Here are a few things from my experience to add to what has been said.
You shouldn't make concrete plans for sailing on a particular day or
weekend in the spring or fall, but it would be unlikely that you will have 3
really bad weekends in a row. The weather on Lake Erie is nothing if not
variable and the forcasts are not real reliable beyond a day or two.
I would not skimp on weather exposure gear. The water is deadly cold in
the spring. I bought some real ugly bright orange fleece lined rubber gloves
that are just the ticket for helming when it is cold and wet. There are
some nasty shoals in the western end of the lake, so proper charts are a
must. I would not rule out spring or fall trips, but the only way I know is
to be ready and then wait for a window of opportunity.
We went from Port Stanley to Erieau and back on a 27 foot C&C in the
middle of October this year and had a great time. It was the Canadian
Thanksgiving weekend and I had wanted to go the previous 2 years, but did
not mainly due to weather. I have found that provisioning for hot food and
drinks while underway is a really good idea.

Here is a link for the Canadian forcast for western Lake Erie.
Take a look around the site, they have a fair bit of data.
There is ice information there, when there is ice, as well as current radar
for precipitation.
http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/marine...e_e.html?45132

This link is a U.S. text forcast that I use all the time as well.

http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/data/raw...cle.glf.le.txt


Steve Thomas,

on the north shore.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Long"
Newsgroups: rec.boats.cruising
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 5:27 AM
Subject: Would like Lake Erie reports


Thanks guys, this is finally getting to the solid advice I was looking
for.
I'll probably have to do some of this trip in the dark and I would hate to
hit a chunk of left over ice or a tree trunk. Even in the daytime, it
would
be hard to see either. I'll plan on early June or a longer trip.

--

Roger Long





"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
Thanks guys, this is finally getting to the solid advice I was looking
for.
I'll probably have to do some of this trip in the dark and I would hate to
hit a chunk of left over ice or a tree trunk. Even in the daytime, it
would
be hard to see either. I'll plan on early June or a longer trip.

--

Roger Long