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THE FIRST TIME BOATER 
The
Lakes Region of New Hampshire is a boaters dream come true. Lake
Winnipesaukee is the largest Lake in the state, with seventy two square
miles of clear blue water set against a backdrop of rolling hills and
mountains. For all it's splendor, Winnipesaukee is not the only
paradise in town, it's just one of about two hundred and seventy
three. Lake Winnisquam is the states third largest lake, and it
offers a charm all it's own. It's less busy than Lake
Winnipesaukee, although all lakes in the area fall into this
category. During holidays, events, or just plain old nice days,
parts of Winnipesaukee can get fairly boat congested. The Weirs Channel,
which connects Paugus Bay to the big lake, is like what Interstate 95 is to
anybody trying to get near Boston. In short, if you've never driven a
boat before, taking your first run during the fourth of July may be a bad
idea.
Even if you know you
should start off on a smaller and less congested lake, the lure can
sometime be overpowering. Lake Winnipesaukee is broken up by hundreds of
islands or every size and shape, scattered around at random. If
you want to explore, this is your place. The lake has countless quiet
coves and islands to circle around. With such a uniquely shaped
lake, it's easy to become disoriented and navigation for a new boater
can be quite a challenge if you don't have a chart, or have one but are
not sure how to read it.
Never venture out onto the
lake unprepared, like all lakes, it has it's shallows and areas with
rocks hidden just beneath the service. Nearly all areas of concern
are marked on maps or noted by buoys. You should use caution, though,
some buoys can become victims and get dragged to different locations
during the spring when the ice is thawing and shifting. Often the
marine patrol notices this and corrects the problem, but sometimes it
slips by.
It's never a good idea to
rely solely on a chart or GPS, your eyes and brain are a handy tool as well. It
also helps to bring along a friend. Charts and GPS, for all their accuracy, are
not and never will be perfect. At the time of this writing, Lake
Winnipesaukee is at it's lowest water level in several decades, it's
down nearly three feet. There are shallows and rocks in places where
even veteran boaters have never observed them, and charts don't always
clearly and accurately display shallow areas. Don't get us wrong, maps
are excellent tools and a necessity, just don't assume that your
invincible because you have a map. Bizer
currently offers what many consider to be the best chart of Lake
Winnipesaukee.
Many new boaters come back
saying that the lake is deceptively large. From the shore at many points
around the lake, you can only observe a small section of the lake. You
can't see much from Meredith, or the Weirs, and only a long narrow
sliver from Alton. Just another reason to have a chart and a
compass.
In summary, the Lakes
Region and Lake Winnipesaukee offer what many feel to best the best
boating in the state. If you take to the lake, be sure to bring a
spare tank of gas...you may find yourself lingering out on the lake a
lot longer than you were expecting. Time spent on Winnipesaukee
goes by so fast it's kind of eerie. And as always, before you head
out, be sure to check the weather. Summer thunderstorms are common
toward the far northwestern corner of the lake and they can really ruin
your day.
This article touches upon
some of the basic or common things we've observed, and is in no way a
complete guide or flawless. This represents our opinions, and
yours may vary.
