Crazy Saturday
 

We just got back from another weekend on the water, and the boat traffic Saturday was by far the worst I have seen this year! I thought it was much worse than the 4th of July! Did anyone else notice this??

We gassed up at Shep Browns and I thought our boat was going to end up on the dock! The constant wake from passing boats out in the main channel was never ending. It was a battle for the gas attendant to keep control of the gas handle and boat and she actually needed to stop fueling a few times.

Today, (Sunday) was just perfect, very light boat traffic, beautiful weather in the morning and early afternoon. Great day for fishing and enjoying the lake!

Dan

i agree
 

ishoot38,

i couldn't agree more. This sat. the boat traffic was outragous. I decided to bring my wife and kids up for the day to visit. Big mistake. I have 2 daughters under 4 1/2, so things can get hairy real quick. We went to weirs in the am to go to the beach. I should have known it was going to be nuts, when we almost got swamped going through the channel between governors and eagle?. It was around 11:15 and all of the 40+ft cabin cruisers decided to head out to the broads at the same time. We have a 21 ft bowrider, but it felt like we were in a zodiac dingy. The beach was empty when we got there, as were the docks at weirs, kind of odd I thought, but nice none the less. 2 hrs later when we left the boat was boxed in at the docks and it looked like there the weirs was under attack. I had never seen so many boat within eyesite before. There were way to many to count. On the way back, we decided to take the no wake past governors and go to the sandbar in West Alton. Couldn't find a spot it was so mobbed. Had to be 100+ boats anchored out. so we headed back to the camp to swim. Struggled with the little ones, since there was so much boat chop, it kept knocking them over with the wake hitting the shore. Still a fun day, but certaintly, not a typical day at the lake. I, as most, ptrefer my weekeday visits with the kids. It's like you have the lake to yourself.
I think people are more selective this year of the trips they will take and I think on those exceptional weather days this is what we can expect. As for our experience, except for a few bouts of my typical frustration in a day of boating with the wife and kids, still much better then staying home and cutting the grass

I thought that Sat. was on the quiet side. We left Paugus Bay Marina just before 11:30, fueled up at Lakeport sans wait and headed for Center Harbor. We cruised through the Weirs channel without slipping into neutral once (unheard of in years past at that time of morning on a 80+ degree sunny day). The Governors Eagle NWZ was light in traffic as was the passage between Pine and the mainland on Meredith Neck. We got to Farrar point and found it to be busy, but not mobbed. The ride back was very similar. We were back at the marina by 6, so I can't even say it was due to a later return. I guess we were just continuously at the right place at the right time:D

Saturday: A great day on the water
 

I thought that Saturday was busy, but it was a great day to be on the water. The boat chop between Weirs and the Eagle/Governor's NWZ was like a normal Saturday in 2005-2006. It was more choppy than I have seen this year and for most of, maybe all of, last year.

I had a 24' bowrider the past 3 years and traded up in size this year due to the Weirs Boat Chop. A 21' boat on a busy day in the Weirs area will give you a very bumpy ride. I can relate to Mr Moyer's experience. The chop on busy days is up to four foot high and quite steep, plus it is multi-directional. We often did not use the 24' boat on Saturday afternoons in that area due to that chop. Now we have a bigger boat with much lower gas mileage. Good news and bad news in one package.

We went up the see the wooden boats in Meredith Saturday before going over to Center Harbor. The wooden boats looked great, but we had a hard time seeing most of them. I was surprised to see two very large barges from one of the operations that services the islands blocking most of the view from the water. The barges were between the wooden boats and the boats trying to see the wooden boats from the water. I hope something can be done about this in the future.

All in all, it was a great day on the water!

R2B

barges ...
 

We also checked out the fabulous boats at Meredith on Sunday. From what I could tell, the barges were being used to hold a centerline (probably not the correct term) to which the boat's bows were tied off to.

I could have missed that. If so, they had a purpose. I hope they can find a better way to do this going forward, something that allows you to see these beautiful boats from the land and from the water. But if not, then they have to do whatever works.

NHskier, thanks for the explanation!

R2B

ditto NHskier
 

The barges were from 2 different marine construction firms, and they were there by request, not to annoy. I don't know what else they can do to accomodate the number of boats at the show short of adding more docks and making FLL pay higher taxes to pay for them:laugh:

There was a Poker Run on Saturday, which might account for the heavier than usual traffic and chop.

I happened to be sailing near one of their checkpoints, and couldn't miss the approach of the crowd....nearly ALL of them jumping their own wakes. The odor of racing fuel hung in the air, which was already a bit heavy.....like it is on the busiest of weekends here.

Sunday was perfect, as you say. It couldn't get any better.

Poker Run was over by 1pm...

Makes Sense Now
 

Now that would make sense, and I must have been between two checkpoints! I was leaving the Stonedam Island dock heading to Sheps for fuel and the boat traffic in the main channel between Eagle Island and Mark island was ridiculous. I literally had to wait about 5 - 10 minutes before I could safely merge into the boat traffic to make it down to Sheps. The traffic going to Sheps on the westerly side of Bear island between Penny and Pine island seemed non stop while I was attempting to gas up. There must have been two checkpoints and I was unknowingly in the middle!!

Now that I know the reason for the traffic, it's all in good fun! I was just surprised!! I have done many poker runs on my H.D. but never by boat. I'll have to add that to the list of must do things while at the lake!!

Thanks!!

Dan

I wouldn't dare go to the Weirs with anything less than 26".Offshore boats,big cabin cruisers ...coming at your from 5 directions.The chop can jump up to 5' or more.Not complaining because we love to see the action on a busy day.....just a warning to the kayakers.Think twice about heading to the Weirs on saturday afternoon.:coolsm:

Sat
 

Headed over to Merdith Saturday moring about 8:30am. Was just going for breakfast and found the boat show was in progress. Lucky for me somebody was pulling out of a spot. One side was open for public. Went to breakfast at Waterfall Cafe and roamed around and finally looked at the boats, fantastic. We liked a Garwood which seats 12 or so. Trip back was not pleasant at all. Very rough in my little 20 footer. I usually stay away on weekends. Saturday was very busy.

Dave M

My dad still has vivid memories from three decades ago about the monster waves on weekends. Without the huge cruisers plowing around at monster wake speed, it would be a different lake. At any rate, I never stopped going anywhere because of it.

Weirs Chop
 

Although the larger cruisers make a larger wake than a smaller boat, I believe the main source of the chop near the Weirs is from non-cruisers getting up on plane and getting off plane. Too many boats are plowing water for too long a period of time.

There are now three NWZ in the area with the new NWZ near Eagle Island and with the heavy traffic we get on some Saturdays, those transitions becomes a lot of boat chop. Most cruisers do not get onto plane, or semi-plane, in that area. They usually just cruise out of the channel or the Weirs docks to the Governor's Island or Eagle Island NWZs in displacement mode.

That said, the sharpest wakes are from the Doris E and Sophie C and they are displacement hulls.

We kayak in the area since that is where we live, but we do not kayak on July and August Saturdays from 10 AM until 6 PM.

R2B

My kids love wake jumping those boats with a certain waverunner riding chick that posts to this forum (yes- obeying the 150' rule, easily done due to the rollers coming out of those ladies)!