Please forgive my ignorance, but I am unclear as to neither what a “Cirrus driver” is or does nor the statement “lack of appendages” means. Could you enlighten me as to their meanings?

“I am a Cirrus driver, based out of Chicago, and many times I would need to cross Lake Michigan but, due to lack of appendages or some other limitations, I never have done it.”

As far as a suit vs. raft: As several have stated, staying out of the water with appropriate insulative clothing/suit is preferable to being in the water. However, there are two suits, that while they must be donned (not really for fulltime wear) might be useful. Mustang makes both, the Ocean Commander and the Ice Commander suits will allow for both hypothermia protection and floatation. Both are dry suits, but even with these, there are time limits in water.

Pete