For The First Time Boater

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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 Route 128 is to anybody trying to get near Boston. In short, if you've never driven a boat before, taking your first run during Bike Week 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, your eyes and brain are a handy tool as well. It also helps to bring along a friend. Charts, 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 map 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.