Lake Erie Raising Heck Right Now!

[Instigator]

Click the link bellow
http://www.lakevision.com/camera_10.htm
there is normally a dock in that picture :eek!: it's normally about 3' above water level.used to be a PWC on a davit there also :wavey:
when that lake kicks it up, YOWSER!
Thought you guys might enjoy it.
BTW, the link will not work if you have cookies disabled.
Gary

[Instigator]

click this one:
http://www.lakevision.com/camera_4.htm
different island 3 FREAGIN MILES AWAY and almost dead calm!!!
people head out where it's calm, round and island and **** hit's the fan!!
will screw your whole weekend up if not prepared for it!!
sorry but I'm bored. 35 and snowing here!
don't have blocks back yet to start assembling power heads and it's too cold for glass work!
ARGH!

[Magicallbill]

I have retreated to the South shore of Kelly's and South bass many-a-time when the wind blows out of the North.
I have been in Cedar Point Marina when a cold front goes thru,the winds go N-NE,the lake starts pitchin',and nobody in anything under 40 Feet can go to their next destination. As a result,the waiting list backs up with incoming boats wanting off the lake, and no one wanting to leave and deal with the seas. Most of these amusement park patrons have small kids onboard that would be scared if they had to deal with that kind of offshore trip.
I have also spend many-a relaxing hour anchored in the half-moon cove on the North Shore of Kelley's when the winds are Southerly and it's pancake-flat in the cove.

I miss Lake Erie.....

Thanks for the camera shots,

Magical Bill

[Instigator]

Very well said and 100% agreed on all accounts.
It has laid down since I posted the link this morning. When I first put it up, the waves were breaking over the dock in the picture on Kelly's.
The hose shoe bay on S. side of Kelly's is one of my favorite places.
I remember one tim on a trip from Vermilion to Pelee island that I was altering course to avoid a thiunder storm coming from the South and was feeling pretty cocking when I could run rite up to the rain line w/o getting wet when I noticed a second storm coming from the North and was going to hit me no matter what.
I dropped anchor in that bay and took shelter in the cuddy uhtil the second storm passed.
Remember another time being anchored off the beach at Pelee on the 4th of July
and we could see the fire works at Cedar Point, PIB and Sandusky all at the same time.
Best part was there was a massive thunderstorm to the S. of the fireworks that you could see at the same time.
Mother nature put on the best show of all and was something I'll never forget!!

[Magicallbill]

Hey Instigator,
Great story! After thinking about it,Pelee would be a great place to see all the fireworks;On a clear nite that would be the real deal,especially with the storm thrown in!
One phenomenon that still perplexes me is the wierd chop that seems to always surround the island area. I know, some of it is ferry&cruiser wakes,but anytime theres a wind it's there. You know as well as I,short,confused,steep seas. It's like a swimming pool on 4th of July weekend;waves every direction.
I hate to think what fuel will be at Put-In&Cedar Point this summer......
MB

[Instigator]

yeah Pelee was cool. we almost missed it do to the storm. We were already at dock on far end of island for safety but I kept listing to the weather forceast whish was saying storm was staying 30 mi's south of us so we risked it and were paid back by being the only boat on the beach and seeing that incredible display.

On that island passage.... w/o question the worst stretch of water on the entire lake. I have crossed from the Canadian side with great water the whole way and run 55/60 MPH's the entire 40 miles until the stretch and then done 25 MPH the last 5 miles through the islands/Sandusky Bay while getting our fillings rattled!

You hit on a big part of the cause. WAKES! Coming from every direction. Then you have flow/current coming north out of the Sandusky Bay/River, S.E. from the Detroit River, and straight South from the Canadian side of the lake past all the islands and then if the wind is blowing on top of it..........looks like a washing machine on the "agitate" cycle :)

On fuel prices, I'm afraid to even think about it!

[Magicallbill]

Hi Instigator,
Good points;I hadn't thought of the currents you mentioned,but that makes sense;It would explain why it's so unruly in that area. Get on the East side of the Sandusky Pierhead Light and it's a whole other world with a Southerly offshore wind.
One more question:
Have you ever experienced any seiches? I'm never there often enough to catch the kind of storm or continous wind that would cause one. I talked to one of the salesmen at Beaver Park marina(Lorain)that said a few years ago they had a West wind of such magnitude that the river there dropped 2-3 feet as all of Lake Erie went&piled up at Buffalo.

That would be too wierd....

Then what happens when it all sloshes back the other way??I've heard of people getting washed off jetties&the like..
MB

[Instigator]

Never heard the term before??
If you're refering to the "tide" then yes.
Have been in Port Clinton (shore side town) for the weekend and have a strong wind out of the South and what is normally 2' to 3' deap is dry enough to walk on w/o getting your shoes wet and then back to 3' deep the next day when the wind either dies or shifts.
As shallow as the lake is in most points, it is almost totally controlled by the wind.
I "got educated" about it probably 20 yrs ago while tied off the rocks on the edge of down town PIB.
There is a metal drain pipe that's made 24" diameter that comes out of the edge of the shore line and then drops into the water at an angle before dissapearing under water.
It used to be the last place to tie off cause every one was scared to get their boat close to it.
Anyhow, I was on one side and an "old timer" was on the other when a "blow" kicked up out of the south.
What you would do to get away with tying off there is to toss an anchor off the transom and then idle up to the shore line and tie to what ever was close.
So this guy beside me starts loosening his bow line and pulling his boat off the shore with his stearn anchor and warns me to do the same thng because the "tide" was going out from this storm.
I laughed at the guy buy fortunately he convinced me cause I watched that section of pipe that was 24" under water become totally exposed in about 20 mins or so!!!
Never forgot that lesson.
Thank God I was on the boat to get it!!

[Magicallbill]

Yeah,
Seiche(I'm not 100% sure of the spelling)is actually pronounced,"saysche" and is the term used to describe the fluctuation in lake levels that we're talkin' about. Obviously,the Great Lakes are tideless;The ocean tidal effects are caused by the Moon,gravitational pull,etc. and they occur on a predictable,regular timetable.
The lake levels are changed when the winds blow,so,technically,the word "tide" is incorrect when describing the lake water level variations,although it's easy to just say that,as that term comes to mind when water levels go up or down.(Isn't Put-In-Bay actually South Bass Island? I read in a crusing guide that Put-In-Bay was just the harbor area,and now, the whole island is referred to as that,as the distinction of what was what got blurred.)
Anyway,whatever terminology you attach to it,Seiches are apart of boating on the lakes,I just haven't experienced it yet. I've also been told that there's a current underneath the Mac Bridge in the Straits that reverses direction every couple months or so,but I haven't experienced that personally.
Spring is almost upon us;Have a good season,
Magical Bill