OPEN LAKE FORECAST FOR LAKE MICHIGAN

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours..." -Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

NOAA Lake Michigan open water forecast:

GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 AM CST WEDNESDAY...
...STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM CST WEDNESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING...
...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT...
.REST OF TONIGHT...EAST GALES TO 40 KT BECOMING SOUTHEAST STORM FORCE WINDS TO 50 KT. SNOW...OCCASIONALLY MIXED WITH RAIN OR SLEET. WAVES 14 TO 18 FT.
.WEDNESDAY...SOUTHEAST GALES TO 45 KT VEERING TO WEST STORM FORCE WINDS TO 50 KT. RAIN THROUGH MID MORNING. SNOW IN THE MORNING...
THEN CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. WAVES 12 TO 16 FT BUILDING TO 14 TO 18 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...NORTHWEST STORM FORCE WINDS TO 50 KT BECOMING WEST GALES TO 40 KT. CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE EVENING...THEN SNOW SHOWERS OVERNIGHT. WAVES 14 TO 18 FT.
.THURSDAY...WEST GALES TO 40 KT. CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. WAVES 14 TO 18 FT.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...WEST GALES TO 40 KT. CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. WAVES 14 TO 18 FT.
.FRIDAY...WEST GALES TO 35 KT DIMINISHING TO 30 KT. WAVES 12 TO 16 FT.

Not exactly conditions that make for an ideal sail! The wind is howling like hell out there right now! It's still 34 degrees Fahrenheit so lets hope most of the snow melts before the temperature drops. What I wouldn't do for an 85 degree day with an icy cold PBR and a 10 knot breeze off my beam!

Note regarding the picture: This is an image from weather.com