Capt. Jack Asses on Paugus Today

[LikeLakes]

I will freely admit I've been on the wrong side of buoys several times on Winni (no hits though). Tough lake to navigate. So not sure I'd pass judgement on every person who hits a rock, sometimes %#$@ happens.

[MeredithMan]

Originally Posted by LikeLakes

I will freely admit I've been on the wrong side of buoys several times on Winni (no hits though). Tough lake to navigate. So not sure I'd pass judgement on every person who hits a rock, sometimes %#$@ happens.

I don't disagree with you....it can definitely be a navigation challenge, especially in some of the more gnarly areas, and yes, innocent mistakes happen. I've been boating here since the 70's and I still consult my chart if it's an area I haven't been in for a few years or at all. But when a rock the size of a volkswagen is breaking through the water and there's a buoy a couple hundred feet to the side of it, that should be pretty obvious. If it's not, then stop and consult your chart or GPS. And if someone doesn't have a chart or GPS or compass, nor know what side of the buoy to go on, then they probably shouldn't be out driving the boat.

[LikeLakes]

Originally Posted by MeredithMan

I don't disagree with you....it can definitely be a navigation challenge, especially in some of the more gnarly areas, and yes, innocent mistakes happen. I've been boating here since the 70's and I still consult my chart if it's an area I haven't been in for a few years or at all. But when a rock the size of a volkswagen is breaking through the water and there's a buoy a couple hundred feet to the side of it, that should be pretty obvious. If it's not, then stop and consult your chart or GPS. And if someone doesn't have a chart or GPS or compass, nor know what side of the buoy to go on, then they probably shouldn't be out driving the boat.

No disagreement there.

If you had never been to the lake, and I showed you The Witches and all the buoys around them, you wouldn't believe it if I told you countless boaters have hit them.

[MeredithMan]

Originally Posted by LikeLakes

No disagreement there.

If you had never been to the lake, and I showed you The Witches and all the buoys around them, you wouldn't believe it if I told you countless boaters have hit them.

So my father grew up on the ocean, (Hough's Neck in Quincy), and spent his youth till early 20's sailing around Boston Harbor. Then came WWII and he spent a number of years in the Navy. Bottom line, he was experienced when it came to Ocean navigation and markers, but when he bought his first boat on the lake in 1974, he was clueless on NH inland waters navigation and markers. We had just passed the end of Governor's Island heading towards The Broads. My mother and I were in the front of their new 18' Wellcraft bowrider and my father was driving. I was 12 at the time. My mother and I happened to suddenly notice all the huge boulders below us and screamed, "ROCKS!!" My father slammed it into neutral. When we all put our hearts back in our chests, we paddled our way out of The Witches. The only thing that saved our bacon was that it was early May and the water was high.

That was our major life lesson on Winnipesaukee navigation!

[mas1992bc]

I won't comment on the feasibility or the cost of an in-water test, but it most definitely would make a difference. 17 years ago, I was a first-time boater and I can remember learning as much as I could and looking at charts. The written test is not all that useful (and easy to pass with a little memorization).

As all of you know, driving a boat is very different than driving a car - ESPECIALLY when it comes to docking or maneuvering in tight spaces. It is VERY easy for a novice (or even someone with some experience) to panic in a tight space and "gun it" - not because they don't care but because they are scared and they panic.

Even if the "in water test" just forced a new driver to get a feel for a few basic, but essential skills, it would be helpful. For example, the process of "stopping" a boat by slowly and patiently using forward and reverse, and maybe navigating around a few markers placed in an area where you can make a mistake and learn from it.

Everything on the water has more impact than a new boater thinks it can (a light breeze can push you quickly, a "small" wave can impact you more than you think), etc.

I know you all know this already - but taking a written test teaches you NONE of this. As someone else said, even after 17 years, I find myself in situations where I have to remind myself not to panic and go SLOW and think carefully. It is not easy.

My 2 cents.

[mishman]

I have made my share of mistakes boating but almost always at low speed so the boat and i survived to live another day! The other day while getting gas at Shep Brown's I saw an incident that took my breath away.

A fancy speed boat had just been put into the water by the marina's boat lift machines. Two guys in the boat let the boat drift backwards away from the lifter and then it happened. The boat accelerated with a roar forward onto the paved road and clipping the corner of the dock. The lift attendant jumped off and help lift the bow of the boat off the dock and back into the water. Everyone around just looked at each other thinking the same thing "what an idiot driver" and then the boat just waltzed out of the marina. We were shaking out heads. The gas attendant said he sees crazy stuff like that at least once a week. Unbelievable.

[LakeDad]

Originally Posted by MeredithMan

So my father grew up on the ocean, (Hough's Neck in Quincy), and spent his youth till early 20's sailing around Boston Harbor. Then came WWII and he spent a number of years in the Navy. Bottom line, he was experienced when it came to Ocean navigation and markers, but when he bought his first boat on the lake in 1974, he was clueless on NH inland waters navigation and markers. We had just passed the end of Governor's Island heading towards The Broads. My mother and I were in the front of their new 18' Wellcraft bowrider and my father was driving. I was 12 at the time. My mother and I happened to suddenly notice all the huge boulders below us and screamed, "ROCKS!!" My father slammed it into neutral. When we all put our hearts back in our chests, we paddled our way out of The Witches. The only thing that saved our bacon was that it was early May and the water was high.

That was our major life lesson on Winnipesaukee navigation!

Always respect the lake. As soon as you don't...

I've been boating here since I was a kid and recently moved here full time. I've probably used the boat 30+ days this summer and (knock on wood) the shenanigans I've witnessed have been mostly harmless/hilarious, like the guy in the Yamaha who couldn't square up to the wolfeboro gas dock to save his life. (You know, the really wide one with plenty of nav room all around it?)
The poor gas girl had to help whip him backwards around the corner by rope.

What concerns me are people like this in emergency situations. They do dumb things like gun it and hit people.

Anyway,back to the witches: My first time back here after many years was 2018. I rented a boat that year and was coming out of Paugus to head towards Ellacoya, where my rental house was. Keep in mind, I have years of boating experience, but I ended up swinging all the way around Governors island, ending up in Meredith. I noticed a few rocks along the way and moved on.
(We can just bury that part of story and pretend I ended up in Meredith on purpose

On the way back, I took the non bridge route around governors again and sort of casually turned when I saw rocks sticking out of the water.
It was then that it hit me how easily people end up in the witches:

Now that I'm local, I know exactly where it is at all times. The damn thing is over 30 acres and is easy to circle around, but it is so big, it's not apparent to noobs that those markers are around a circle. One could easily mistake the far ends as noting a hazard between the witches and timber island, leading them to head straight into the witches--if they don't see the other markers. The spacing of the markers is wide enough that many can't correlate them as a circle.

I know there is a fine line between preserving the natural beauty of the lake and filling it with signs, but it's actually surprising that it isn't marked more obviously.
But I'll digress: Perhaps it's best for this lake to maintain a Darwin factor to keep the dumbs away

[Descant]

I've said this before. The Withes are only significant because they have a sexy name, like the Graveyard. I doubt there are any more groundings there than many other places.
FWIW, in the sixties, Marine Patrol put a ring of orange barrels with whit reflectors all around the Witches, as a second barrier or double navaid. I guess they decided it didn't help as the barrels were removed a few years later. People routinely hit rocks north of Eagle Island, but we don't hear about it much because there is no sexy name.