Thanks again, all!!
Tony B. is that Queensland, Australia?
I am an experienced life-long sailor. I have owned Sunfish, butterfly, catamaran, and windsurfers. However, I'm sick of the catamaran. I need a change. I'm thinking of getting a laser. What I want to know is, can a laser handle Lake Michigan on a rough day? Or should I get a more durable, perhaps less performance oriented boat?
Right! When Chuck Norris jumps in a lake, he doesn't get wet. The lake gets Chuck Norrised.The REAL question is: can Lake Michigan handle a Laser? LOL...
On the right day, it can be a mill pond and the wrong day you can meet up with 50' waves and 70+knot winds. Blackburn chose a time of year when the conditions would be favourable and then gave himself from memory a 14 day weather period to do the crossing. The chances of him meeting up with the Bass Straight it's extreme were negligible. I'm not taking away from the feat, but there was a lot of planning involved to make it an easy but long day sailing, with minimal risk or chances of poor weather.Don't forget that Blackburn sailed the Bass Straights in a Laser! That place has destroyed many large 70+ foot boats.
Random question... as I havn't done much big freshwater sailing... What accounts for the differences in the swells between fresh and salt water? Is it due to the salinity of the water? Tides? Less aggressive bottom topography?