And it gets even better

Now NOAA is forecasting winds to 55kts and waves to 16 ft. The wind is supposed to set in late this evening and continue until Tuesday afternoon/evening. That gives me some time today to rig up some extra lines and chafe protection in preparation. This'll be fun!

LAKE MICHIGAN FROM ST. JOSEPH TO SOUTH HAVEN MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO
MID LAKE-
247 PM CDT SUN SEP 27 2009
...STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON...
.TONIGHT...SOUTHWEST WINDS TO 30 KT...SHIFTING NORTHWEST AND INCREASING TO STORM FORCE WINDS TO 50 KT OVERNIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS IN THE EVENING...THEN SHOWERS LIKELY. SOME STORMS MAY BE SEVERE. WAVES 5 TO 7 FT BUILDING TO 12 TO 16 FT OVERNIGHT.
.MONDAY...NORTHWEST STORM FORCE WINDS TO 55 KT. CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 14 TO 18 FT.
.MONDAY NIGHT...NORTHWEST STORM FORCE WINDS TO 55 KT DIMINISHING TO 50 KT. CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 14 TO 18 FT.
.TUESDAY...NORTHWEST GALES TO 40 KT DIMINISHING TO GALES TO 35 KT. CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 10 TO 14 FT SUBSIDING TO 7 TO 10 FT.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...NORTH WINDS TO 30 KT DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 20 KT. CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 8 FT.

Yesterday, which started out drizzly and nasty, ended up being quite nice. I got on the water about noon and had a pleasant sail under drifter and main with about 5kts of wind. The sky was patchy gray with bits of sunlight peeking through. As a gray band of storm clouds approached around 1500, the wind picked up to 15-18kts. I doused the drifter and unfurled the jib. Ariel steamed along at over 6kts, dipping her rail in the water. Once I tucked a reef in the main, she sat a bit more upright and continued to cruise right along, taking spray over the bow and charging through the waves. There were a few other boats out, all of which Ariel promptly overtook.