I agree this guy was very lucky.
But let's steer him in the right direction so he does not become another "statistic".

df--

I appreciate the advice. I don't appreciate the flames. The one
rational piece of advice was the GPS, so that we could identify our
position better. The rest was "you're an idiot for taking any risk,"
which isn't very useful. I hope you all feel better.

In my defense, boats have been crossing Lake Michigan safely before GPS
was invented, and boats with radios and flares are almost invariably
found quickly in good weather. In fact, one of my GF's relatives
navigated across the lake in a bathtub with just a compass.

That said, I did have my lucky hat on.

We will be taking a Power Squadron or Coast Guard class this winter.
They're 40 minutes to an hour drive each way but worth the effort. My
main concern is my travel schedule (I'm away a lot on business), so we
have to find one long class, or a stretch of time where I can attend
several weeks in a row (not likely).

For what it's worth, I have passed two on-line boating classes
boatsafe.com and Boatus.org.

My GF did have a place for us in Hammond Indiana -- not far from Chicago
Harbor, if we couldn't find one in Chicago. And Chicago is visible for
many miles into the lake.

Fog: There wasn't a wisp of cloud cover for Saturday and Sunday, nor was
there anything on Doppler anywhere close to us. It was bright and sunny
and warm from the moment we started until the moment we stopped. We had
rain predicted for Monday, which hit on schedule. What I didn't know
was that the "under 1 foot" predictions were for the near-shore areas,
within 5 miles of the coast, and that farther out the waves would be
unpredictable.

PS: three beers in three hours for a 200lb man is not exactly pounding
them down. I wasn't driving at that point either.