Standing Orders for the Lakes Log

A ship’s-log reading of Great Lakes weather

The log translates the official forecast. It does not replace a warning, a GLF, or a harbor master who knows the bar.

Why keep the log in this talk?

  • Make marine weather memorable — fetch, glass, and small craft stick better than a wall of knots
  • Translate NWS products into orders for this watch
  • Keep a calm deck without softening a gale
  • Always send you back to official notices when they are posted

How the marks work

Six levels, the same science Echo and the woods use, written as a lake would keep them:

0 Fine
→
1 Lump
→
2 Small craft
→
3 Gale
→
4 Below
→
5 Harbor

Each mark carries a number, a name, a plate in the log, a remark from the keeper or captain, orders for the watch, and the official NWS language it stands in for.

Level 0

Fine for the Breakwater

A lighthouse keeper trimming a lantern on a calm Great Lakes breakwater

The keeper — has the lamp trimmed and nothing particular to report

On the water

  • Light airs or a calm fetch
  • Harbor and breakwater easy
  • No marine alerts on the board

Orders for this watch

Walk the pier if you like. Mind the spray anyway — habit is cheaper than regret.

Official equivalents

  • No marine alerts
  • Light winds
“A still fetch. The breakwater took the morning without complaint.”
Level 1

A Bit of a Lump

A deckhand on a working deck watching a short steep chop off the harbor mouth

The deckhand — watches the chop and pretends not to

On the water

  • A short steep lump or chop
  • Clouds making up, or a light drizzle
  • The bar beginning to mutter

Orders for this watch

Small boats keep an eye on the sky. Hats stay on. Plans may still proceed.

Official equivalents

  • No alert
  • Elevated nearshore chop
“A short steep lump off the harbor mouth. Nothing a sensible boat cannot abide.”
Level 2

Small Craft, If You Please

A captain looking twice at the barometer while whitecaps build beyond the wheelhouse

The captain — has already looked twice at the glass

On the water

  • Whitecaps in the open
  • Small Craft Advisory weather
  • Wind finding the fetch

Orders for this watch

Small craft stay in, or go with someone who knows the bar. Allow extra time along the shore.

Official equivalents

  • Small Craft Advisory
  • Wind Advisory
  • Beach hazards
“Whitecaps in the open. The harbor looks more intelligent than it did at breakfast.”
Level 3

Gale Building

A keeper on a lighthouse gallery as spray sheets over the wall in a building gale

The keeper — keeps the log in a firmer hand

On the water

  • Gale building, or a determined sea
  • Thunder, heavy rain, or a flooding risk
  • Spray over the wall

Orders for this watch

Stay off the open water. Secure what can blow. Check again after the next watch.

Official equivalents

  • Gale Warning
  • Flood Watch
  • Severe Thunderstorm Watch
“The lake has dropped the pretense of manners. The light is for more than courtesy now.”
Level 4

All Hands Below

A Great Lakes freighter in a damaging sea, hands going below as the captain points for harbor

The captain — means the harbor, and does not mean later

On the water

  • Storm-force wind or a damaging sea
  • Severe thunderstorms or ice
  • Travel along the shore becoming dangerous

Orders for this watch

Ashore. Inland of the spray. Follow official instruction without debate.

Official equivalents

  • Storm Warning
  • Severe Thunderstorm Warning
  • Winter Storm Warning
“No one argues with a sea like this. The walls that matter are the ones already around you.”
Level 5

Seek the Nearest Harbor

A vessel running for a harbor mouth under a lighthouse beam in a black storm

The captain — will not take the next watch as an answer

On the water

  • Hurricane-force wind, tornado, or a flash flood emergency
  • A destructive storm in progress
  • Life-threatening conditions on the water or the open shore

Orders for this watch

Get off the water and off the open shore. Innermost room, away from windows. Do exactly what the officials say.

Official equivalents

  • Hurricane Force Wind Warning
  • Tornado Warning
  • Flash Flood Emergency
“There is only the nearest solid ground, the lowest room, and staying put until someone official says otherwise.”

Who keeps the book

The large remark and the illustration at the top of the live log follow the level. The quote under orders follows the weather itself — wind, rain, and notices on the board.

The keeper The lighthouse. Speaks when the forecast mentions the light, the glass, and whether the fetch is still honest.
The deckhand On deck. Speaks when the forecast mentions chop, spray, and anything that wants to come adrift.
The captain The wheelhouse. Speaks when the forecast mentions when small craft should stay in, and when all hands come below.

Watch versus Warning

Watch

Keep a weather eye. Trouble may make up on this fetch.

Prepare. Stay informed. Small craft think twice.

Warning

All hands below. The danger is happening or standing in.

Take protective action now. Seek the harbor.

The log will say it in lake talk. The badge still says Watch or Warning in the official tongue. Believe the badge.

Talk of the lakes

The log uses the old working words so a remark means something on the water. If a line is strange, this is the lexicon.

WordWhat it means here
The glass The barometer. A falling glass means trouble is making up.
Fetch How far the wind has to work on the water. A long fetch builds a larger sea.
The bar The shallow water at a harbor mouth, where a short steep sea can stand up.
Lump / chop A short, steep sea. Uncomfortable, not yet a gale.
Small craft Boats that feel a Small Craft Advisory first — open boats, daysailers, tenders.
Watch A four-hour trick of duty, and also NWS language: conditions may become hazardous.
Weather eye Keep looking. The lake changes its mind without asking.
Lee The sheltered side. Seek the lee of the land, not the open fetch.
All hands below Off the deck. Ashore. The lake is no longer a place of work.
GLF The NWS Great Lakes forecast. Echo still has the full product when you need the fine print.

How the glass changes by level

LevelWaterSkyWho speaksTone
0Still fetchFairThe keeperLamp trimmed
1A lump / chopMaking upDeckhand or keeperWeather eye
2Whitecaps, bar mutteringWind on the fetchThe captainSmall craft in
3Gale buildingSpray over the wallThe keeperFirm hand in the book
4Open lake a mistakeStorm-darkThe captainAll hands below
5No second harborDestructiveThe captainAn order, not a remark

What the live log shows

The live page uses these cards, in this order. Numbers change with your station; this is a static example at Level 2.

Level 2

Lake Michigan — Your station

Small Craft, If You Please

The wind has found the fetch, and the fetch is answering.

Whitecaps in the open. The harbor looks more intelligent than it did at breakfast.

The captain — has already looked twice at the glass

A captain looking twice at the barometer while whitecaps build beyond the wheelhouse

Watch bill

This morning: Begins as Fine for the Breakwater (Level 0). The keeper — has the lamp trimmed and nothing particular to report.

This afternoon: May become Small Craft, If You Please (Level 2). The captain — has already looked twice at the glass.

Orders for this watch

Small craft stay in, or go with someone who knows the bar. Allow extra time along the shore.

The captain logs: “The harbor is still there. Use it.”

The next few hours

2 PM 52° 10%
3 PM 51° 15%
4 PM 50° 20%
5 PM 49° 40%
6 PM 48° 45%
7 PM 47° 25%

View the live log →

When the book is not enough

  • National Weather Service — watches, warnings, and the marine forecast
  • NWS Great Lakes — GLF and lake-by-lake discussion
  • NDBC buoys — the glass out on the water
  • U.S. Coast Guard / local harbor master
  • Echo Weather for radar, METAR, and the full marine panel

Log the time. A remark without a time is a rumor.

← Back to the live log

Live Log ← Echo Weather