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Winnipesaukee Divers · 08-25-2006, 05:05 PM

Here’s my take on the fewer crowds… Here’s an all to typical comment that was made to me the other day. We ventured over to Meredith to make the pilgrimage up the hill to Harts (always worth the hike), while at the docks I had a conversation with a middle-aged woman. Her first question was, “isn’t your boat too big for the this lake?” My reply was, “I guess you haven’t seen this lake.” Her response was, “why yes I have, we use to boat here all the time, but not any more”. Her next question was, “how do you deal with all the hundreds of thousands of boats out there and the crazies they bring, have you no concern for your well being or your crew?” To which my response was, “what are you talking about???” She said you know, with all the traffic out there and no speed limits, it’s virtual free for all and people getting killed every day. To which I just laughed and said, “you know how many boat we passed by to get here from Wolfe city???” “Seventeen and not one came anywhere near me” and that was one of the best days on the lake for a sailboat.

So here is the up shot: most people get their information from the media namely the TV where the story has been slanted to discourage boat traffic. They show pictures of the hot spots like the town docks or the Weirs channel to dramatize their story. When in reality most of the boats that parade through the channel, do so just so they can turn around to parade back through and has little to do with actual congestion due to over crowding.

Who’s driving this media campaign? Well, in my mind, it’s the same people who keep telling the biggest boat that should be allowed on the lake is a 24 footer, which just so happens to be the size of the boat parked in their slip in front of their house. Looks like it’s done a pretty good job. Of course, the cost of fuel and the weather have also taken it’s toll as well.

08-25-2006, 05:05 PM	#55
Winnipesaukee Divers Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Exeter, NH or @ WCYC on weekends Posts: 250 Thanks: 7 Thanked 46 Times in 28 Posts	hear's my cut on this topic Here’s my take on the fewer crowds… Here’s an all to typical comment that was made to me the other day. We ventured over to Meredith to make the pilgrimage up the hill to Harts (always worth the hike), while at the docks I had a conversation with a middle-aged woman. Her first question was, “isn’t your boat too big for the this lake?” My reply was, “I guess you haven’t seen this lake.” Her response was, “why yes I have, we use to boat here all the time, but not any more”. Her next question was, “how do you deal with all the hundreds of thousands of boats out there and the crazies they bring, have you no concern for your well being or your crew?” To which my response was, “what are you talking about???” She said you know, with all the traffic out there and no speed limits, it’s virtual free for all and people getting killed every day. To which I just laughed and said, “you know how many boat we passed by to get here from Wolfe city???” “Seventeen and not one came anywhere near me” and that was one of the best days on the lake for a sailboat. So here is the up shot: most people get their information from the media namely the TV where the story has been slanted to discourage boat traffic. They show pictures of the hot spots like the town docks or the Weirs channel to dramatize their story. When in reality most of the boats that parade through the channel, do so just so they can turn around to parade back through and has little to do with actual congestion due to over crowding. Who’s driving this media campaign? Well, in my mind, it’s the same people who keep telling the biggest boat that should be allowed on the lake is a 24 footer, which just so happens to be the size of the boat parked in their slip in front of their house. Looks like it’s done a pretty good job. Of course, the cost of fuel and the weather have also taken it’s toll as well. Last edited by Winnipesaukee Divers; 08-26-2006 at 06:45 AM.