at the waves from shore is not necessarily a good indication of conditions off shore. if the wind is blowing from the south, the lake will often be nearly calm at shore. however, the wind is pushing the water and waves off shore. if the wind is from the south, when you turn back to shore, you will be fighting the waves rather than boating with them, and it can take you far longer to get back than it took you to get out.
the area to the west of the boat ramp almost always has a large amount of sand, but, large amounts of sand can be washed down the 