06-14-2018, 01:37 AM
Aside from all the right equipment and getting used to handling your boat. Always error on the side of caution.
The biggest thing IMO is to always have an escape area in mind. The last few years that could have been any shoreline but not this year with all the phragmites. My biggest fear in a wind storm on UL would be getting trapped against the phragmites with 4 or 5 footers bearing down on you. It would be so easy to get a foot or both tied up with each wave knocking you down because you can’t catch your balance. Then if you do get free you only have 30 more yards to go through that tangled mess.
A few years ago at Pineview we were with sone friends on east side of the lake with ski boat. It was a beautiful day the breeze maybe 10 MPH. I was standing in the water helping a young skier get ready to ski. I heard my wife start yelling from the beach that her phone just gave her a high wind warning. When I looked back to the west I saw a wall of dust and mist coming right at us. I yelled at the driver (it was his 2nd trip out as new boat owner) to go south to a smaller protected cove, turn on the ballast pump and fill them as much as possible. Go as far as you can but turn the boat west into the waves when they hit and keep it that way until you hit west shoreline. He had a couple of waves that came over the bow a little on the way over bet he was able to hang out in some relatively calm water. I had just enough time to get the youngster out of his skis and to the shore. 10 to 70 MPH wind speeds in less than minute. 3 boats anchored at shore near us were swamped. The docks at the slips on the west side were ripped from their anchors and several thousands of dollars in damages to all the boats in the slips. I would bet bet there were some on this site that were on the lake that day as well.
Always have an escape route. We got lucky that day. That was the last thing on my mind with that big boat we were playing in.
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The biggest thing IMO is to always have an escape area in mind. The last few years that could have been any shoreline but not this year with all the phragmites. My biggest fear in a wind storm on UL would be getting trapped against the phragmites with 4 or 5 footers bearing down on you. It would be so easy to get a foot or both tied up with each wave knocking you down because you can’t catch your balance. Then if you do get free you only have 30 more yards to go through that tangled mess.
A few years ago at Pineview we were with sone friends on east side of the lake with ski boat. It was a beautiful day the breeze maybe 10 MPH. I was standing in the water helping a young skier get ready to ski. I heard my wife start yelling from the beach that her phone just gave her a high wind warning. When I looked back to the west I saw a wall of dust and mist coming right at us. I yelled at the driver (it was his 2nd trip out as new boat owner) to go south to a smaller protected cove, turn on the ballast pump and fill them as much as possible. Go as far as you can but turn the boat west into the waves when they hit and keep it that way until you hit west shoreline. He had a couple of waves that came over the bow a little on the way over bet he was able to hang out in some relatively calm water. I had just enough time to get the youngster out of his skis and to the shore. 10 to 70 MPH wind speeds in less than minute. 3 boats anchored at shore near us were swamped. The docks at the slips on the west side were ripped from their anchors and several thousands of dollars in damages to all the boats in the slips. I would bet bet there were some on this site that were on the lake that day as well.
Always have an escape route. We got lucky that day. That was the last thing on my mind with that big boat we were playing in.
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