23' Wave Sets Record at Lake Michigan's South Buoy

[ADMPRTR]

23-foot wave sets record at Lake Michigan's south buoy | MLive.com

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by ADMPRTR

23-foot wave sets record at Lake Michigan's south buoy | MLive.com

Can you surf on one of those?anywhere on the lakes?..DVC

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

Can you surf on one of those?anywhere on the lakes?..DVC

I saw surfers during the remnants of a hurricane (I believe Isabel) in Lake Ontario. The waves at that point were only 10ft or so.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by ADMPRTR

I saw surfers during the remnants of a hurricane (I believe Isabel) in Lake Ontario. The waves at that point were only 10ft or so.

Only!! Thanks..DVC

[eastendsailor]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

Can you surf on one of those?anywhere on the lakes?..DVC

See the 'Unsalted' section of the film Step Into Liquid, featuring a crew of middle-aged surf dudes who hit it in Cheboygan when the weather cooperates!

[MichaelC]

It ain't the height, it's the frequency ..... Given the topography, those waves are probably not only high, but very steep and close together. 23' waves on the open ocean are simply fun. In that lake, they must be dangerous as hell ....

[S/V Alchemy]

^ ^ ^

True. The short period makes for steep "square" waves. Better 25 feet in the Atlantic than 12 feet on the Lakes, from my experience counting bruises.

[Palarran]

It isn't just the height and frequency but also that 8' of the top is breaking. Surprisingly, the photo's really don't look that bad.

[ADMPRTR]

During the hurricane that "almost" hit the Great Lakes I have to admit that I went out for a short sail before the high winds came (I was younger and more foolish). As I noted, those were about 10ft waves trough to crest.

What struck me was that they were NOT the typical square waves that I was used to in Lake Ontario during a big wind but long rollers with a fairly long period. I think it because the wind hadn't picked up yet (perhaps 20kt) they were coming in from Rochester to Toronto and had an opportunity to lose some of their power.

I anyway, everyone at the club thought we were suicidal but I had a ball. We only sailed for 30 minutes or so and then returned to the club to triple tie the boats to the docks.

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Surprisingly, the photo's really don't look that bad.

This summer we were in waves that were at least 6ft and sometimes 10ft (when the boat was in the trough, all we could see was water and sky). I took a couple pictures and all of them made the waves look like ripples in a pond (in relation to what we saw)...