Anchoring To Dive

[Hubbles]

Does anybody know if there are restrictions on Lake Winnipesaukee; other than the no rafting zones, regarding anchoring on the lake. I had always heard that you couldn't leave a boat anchored without anyone on-board however I haven't been able to find any state laws that reference this.

Thanks
Hubbles

[jeffatsquam]

Can't answer your question but welcome to the forum.

The name defiantly caught my attention!

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

This time of the year you can anchor just about anywhere you want.

Actually, you can anytime, as long as it is secure and it's not obstructing navigation. When we are diving from a boat we always mark it with a dive flag on the antenna, flag halyard or the mast. It's not required, but it gives some indication why we're there. We always try to anchor off to the side of normal traffic flow; however, sometimes we anchor right on the dive site just to keep traffic away from the divers, such as the Lady of the Lake site.

If you're courteous to your fellow boater and not interfere with their boating pleasure no one will bother you or your boat. If there's a special spot where you just have check out like; the Mount's dock, the town docks, or a bridge somewhere, then go there when no one else wants to be there. We get up before dawn many days to do a cleanup dive at the town docks; you'd be amazed what treasures we find there. How are you at "Ice Diving"? Not swiming under the ice per say, but diving in water below 45 degrees when ice can form on your low pressure regulator. It's a good time of the year to do some of the more interesting sites.

BTW: You have to have the “Ice Diver” addendum on your certification and the proper equipment to dive in or below the ice. No one ever checks, but it’s your life at risk.

[Kamper]

It's probably a good idea to have someone on the boat when you have people in the water. Give them a horn or loud whistle to attract attention from an operator who might be distracted or overly absorbed by their own activities.

[tis]

We see boats anchored while people are diving without anyone in the boat.

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

Originally Posted by Kamper

It's probably a good idea to have someone on the boat when you have people in the water. Give them a horn or loud whistle to attract attention from an operator who might be distracted or overly absorbed by their own activities.

Are you kidding? Who's going to want to sit out the dive while the rest of us are scoffing up all the treasures? We have never been bothered, hit or run over in the last 25 years that I have been diving on the lake. Well, now that I think about it, there was a time or two that we were harassed by the MPs... Well, okay, I guess there have been more than a couple... but actually only two were written up. However, they were dismissed when they took time to re-read the law.

I did have one time when an MP caught me diving in the Smith River without my flag. We played cat & mouse for the better part of a half hour before he decided to tie up and go into the Dive Shop. I figured I'd better come clean and do the right thing. So when he came out, there I was sitting on his boat with my dive flag in hand... I asked him if he knew of any good dive spots in the lake. I don't remember his comments; I think it was something about obstructing navigation or the importance of a good dive flag.

I always dive with my dive flag... Well, almost always. Someday, I'll tell you about night diving on the lake and just how dangerous that can be when MPs think it time to harass you.

[Hubbles]

Unless its a record early ice out, this time of year I can probably park my truck just about anywhere I want more easily than I can anchor my boat, although neither seems like a good idea the moment. I've been on the other side of inconsiderate boaters anchoring in navigation lanes or not securing their boats, as well as seen divers without flags under Long Island bridge on a weekend in July and hope to never join that crowd. The beauty of anchoring to dive is that I can check that your anchor is properly set before I leave the line, so the boat should be there when I get back.

I don't Ice Dive, I'm a fairly new diver and have done one dive that was a fair amount colder than I expected, 43° at Nubble light. That convinced me that I have no interest in getting ice diving certified anytime soon, I'll stick to well above 45° water. I'm just looking forward to getting out on Winnipesaukee this summer once it warms up enough.


As for sitting in the boat I actually have a friend who doesn't dive but likes to come out on the water, but won't have that every time which is why I was asking if there was any truth to the rumors I'd heard about not having un-attended boats anchored on the lake.

I'm planning to take a night diving class this spring, but in order to avoid getting run over and/or harassed by the MP at night it seems that it would make sense to light your dive flag on your boat, as well as use the lights shown here instead of an anchor light http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=Rule27 in section E. Although its not listed in the NH boating laws anywhere so I'm not sure if the MP or anyone on the lake would know what to make of it.

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

Rule 27 will get you nothing but trouble here on the lake... NH's night time rules are pretty simple: If you’re moving by any means you need to have your navigation lights on. If you’re at anchor you must have the 360 degree anchor light on.

When we night dive; we mark the boat with a large dive flag and the deck lights on. We also have someone stationed on board with a powerfull search light. Each diver has a light stick attached to their dive flag as well as their gear. If some boat where to come close to the divers we shin at them and the to the boat flag and then to the diver's flag.

Of course the only one that ever came close was; no other than the MP. Who violated the dive flag ordnance and then when we wouldn't let him restart his engine; he issued us a citation for obstructing navigation. Upon which we filed a formal complaint against him for violating the flag ordnance with his boss. The citation was dropped.

[Kamper]

Originally Posted by Winnipesaukee Divers

Are you kidding? ...

I always dive with my dive flag... Well, almost always. ...

I'm willing to take your word for it that a 'deck watch' is not a legal mandate but I stand by it being a demonstration of sound judgement when there are people in the water.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by Kamper

I'm willing to take your word for it that a 'deck watch' is not a legal mandate but I stand by it being a demonstration of sound judgement when there are people in the water.

I have to agree with you Kamper. I wouldn't dive unless someone was left on the boat to keep watch. It doesn't matter what the rules are.

[SunsetPointWentworth]

Winnipesaukee Divers is your name Dave F? I only ask because I came across a video on youtube of a diver pulling out a snowmobile from the lake and the guy has a mooring business and I always see you joking in your posts about being in "mooring hell". Here is the youtube video www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbV8aLh8d5E

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

I'm otherwise known as: Thorp Thomas. Many years ago my daughter Beth and I were members of the New England Aquarium Dive Club; we given the login name "Winnipesaukee Divers "for the meetings and events since it was our home port. During the ten years we were with the NEADC we logged in over a thousand dives doing under water research, rescue dives, fish collection dives and case studies dives. I also went on to become Andy Martinez’s (world class underwater photographer for National Geographic) support diver (but that's another story).

I got into servicing moorings as I thought it would be a good way to feed my addiction to diving and underwater exploring. However, it soon became monotony as I keep doing the same thing over and over, hence my name for it "Morring Field Hell". Also, since some of my moorings are in mud, you see the mooring as you descend on it but once you come into contract with the bottom you’re in total silt out with 0 visibility. Now that I’m the old man of the diving world on Lake Winnipesaukee, I’m seriously considering retiring and suspect this will be my last year.

[Senter Cove Guy]

Originally Posted by Winnipesaukee Divers

...I’m seriously considering retiring and suspect this will be my last year.

Please say it isn't so. How else am I going to ever find "the logging truck". I guess you'll just have to show it to me this summer.

[Grant]

You found a car. You can find a truck.

Plus, I think Thorp was talking about retiring from the mooring stuff. He's got Lake diving in his blood....there's no quitting that. Only a coroner or a wife can retire the diving habit.

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

I just upgraded from IE9 beta to new and improved IE9 and wouldn’t you know it; it erased all my login information. Not being able to find my card with my login information, I asked for assistance. Webmaster Don said he could only send to my old email address; a lot of good that does me. After, what seem like hours of searching my desk, I found it right there in from of me (just needed to turn it over). Three days later it’s all fixed with new passwords, new addresses, we’re good to go.

No, I’m giving up diving... Sorry, to mislead you; I’m just giving up “Mooring Field Hell” or so I’d like to think, but WCYC may be able to talk me into another year.

As far as finding the “Log truck” it’s just out from Ming Cove in 63’ heading toward the North West. We found it when we were searching for lost Rum shipment at Rum point. It’s an old Army 6X6 lying on its side with logs chained on the back with an open cab. A few years back when I was diving on DRH’s mooring, I found the windshield, tool box (still has the tools in it), saws and other debris, it was only in about 40’. I knew I was close to it, but since I had Don’s father on the boat with me I had to cut short the exploration part of the dive. I told Don that I got lost searching for the mooring, his comment was; “I guess, by about a hundred yards or more, you need to take a course in underwater orienteering”. If he only knew; I teach underwater orienteering. Actually, I found the mooring in about first three minutes of the dive, but I needed to burn up some more bottom time to make it look good. You know; you can’t make it seem too easy or they won’t want to pay you

[Grant]

That's funny -- we have an old Army 6x6 in our local diving lake down here. It's in about 75-80 feet of water, kind of on its side. So at least I know what to look for. Thanks for the details!

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

Originally Posted by Kamper

I'm willing to take your word for it that a 'deck watch' is not a legal mandate but I stand by it being a demonstration of sound judgement when there are people in the water.

You make a good point... for someone swimming or just floating around. However, as a diver I'm acutely aware of what's going on around me. Sounds carry a long distance underwater and I can hear you coming a half mile away. When I do surface I always stop at the 10' depth and wait, I tell everyone it's a safety stop to decompress, but here in the lake its more to make sure the coast is clear sort-a-speak. I also try to surface near my boat, it’s part of the underwater orienteering I spoke about earlier.

The first thing I do when I enter the water is: besides making the diver yell... you know; let out a holler and tell everyone how cold it is (even when it not), I descend to the bottom and set the anchor, then take my bearings and plan my course, then wait for my dive buddies. Once we're ready we start the dive, I tell them to keep an eye on me, I swim in one general direction while watching my air consumption at a certain interval I make a turn (either left or right), proceed on to the next air mark interval and turn again and so on, taking me right back where I started from. Once under the boat I check my air and ask my buddies to do the same, it they are low we end the dive, if we have plenty then we continue on doing the same maneuver in another direction. BTW: I'm always watching my compass, depth and amount of air time to my NDL (dive lingo for "No Decompression Limit) or safe diving limit (500 PSI). My dive buddies always seem to be surprised when I make the sign for our boat which is directly above us.

If we're searching for something large we use the circle method: where one diver acts as the pivot point while the diver swims at end of a 50' or sometimes a 100' line, if it snags on something he follows it back and either frees it or singles the other diver to come to it. We've found lots of great things this way, sometimes we just swim together with the line between us which works well too.

[SIKSUKR]

I feel like I just got my first diving lesson.

[Senter Cove Guy]

Originally Posted by Winnipesaukee Divers

...As far as finding the “Log truck” it’s just out from Ming Cove in 63’ heading toward the North West. We found it when we were searching for lost Rum shipment at Rum point. It’s an old Army 6X6 lying on its side with logs chained on the back with an open cab...

Went looking for this today. Used side scan sonar and dove on a couple of targets but couldn't find the 6X6. Got any more information that would help locate this item?

[Hubbles]

I'd like to know where this one is as well. If you get some more targets to dive and want some company I'd love to join you.

Hubbles