Yesterday’s marine forecast went beyond “small craft advisory” to “gale warning,” meaning winds between 34 and 47 knots (or 39 to 54 miles per hour). Those winds were coming straight out of the west, so the lake looked flat but we knew that paddling on it would be a challenge.
We have enough experience by now that we know what we can and can’t handle. Years ago, we would have stayed off the water on days with such strong off-shore winds, but now we’re pretty confident that we can paddle against winds up to about 40 knots, and even enjoy them up to about 35 knots. Since these winds were right on the edge of that range, we decided to mostly stay closer to shore.
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| When the winds are out of the west, the area closest to the Chicago shore is flattest. |
