A Healthy Respect for Great Lakes Weather

Published: Saturday, October 18, 2025 10:00 am
By: Ken Quant

There’s nothing better than a Great Lakes summer. Fresh water, friendly winds, and long days combine to make a sailing paradise. However, a few recent sailing incidents reinforce the fact that weather up here can be extreme. This is especially true for sailors who don’t have the option of outrunning storms like their power boating friends.

In each incident, racing sailors were hit by high winds and heavy seas in violent thunderstorms. During this year’s Bayview Mackinac Race, a sailor was thrown overboard during a squall. Thankfully, he was recovered, but the rescue took over an hour and involved the person being picked up by a fellow competitor. In another incident, a 55-foot sailboat sank off the western shore of Lake Michigan during a violent storm. The boat’s rudder broke off, leading to such rapid water intrusion that the five sailors aboard had to abandon ship. All five were rescued by the Coast Guard, but it took over 90 terrifying minutes.

Thankfully, everyone survived, but the simple fact that they were tempting fate against the incredible power of Midwestern squalls makes me question, why? Having ridden out several storms during offshore races, I understand the risk. People spend months planning their involvement in these races, and by the time the start comes along, it’s hard to back out no matter the forecast. Groupthink takes precedent, and a skipper would rarely decide to pull the plug based on a predicted squall at the risk of looking weak or disappointing their crew.

Hubris understood, what has always amazed me are the skippers who decide to sail straight into a squall with full sails, trying to save a few minutes. I’ve heard countless stories about racers carrying spinnakers into an approaching squall only to get knocked over by the winds. This usually leads to chaos at a minimum and life-threatening danger at the worst, while inevitably resulting in a loss of race position. It would have been much easier, safer, and faster for them to shorten sails ahead of time to see what the storm had to offer before redeploying and carrying on.

In the case of the sunken boat, it was being delivered for the start of the Chicago Mac race. The storm they fell victim to was predicted to be exceptionally strong. My guess is that the pressure of getting to the race in time drove the decision to stay out, even though there were numerous safe harbors available along the way.

What we should all take away from these events is a healthy respect for our amazing Great Lakes weather. Our midlatitude squall lines are known to be some of the world’s most powerful, and the Great Lakes are right in the center of their fury. So next time you’re heading out to sail, be sure to check the forecast and be smart about the realities of our occasionally dangerous storms.

tags: Boating Safety, Great Lakes Sailing, Great Lakes Weather, Offshore Sailing, Racing Incidents, Sailing Safety, Seamanship, Squalls, Storm Preparedness, Weather Awareness