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 young
er 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.