A Ying and Yang Weekend

As usual, I don’t use the weather forecast to determine if we go sailing or not. I go and see for myself what the actual conditions are in our part of the lake. Well, the weather forecasters got it right on Saturday. They forecasted big winds (20-25 knots) and big waves (to 9 feet) and the winds and waves were both big. So we did not venture out, mainly due to the wave heights.

The split view shows a boat that ventured out of the harbor.
On the right side she is on the crest of a wave and
on the left side she has dipped into the trough. 

Waves crashing over the breakwater

On Sunday, my brother, a friend and I went out. The winds were much lighter at 5 – 8 knots and the waves were in the 1 – 3 foot range. It was not an exciting sail, but a casual one. 

I did try out the waterproof feature of my video camera by dipping it along side the boat to see what the bottom of the hull looks like.

Relaxing on the foredeck

Click here for- >Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-29

Bright, Breezy, Brisk, Sailing

On Saturday I went sailing with a couple friends.

Joe at the helm

It was a bright mostly sunny day, breezy with winds that started out in the 5-8 knot range then grew to the 8-12 knot range and a brisk temperature of 70 degrees.

Bright, Breezy, and Brisk

It was very enjoyable.

Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-14

Small Craft Advisory Again!?

On Saturday I went sailing with my wife. We were delayed a few hours waiting for a storm to pass and were not able to leave the marina until 4:00 pm. While we waited, we did a couple tasks in the cabin, did a little touch up painting on the port rub rail and saw a few WWII era fighter planes fly over from a nearby air show. When we finally got out the winds were light but picked up to about 10 knots after about a half hour. We had an short but enjoyable sail.
 

RADAR Progression

Turned out to be a nice sail

 

On Sunday I went sailing with my brother and a friend. The forecast was identical to last Sunday’s with a small craft advisory and forecasted winds 20 – 25 knots and waves 5 – 6 feet with an occasional 10 footer. Again, the forecast wasn’t accurate for the Waukegan area and we actually had winds 15-20 knots with 2-3 foot waves with an occasional 5 footer. We had an excellent sail with the rail in the water a few times.

 

Rail in the water

 

Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-07
(I forgot to turn on the GPS Sunday)

Small Craft Advisory? Really?

On Saturday I went sailing with friends from work. The morning brought storms across the entire area, but had passed over the Waukegan area by 9:00. We left the dock at 11:30 to overcast skies, but they cleared after about an hour and a half. Winds started out light in the 5 knot range and then grew a bit to the 10 knot range. Wave were in the 1-2 foot range.

It was a nice leisurely sail.

On Sunday my brother and I went out. The day started out with little wind then dropped to zero for a while. At 1:00, as if someone turned on a fan, the winds went from 0 to about 10 knots and then to 15 knots for the rest of the afternoon. Waves were in the 1-3 foot range.

It was a good sail.

On Sunday, the NOAA marine forecast had a small craft advisory in effect. For Lake Michigan that means “Sustained winds or frequent gusts between 22 and 33 knots inclusive, and/or seas or waves greater than 4 feet.” The forecast was for winds in the 20-25 knot range and waves 5-6 feet with an occasional 10 footer with winds and waves decreasing throughout the afternoon.

If the waves were actually getting to 10 feet, we would not have gone out sailing. Based on my experience though, over the last couple years, I know better than to base my sailing on a NOAA weather forecast. So, my brother and I decided to go to the boat and see for ourselves what the weather was like.

When we got there winds were less than 10 knots and waves were in the 1-3 foot range.

So we went out, had an excellent sail and had the “rail in the water” a couple times.

Rail in the Water

Even though the forecast called for decreasing winds and wave through the afternoon, we experienced just the opposite. While we were out winds built to 20 knots and waves to 2-4 feet with an occasional 6 footer thrown in for good measure.

Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-08-31
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-01
Click here for- > Google Earth GPS Track 2013-09-02