Drove into town last night with my wife to check out the sunset and get ice cream. Almost all the boats are hurrying to get off of Lake Michigan. Time to get off the water when you can see and hear the weather threat. Ten minutes later there was a hard downpour so some of those boaters got wet for sure.
Earlier this week on a small,local lake we watched (and heard) another weather front move in. Time to get off the water when the sky turns from blue to black, the coonhound is whining because of the thunder, and the young kayakers on the lake are giggling about how much time they have before the rain hits. They got wet.
A squall like that blew into Mears State Park at Pentwater (on Lake Michigan) 35 years ago last month and drowned my cousin’s husband and 13 year old son, both experienced and strong local swimmers who had headed out to body surf on what seemed to be a bright and clear breezy day. Witnesses said the even lines of 1 foot rollers turned into a churning cauldron of confused 4 to 5 foot waves within minutes. Both bodies were found badly battered, presumably bashed against the rocks of the harbor jetty.
