Amen! Every tournament we have on St. Clair, Detroit River, Saginaw Bay,
and Lake Erie in bad weather we have a few folks injured and boats severely
damaged. I remember one tournament were a friend came off the water and he
was peeing blood. Another were a friend pulled off the water in his brand
new Champion with a cracked hull and transom. Both times, they were pushing
their boats too hard for the conditions.

I run the shoreline in those conditions and make a 90° cut to my spot to
minimize my open water travel. Motor Trimmed down, 20-30-mph top speed,
Zig/Zagging through the waves. Turning at the crest of the wave. No Macho
Man here, big waves make me nervous, 6-8 footers scare the hell out of me.
I'll be smiling and laughing, but trust me, it is only to cover up my fear!
That is the bad thing about TD's judging conditions from the protected
launch area; they don't see the monster waves. "Looks like 1-2-footers
gentlemen, take it easy." 1-2 footers at shore means, 4,5,6-footers in the
open water. Hell, calm water at the shore means 2-3 footers in the open
water. Am I lying Jerry?

--
Craig Baugher
Be Confident, Focused, but most of all Have FUN!