A few notes on boating Lake Michigan

 

·        The weather controls everything!

 

·        Weather forecasting on Lake Michigan is very unreliable; if we stay put because of a small craft advisory; you can be sure the storm will move south or north, and it could have been a great day to make way.

 

·        While underway you must always keep a close eye for fish traps and nets set by the local tribes along Lake Michigan. They are marked only with a small red flag. You can't see the flags until you are a hundred feet from them. As soon as you see one you have to look for the second flag marking the other side of the net (which may be behind you, because you are already in the net area), then slow down and go around and sometimes you find one or more additional nets in the same area pushing you off course. We only get one mile to the gallon so it can cost you $5 to $10 to go around them. The local tribes are the only ones who can use gillnets and if you hit one you buy it, not to mention they can tangle up in your props.

 

·        Maneuvering the boat in tight areas is going well. We have gone down numerous narrow channels, turned and parked with just a couple of feet of clearance on each side. But, I am trying not to get to confident.

  

·        Check the engine room regularly; if you find a nut, screw, wire, oil spot, or water on the floor of the bilge that you haven’t seen before, YOU BETTER FIND OUT WHERE IT CAME FROM!

 

·        Your wife can be a great crew member (and of course mine is), but wives do not like to take advice or be told what to do by a husband; however they are quick to let you know that you didn’t tell them that!!

 

·       Slow down and avoid small fishing boats when passing them, your wake looks like a 3 foot wave to them.

·         Most marina’s have deck hands to help you get in your slip. Most deck hands are great, but some can be more trouble than help. As our friend Dick told me “Hey the deck hands are young students and this is their summer job, they need the money so you should tip them”.

 

·         For our size boat; We can make way if the NOAA weather forecasts suggest less than 20 kt winds and seas less than 6 foot. It will be rough, but our boat handles it well. You do need to check other weather sources and a radar before trusting one weather report.