40 MPH...Straight into The Witches!

[secondcurve]

SA:

It's nice to have someone share a mistake for the benefit of the other members. One point I'd make is that you were probably cruising too fast for your location on the lake. I certainly don't want to open up the speed limit debate and I don't have a strong opinion on the topic, but when I am relatively close to land I throttle back to 25mph. That speed moves me along briskly but yet allows me time to react to obstacles and/or situations such as the one you experienced. 40MPH is starting to really move and hitting obstacles at that speed can be unforgiving. I save speeds of over 35MPH for the Broads. Good luck and thanks for sharing an incident that we all have experienced in one form or another.

[VtSteve]

Originally Posted by Mee-n-Mac

I have to have my eyes open when I do the zig-zag around Pitchwood and Stonedam but I guess I'd close them if I were to try to steer a boat through them ... You've got one uber strong lower unit by my reckoning !

A slip of the tongue I have made. Yes, I'd prefer to go around them as well.

Speaking of Stonedam, when I was just a kid, I remember old Tom Rice driving his Laker from the house on Stonedam by our house and onward to Shep Browns. A great thing the old man did with that island. We used to row across and hike that hill. Bugs are viscous there

[sa meredith]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

SA:

It's nice to have someone share a mistake for the benefit of the other members. One point I'd make is that you were probably cruising too fast for your location on the lake. I certainly don't want to open up the speed limit debate and I don't have a strong opinion on the topic, but when I am relatively close to land I throttle back to 25mph. That speed moves me along briskly but yet allows me time to react to obstacles and/or situations such as the one you experienced. 40MPH is starting to really move and hitting obstacles at that speed can be unforgiving. I save speeds of over 35MPH for the Broads. Good luck and thanks for sharing an incident that we all have experienced in one form or another.

First of all...thanks to everyone who wished me well, and stated they were glad I was safe...both in this thread and thru PMs. This past Monday afternoon, from 4:15 to 4:30 is a segment in time I wish I could erase.
Making a mistake and learning from it can be a positive thing....
But feeling sheer terror? It sucked!
Upon further review, I totally agree with Secondcurve.
My speed was excessive. After travelling thru the broads from Wolfeboro, which is generally wide open cruising, upon reaching Locke's, it is time to back it down a bit, re-focus, and sharpen up a bit. Especially running with no GPS. But I was grooving to the radio, and basking in the glow and warmth of the late afternoon sun. I would normally back down to 20/25 MPH at Locke's as there is traffic there...but, naaaa, that's for beginners, right? Ya right! So, I believe when I mentally calculated that I had not yet reached the Witches, and decided to pass Governor's to the right instead of the left, I never accounted for the fact I was travelling at 40, not my regular 20/25.
Had it been 20, I probably would indeed have been were I thought I was.
40 MPH was wrong, and had this turned tragic, I would have had only myself to blame.
That being said, while everyone should always consult their chart, or GPS, and know where they are at all times, I believe we can all agree..The Witches are not marked in a way that is consistent with how vicious they are. A small leash is going to hold a normal size dog, but the same leash is not appropriate for a 80 lb Doberman. Get it?
And lastly, if you think you might be near the Witches but are not sure, look for my Monday afternoon lunch floating in the water.

[kjbathe]

I didn't re-read the other thread, but it seems we've covered the need for new/larger/more Witches navaids before. And even though SA had this experience and I'm happy that he came out unscathed, I still don't think we need more or larger navaids in that area. And here's why...

Where would it end?

That rocky shoal pre-dates any of us. It wasn't new when the natives first marked it. It wasn't new when it was charted in 1911. And almost 100 years later, it's still not new. I personally don't want some obnoxious, visually-impossible-to-miss, pink-flamingo-topped structure out there dumbing-down and warning folks to avoid something they should already be looking for. That's what charts and a throttle are for.

If we keep trying to make everything idiot-proof, we'll just keep building better idiots. (Not suggesting at all that SA was an idiot -- quite the opposite given everything shared here and the willingness and good spirit in which it was done.) But I groan at the thought there are actually some folks out there who would honestly believe that a state- or federally-funded initiative to blast and dredge the lake to make it free from all boating hazards is really a good idea. Part of the fun of boating is having a healthy respect for, or being afraid of and cautiously exploring, unfamiliar areas. Even the familiar ones.

Just my 2 cents...

[SIKSUKR]

Every time I'm on the lake I encounter the Witches,which would be in the hundreds of times and I still find it hard to see the the whole area being marked.You must constantly scan and and then many times,oops,theres another marker over there.I could see a few more markers helping with that situation.

[sa meredith]

Originally Posted by kjbathe

. Part of the fun of boating is having a healthy respect for, or being afraid of and cautiously exploring, unfamiliar areas. Even the familiar ones.

Just my 2 cents...

Well said, Kjbathe. I agree will all of it. All I am suggesting is a tall flag, on a very thin pole...similar to a Fairway Flag, if you happen to be a golfer.
No huge or bright items floating the water. Leave the markers as they are.
But in the center, a simple balck flag visible from, say 100 yards or so. At 100 yards (300 feet) every boater should be able to "pick it up" and act accordingly.
On my day, after making my right turn, I would have quickly spied the flag..
Just a thought...I'm sure it will never happen, and that's OK.
As I stated, I'm quite sure my lesson is learned!

[neckdweller]

Last week I was out on the boat and fished something out of the water (no, not SA's lunch). It was a map of the lake and the witches were circled and had a big X through them. Guess the original map owner wasn't a big fan of the area either.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by neckdweller

Last week I was out on the boat and fished something out of the water (no, not SA's lunch). It was a map of the lake and the witches were circled and had a big X through them. Guess the original map owner wasn't a big fan of the area either.

Are you sure it wasn't a treasure map with the X marking "the spot" ????

[Merrymeeting]

Can someone let me know about the paddle issue? I have always been under the belief that a paddle/oar was a required piece of safety equipment. Today I checked the NH boating site and didn't see mention of it.

Has my lifelong belief been wrong as it appears? If so, I'll continue to believe that every large boat should have one. But is it not a requirement?

Thanks

[Airwaves]

But I think that a paddle or oar is required on vessels of 16 feet or less.

I have larger boats than that but I still carry a paddle on them. If need be I would use it to attach an orange flag so that I can wave it as a VDS or to paddle out of the Witches Circle

[GWC...]

Originally Posted by Airwaves

But I think that a paddle or oar is required on vessels of 16 feet or less.

I have larger boats than that but I still carry a paddle on them. If need be I would use it to attach an orange flag so that I can wave it as a VDS or to paddle out of the Witches Circle

I think I hear an echo...

[NightWing]

Paddles (2) are only required on class A and class 1 commercial vessels.

Certainly a good idea to have on a recreational boat, but not mandatory.

[Airwaves]

Originally posted by Nightwing
Paddles (2) are only required on class A and class 1 commercial vessels.

Well that clears it right up...

[NightWing]

Originally Posted by Airwaves

Well that clears it right up...

SAF-C 403.08, #3

Why the rolled eyes?

[VtSteve]

Originally Posted by NightWing

Paddles (2) are only required on class A and class 1 commercial vessels.

Certainly a good idea to have on a recreational boat, but not mandatory.

I've always had a paddle, mine is a telescoping one with a boat hook on the end. It does serve many purposes. I doubt I could paddle my boat very far even on a calm day, but the hook has served to reach objects in the water, a person on the dock if my docking skills were less than perfect, grabbing a line that has gone astray, and protecting my boat from Champ, who has made previous attempts to board my vessel. A simple tap on the top of the head from a safe distance usually does the trick.

[Don]

Originally Posted by NightWing

Paddles (2) are only required on class A and class 1 commercial vessels.

Certainly a good idea to have on a recreational boat, but not mandatory.

I'm not sure about the rules on the Lake but years ago I got burned on a Coast Guard Auxiliary safety inspection at the ramp on the Charles River in Boston for not having "Alternate Propulsion" on board. At first I didn't know what he meant until it was explained that it meant a paddle.

I would be surprising if alternate propulsion was not required on most power boats on the lake.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by Don

...I would be surprising if alternate propulsion was not required on most power boats on the lake...

I'll vouch for my good friend Nightwing, he is correct in his post.

Paddles (alternate propulsion source) are only required on Type A and Type I commercial boats when operating on the big Lake. Type A is a commercial motorboat less than 16 foot and Type I is a commercial boat between 16 and 26 foot.

It is very difficult keeping track of the various differences in boating laws from State to State, even here in New England.

And has been previously stated by others, I never leave the dock without a good paddle or two aboard, regardless of the regulations in effect here in the Granite State!

[sa meredith]

Ok...so two events...two good lessons...
Last year, a boat sinks in the broads, and as the discussion goes along, we all learn things like having the bellows checked, and checking coolant hoses that can work themselves loose (although niether of these proved to be the cause of the sinking).

This year, some fool drives right into the Witches, and now we all know to always have "alternate propulsion" on board. That guy really should have know that already. Bonehead!

[Don]

Originally Posted by neckdweller

Last week I was out on the boat and fished something out of the water (no, not SA's lunch). It was a map of the lake and the witches were circled and had a big X through them. Guess the original map owner wasn't a big fan of the area either.

If it was a Duncan Press chart it sounds like it flew off a Anchor Marine rental. Bob circles and X's the Witches on his charts and I've watched him emphasising over and over to renters about that area.

A few years ago a co-worker took his kids to the Lake with his sons. He rented a boat from Anchor Marine and within 15 minutes hit the rocks between Big and Little Island in Paugus Bay causing $1500 damage to the outdrive. Since he was never on the Lake I really grilled him in advance about the rocks and the absolute necessity of using the chart and being sure he knew exactly where he was. Apparently the lure of that open water made him forget my advice.