Sailing Vacation on the Lake
 

Well, after several weeks of planning we finally started our 4-day sailing vacation on the lake. We left the Wolfeboro Corinthian Yacht Club around 11:30 a.m. on Friday after stocking the boat with food, gear and ice to last us the duration. The day started out hot and humid with little wind and remained so for most of the day. We ended up motoring to our first destination. ( some sailing vacation eh? )

Ragged Island
 

Our first stop was Ragged Island, a small picturesque island owned by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust. There was a dock on the south side of the island that could accommodate a few boats, but we had to anchor off-shore to keep a safe depth from the HUGE boulders that could be seen below the clear waters.

We loaded the doggies into our inflatable dinghy and I paddled into shore. My first mate snorkeled in and reported seeing rocks and more rocks, but no fish. Once ashore the doggies ran around, jubilant with the freedom to run around after hours on the boat.

The island was well- kept and had walking paths and a couple out buildings. ( including some aromatic bathrooms). Blue berry bushes lined the shore and several kyakers picked them right from their boats. There were several boats anchored and docked at the island, so it is no secret. We enjoyed a lazy, hot summer afternoon in the shade of our boat and had a lovely afternoon nap followed by an ice cold Heineken. Then off to our dockage for the night.

Chases Island
 

Our first overnight dockage was at Chases Island where we were guests of two wonderful forum members. We had a lovely evening watching a loon family with new diving chicks right off their dock, grilling up a grass-fed porterhouse steak that was as tender as a flower petal, and capped off the evening with a beach fire and Sa-mores. Perfect summer evening on the lake. The doggies raced around with other island dogs until they were exhausted. We all fell asleep on our gently rocking boat almost immediately. Saturday's forecast is for rain and little wind. Hope we can get to our next destination far, far north on the lake

Thanks for taking us along with the trip. Looks like a blast!

Looking forward to reading future posts about your trip. Hope the winds pick up for you!

So happy you have had a good start.

It sure sounds like you are going to have a wonderful trip even if you hit a bit of rain, but no high winds. How is the new boat handling for you??
Keep us all posted and I wish I was at that first meal and evening.:)

Wonderful updates on a wonderful vacation on a wonderful corner of the world.

Keep it up.

Why do you have a First Mate??

Same reason I do...
 

My First Mate would hang me from the highest yardarm if I didn't take her along... and I don't have a sailboat, but she would find or make a yardarm ;).

Where are you??
 

I'm waiting to hear more......I'm sure all of us are.

Five Mile Island
 

Saturday we woke to light rain and decided to watch the movie we fell asleep to the night before. It was a cozy, luxurious morning lolling about with the pups. But once again... No wind.

We packed up the boat and got everything ship shape for the day. This includes disassembling the bed and returning it to a dining area, packing up the mosquito screens on the hatch and companionway, putting away loose clothes, giving the doggies their last shore leave and breakfast, unplugging shore power and taking a morning bath in the lake and getting dressed. ( we are using Dr. Bronner'soap, which does no harm to the lake).

We thanked our most gracious hosts and headed east from Chases Island around Little Bear and into the Broads past Sandy Island. I will say that the Bizer app for my iPhone has been a god send. That along with the Bizer chart and binoculars has made navigating these new parts doable.

The Broads were like rolling liquid glass. No wind at all. We chugged along like a graceful trawler using up more diesel fuel than we planned for. We were told to figure about using one gallon of diesel an hour. We had three extra gallons on board so we knew we would be okay, but two days of motoring was getting old.

Our destination for the afternoon was Five Mile Island, another LRCT property on the lake. We were able to find it among the several small islands that populate this part of the lake and anchored off-shore. Surprisingly, no one else was there on that hot summer day. There was a small pebble beach on the southeast side and the water looked almost tropical in clarity and color. Gorgeous.

Once again we loaded the pups into the dinghy and I rowed them ashore. The island is 9.8 acres with a shore trail around the perimeter. We brought our walking shoes ashore in a plastic bag and took a lovely, but buggy, forest walk through an unihabited island. The comforting smell of pine accompanied us the entire way.

When we rounded the last section of the loop we felt something we had not e perienced in two days!! WIND! Yes, during our walk the wind had picked up and our boat lay anchored with no one aboard. I hoped the anchor held. We scurried back to the boat and I snorkeled around to check the anchor that had not moved an inch. (We are still learning how to securely anchor this 27 foot boat).

After a delicious lunch of sandwiches, hummus with veggies and a home made chocolate chip cookie, we got ready for our first sail of the entire trip!

Pictures
 

I attaching pictures separately.

Pup while motoring
 

This is our other pup snoozing while motoring north.

Center Harbor
 

Well that Saturday afternoon wind was coming from the exact direction we needed to sail right into Center Harbor where we were staying for the night. It was a gentle breeze, but we were going 4 knots. Lots of markers as we approached Center Harbor and we tipped our hats to that smallest of islands, Becky's Garden (which is actually a tuft of bushes that maybe two people could stand on).

Our host for the evening was our own forum member Mr. Pineneedles! He greeted us with an air horn honk and he along with two strong guys got us secured to the dock. The wind had actually increased so it was tricky. Our depth alarm kept going off and we were afraid our wing keel was going to hit bottom, but it didn't. I imagine we were a mere inches from the sandy bottom.

We got the pups on shore and spent a lovely cocktail hour talking to Pineneedles and his family. Their camp has a rich history going back to the late 1800's and we were treated to some fascinating stories including two photo albums with a detailed history of the lake house camp that is named... Pineneedles!
This kind of lake history is precious in my mind because it speaks of generations of one family enjoying the lake and creating traditions and memories over the decades.

After a lovely early evening rocking on the porch chairs and sharing stories we went back to our boat to grill up another fabulous dinner of teriyaki chicken, rice pilaf and caeser salad... And a chocolate chip cookie. We continued rocking in the boat as Center Harbor is quite busy, but eventually things quieted down and we had a very restful, comfy night on " Reliance."

Night at Center Harbor
 

This is Reliance at Center Harbor.

Grillin'
 

Grillin' on the boat

Scene outside our window.
 

Oh what a night.

Hope you get some WIND today.
 

Been following your trip on my Bizer Map with much envey. Last time I was in the area of Five Mile island was while ice fishing. My buddy caught a nice lake trout between there and Bear Island.

Thank you for sharing your trip with all of us. It sounds like a great way to break-in The Reliance. The Pups look like they are doing what Pups do; which is try to have a good time if the Humans seem to be enjoying themselves. If that means sleeping ..... So be it:)

It was a pleasure hosting the Reliance at our dock last night, and thank you Cate for the beautiful gift. I'm glad the neighbor's fireworks display ended early, as we all needed a good night's rest.

Awesome trip so far!!
 

Sounds like awesome hospitality as well!!

Boat
 

Glad you're having a good time. The few pics of your boat's cockpit look like a Peason 28. Am I correct?

Cate: I very much enjoyed reading this thread. You could be a travel writer!

It was wonderful and exciting to have you guys and the puppies. What a great evening. The camp fire was so much fun. It was exciting to see a 27' Person tied up at out dock. I am a sailor and it is the boat of my dreams.
Hope you can return again and I told my neighbors I'm just trying out the boat to see if it would fit in our dock.

Summer Sunday
 

Sunday morning we said our fond goodbyes to Pineneedles and his family and started our journey back. The wind was coming from the southeast, the exact direction we wanted to go, so it was a sailing challenge to tack back and forth to make any headway in that direction. We made a quick stop at 1 Mile Island for breakfast using our alcohol stove for the first time. It worked like a charm and it was quite unusual to smell bacon wafting out from the cabin. Unfortunately we had chosen the wrong side of the island to anchor inand the boat wakes coming and going out of Center Harbor were constantly and nauseatingly rocking us back and forth. Breakfast was cut short for me.

We pulled anchor and decided to just sail and not choose any destination or timeline. It ended up being a wonderful sail past Pine Island and along the shoreline of Merideth Neck. ( talk about beautiful houses ).

The great thing about going back was that the lake and islands didn't seem so foreign anymore. We could actually point to islands in the distance and name them. We had a sense of our route and diverged from our charted course, knowing we would end up in the Broads eventually. The wind kept up for most of the early morning and then died down to a summer's breath. My first mate decided to take a glorious nap and I stood at the helm just looking at the patterns on the water and the hazy mountains on the distance. I did this for three full hours and it was a most relaxing feeling.

Right around the Ozones (as small group of tiny islands) the wind went totally calm and I started the motor just to get a breeze. It gets mighty hot on the lake with no breeze. My first mate woke from her nap and just about that same time, the ICE CREAM FLOAT showed up. We waved him down and he pulled up next to our boat. Turns out he was a forum " lurker"and knew of our four day adventure! How about that? We ordered two deliciously cold ice creams from him and he gave the pups little dog treats. It was quite the special event of the day, having an ice cream in the middle of the lake on hot summer day.

The day eased into late afternoon and we needed to get back to Chases Island where we were spending our second night with our fabulous hosts and their sweet pup " Chase." We were invited to join our hosts for a pontoon ride and sunset watching in Melvin Bay. Terrific! We motored by Sandy Island and past Little Bear islands via the same route we had before. We contemplated cutting through between Bear and Little Bear through a narrow channel called " Hole in the Wall," but decided not to take the chance with the depth and width.

We arrived at Chases Island to a doggie fanfare as the pups and Chase greeted each other. They ran around like maniacs-- free from the confines of the boat. We spent another lovely evening taking a ride up to Melvin to watch a non- sunset, but enjoyed going very fast on a tri- toon Bennington. It was a thrill!

We ended up grilling our juicy burgers in the dark, but they tasted incredible. There is something about being outside all day that makes food taste particularly sumptuous. After dinner, we listened to the nearby loons calling and "Taps" being played at Camp Belknap. Ahhh. Quintessential Winnipesaukee.

A Gentle Sail
 

A gentle sail along Meredith Neck.

The Best Ice Cream Ever!!
 

Miracle moment on the lake

Thanks for sharing
 

Great thread!

fantastic travelogue!
 

Totally agree, and thank you Cate for sharing your adventure that we can live vicariously through and also some nice insights into fellow Forum members (and what great hospitality!)

Sorry we missed you as you passed by Pine Island, we would have given you our traditional "Mount" wave, whistle, and holler!!

-PIG

Jeff is not exactly a small guy. He even made myself (6'3")feel smaller when I met him. What a nice invitation from Mr Pineedles.:D

One of the most interesting and pleasurable posts on the Forum, ever.
Thanks for sharing your adventure, may you have many more.

Draft?
 

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. Great writing, and nice poix to accompany.

How much does Reliance draw?

Bill, I have shrunk to 6' 5" thru age, but thank God I won't be going down to the little guy height of 6' 3".:laugh:

I am hopeful that others embark on such a journey as Cate's and more forum (shore-front owners) open their docks and mooring buoys to their guest travelers. This forum is a family that needs to connect in more than just forum fests.

BTW, Descant the Releiance draws 4' 6". There were about 5"-6" left for her keel at our dock. No worries.

Draft
 

I was thinking about my dock for a future event. We're right on the edge depending on the time of year.

CateP can PM me and we'll figure it out. Although we're power mostly, the winds are almost always good where we face the broads.

Jeff, busting some! But in your world I am 5' 13" (sorry just noted the 4', 12" for Reliance's keel)

With only 5-6" of clearance that's when I would get concerned about wind and boat wakes kicking up the wave action :eek:

What a wonderful adventure, Cate. Thanks for sharing.

Monday Adventure
 

Yesterday morning we woke at our Chases Island host dock and once again were treated to a thrilling ride on the Bennington tri-toon. We zipped across Melvin Bay ,through Moultonboro Bay and up to Green's Basin and Lee's Mill. It got very narrow the further up the lake we went and it was very important to take note of the markers. Rocks popped up everywhere.

The lake in this area is absolutely beautiful and so different from the Broads and other large bays. It reminded me of the Canadian wilderness around Jasper and Banff (smaller mountains of course). Some houses in the area had dates on them as far back as 1912. My imagination was stirred by how life was like back then and how over 100 years later people are probably doing many of the same things they did back then...fishing, canoeing, swimming, sitting in the shade and thinking light thoughts that meander in and out like the puffy white clouds in the azure blue summer sky.

Protected from the wind this area is a kayakers dream. We met a group of kids from the Children's Center in Wolfeboro who were taking a kayak trip to a huge picnic rock. We saw other kids jumping off of small cliffs into the water and fishing. What memories they are creating on our beautiful lake.

When we returned from our excursion we had a relaxing lunch back at Chases Island. Then we cleaned up the cabin inside Reliance that we had neglected out of sheer summer laziness and packed up to head home to Wolfeboro.

The day was turning hot and the morning breeze once again disappeared. We and the pups took a dip before departure to keep cool and said our soggy goodbyes to our two fabulous hosts.

Once again we sparked up the ole Westerbeke diesel engine and chugged through the channel called "The Barber Pole" into the Broads. Not a stick of wind. (sigh) And no Ice Cream Float either. We took a slow motor past the shores of Tuftonboro Neck and gaped at the Marriott's compound with immaculate lawns and landscaping. Then the waterscape became all too familiar. The Libby Museum and Winter Harbor. Parker Island and the big old lake houses on Wolfeboro Neck and Sewell Road in Wolfeboro.

Right around Parker Island we stopped the boat and jumped into the lake to cool off. One of the most refreshing feelings I have known is jumping into the clear, cool waters of Lake Winnipesaukee on a hot summer day. Instant relief!!

And then we rounded the corner into Wolfeboro Bay. Home.
We had spent a Thursday night to a Monday afternoon on the lake. Outside and on or next to the water the entire time. We were grateful the weather was on our side. Summer thunderstorms are common this time of year. And yes, we would have liked more wind to sail in, but we were learning about our boat and how to work the systems. How to live aboard.

Now that we have done this once, we plan to do it again. Maybe not this year, but definitely next year. We thank all the forum members who so generously offered their dock space (our draft is 3'3" by the way) and to those who we were able to visit. It was a great way to personally connect and share this experience that is...
The Smile of the Great Spirit.

Tilly's Friend Chase
 

This is Tilly and Chase on our Bennington boat ride.

Lee's Mill
 

Coming into Lee's Mill.

Northern Most Part of Lake
 

According to the chart this is the most northern part of the lake.

Gorgeous Views in Around Green's Basin
 

It's like another world.

Kids Making Memories
 

Here are the kids from the Children's Center in Wolfeboro having a picnic on a huge rock. I bet some of you know this rock.

Homeward bound.
 

Here were are pretending to sail in virtually no wind on our way back to the home port.

That is quite the trek by kayak from Wolfeboro

Reliance arrives at our dock. Tilly and Tippy as look-outs. So good to welcome them to our island!

Her is the crew with the puppies at our dock

Oops that was wrong picture. That pic showed Reliance at our dock. What a great time we all had

This is their departure heading back home to Wolfeboro.

We stopped at Green Basin's Girl place. Unfortunately she was not at home. Sorry we missed her. We told her sister to tell her we stopped by.

This entire thread makes me smile. :)

Certainly one of the best threads this summer. Thanks for sharing your journey.

Pictures
 

A few more pictures of the Reliance in Center Harbor.

Great trip!!

It's called Tea Rock