Seven days ahead

For sea-doo / personal watercraft tomorrow, this is a good day, scoring 77 out of 100 across daylight hours. Waves range from 0.2 m (0.7 ft) to 0.4 m (1.5 ft), with wind from the W gusting to 22 knots at its worst. Daylight runs 7:15 AM to 8:38 PM. The best window is 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM (5 hours), and the single best hour is around 9 AM. In that window the water runs to about 0.3 m (1 ft) with wind to 11 knots. After 2:00 PM the best you will get is good, with the water running toward 0.3 m (1.1 ft), so plan to be back on the trailer by then. Earlier in the day it only reaches poor, so there is no advantage to launching at first light. Conditions flip back and forth through the day rather than settling, so treat any window as provisional and keep checking. What is working against you, at the worst of it: Visibility down to 0.3 km. Superior fog forms fast over cold water and it will hide the shoreline and other traffic. Do not go out without a chart plotter. Worth watching: The shore says 16 C, but moving across the water it will feel more like 14 C. Nice enough in the sun, nippy the moment you stop. Splash top and a warm layer under it. You will cool off fast the moment you stop moving. Water is 14 C. Survivable but genuinely cold. Assume you have well under an hour of useful movement if you end up in it. In your favour, at the best of it: 17 C on shore, feeling like 14 C on the ski. Splash top and a warm layer under it. You will cool off fast the moment you stop moving. Light chop at 0.2 m (0.8 ft), biggest sets around 0.4 m (1.2 ft). Comfortable. Light at 1 knots from the NNW. Nothing to fight.

For sea-doo / personal watercraft on Friday, Sep 4, this is a good day, scoring 80 out of 100 across daylight hours. Waves range from 0.1 m (0.3 ft) to 0.4 m (1.2 ft), with wind from the N gusting to 15 knots at its worst. Daylight runs 7:19 AM to 8:32 PM. The best window is 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM (13 hours), and the single best hour is around 8 AM. In that window the water runs to about 0.4 m (1.2 ft) with wind to 9 knots. Worth watching: The shore says 15 C, but moving across the water it will feel more like 11 C. Nice enough in the sun, nippy the moment you stop. Wetsuit or a proper drysuit top. A hoodie will be soaked and useless in ten minutes. Water is 14 C. Survivable but genuinely cold. Assume you have well under an hour of useful movement if you end up in it. Gusts to 11 knots, which is 10 knots above the steady wind. Squally, uneven air like this makes handling unpredictable and kicks up chop in bursts. In your favour, at the best of it: Near flat at 0.1 m (0.3 ft). This is as good as this lake gets. Light at 2 knots from the N. Nothing to fight.

For sea-doo / personal watercraft on Saturday, Sep 5, this is a good day, scoring 78 out of 100 across daylight hours. Waves range from 0.2 m (0.5 ft) to 0.3 m (1.1 ft), with wind from the NE gusting to 18 knots at its worst. Daylight runs 7:20 AM to 8:30 PM. The best window is 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM (12 hours), and the single best hour is around 9 AM. In that window the water runs to about 0.3 m (1.1 ft) with wind to 10 knots. Earlier in the day it only reaches marginal, so there is no advantage to launching at first light. What is working against you, at the worst of it: It is 13 C on shore but only about 7 C once you are on the ski and wet. That is 6 degrees of wind chill and spray you cannot see from the parking lot. Wetsuit or a proper drysuit top. A hoodie will be soaked and useless in ten minutes. Worth watching: Water is 14 C. Survivable but genuinely cold. Assume you have well under an hour of useful movement if you end up in it. Gusts to 18 knots, which is 14 knots above the steady wind. Squally, uneven air like this makes handling unpredictable and kicks up chop in bursts. In your favour, at the best of it: Near flat at 0.2 m (0.5 ft). This is as good as this lake gets. Light at 5 knots from the ENE. Nothing to fight.

For sea-doo / personal watercraft on Sunday, Sep 6, this is a good day, scoring 84 out of 100 across daylight hours. Waves range from 0.2 m (0.6 ft) to 0.3 m (1.1 ft), with wind from the E gusting to 15 knots at its worst. Daylight runs 7:21 AM to 8:28 PM. The best window is 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM (4 hours), and the single best hour is around 1 PM. In that window the water runs to about 0.3 m (1.1 ft) with wind to 7 knots. After 5:00 PM the best you will get is good, with the water running toward 0.3 m (1 ft), so plan to be back on the trailer by then. Earlier in the day it only reaches good, so there is no advantage to launching at first light. Worth watching: The shore says 13 C, but moving across the water it will feel more like 8 C. Nice enough in the sun, nippy the moment you stop. Wetsuit or a proper drysuit top. A hoodie will be soaked and useless in ten minutes. Water is 14 C. Survivable but genuinely cold. Assume you have well under an hour of useful movement if you end up in it. In your favour, at the best of it: 21 C on shore, feeling like 15 C on the ski. Splash top and a warm layer under it. You will cool off fast the moment you stop moving. Light chop at 0.2 m (0.7 ft), biggest sets around 0.3 m (1.1 ft). Comfortable. Light at 7 knots from the SSE. Nothing to fight.