What's your best find?

[Par Four]

What's your best find while out on or in the lake?

We stop and pickup any floating junk we see, every time. We wind up with lots of tennis balls and such, but I think all of my boat fenders have been found floating out there.

My best find was one early evening in that special time and light when the surface of the water turns silvery and nearly calm. We had just turned on our running lights and were running pretty hard for home (faster than today's daytime sped limit).

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a slight something on the surface about 30' off. I reduced power and came about in MOB style and was able to follow my wake back to the spot and found a 5' aluminum pole LED stern light floating on the surface.

It's not the most exciting find of all time, but the odds of spotting a shiney aluminum pole in the silvery evening water are pretty long odds.

The more valuable find was at dawn off of Weirs I came upon a 26' or so FourWinns Liberator that had come off its mooring and was heading that away.

I put a line on it and towed it to the end slip of the public dock and tied it up and left a message for Marine Patrol.

So what have you found out there?

[HellRaZoR004]

Two weeks ago I found a sit in float and a doughnut style one floating around out in the middle of nowhere.

Last year I picked up someone's styrofoam lid for a cooler.

[Chaselady]

I'll never tell!

[dt5150]

i found a half full bottle of vodka a couple weeks ago..

[JayDV]

My own ladder that fell off our boat 10 years earlier lying in 20+ ft depth. I used an anchor and line to hook it and bring it up. That was pretty exciting, but the most brownie points I won was when I spotted my wife's heirloom silver bracelet from the surface in the sandy bottom and surface dove about 18 ft to retrieve it.

Ya gotta love the lake when it is still, so clear!

[cillovely]

Well it wasn't someone else's loss, but when my son was younger, we went out early one morning to get gas at Channel Marine, then we did a loop around Paugus Bay. He was still in the pacifier stage and of course dropped it in the water. So we circled it a few times and finally I was able to snag it. Of course I didn't let him put it back in his mouth without some sterilization, but he was happy it was found.

[jrc]

All I ever find is water bottle and Styrofoam bait cups. The Styrofoam cups are white and easy to spot, the water bottles are just everywhere.

[BroadHopper]

I found an original Bruins Stanley Cup finals winning jersey! I stop at the Bruins guy on the island to return his jersey. He told me to keep it! Precious.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by cillovely

Well it wasn't someone else's loss, but when my son was younger, we went out early one morning to get gas at Channel Marine, then we did a loop around Paugus Bay. He was still in the pacifier stage and of course dropped it in the water. So we circled it a few times and finally I was able to snag it. Of course I didn't let him put it back in his mouth without some sterilization, but he was happy it was found.

Must have been the first born. I bet the binkie goes right back into the mouth of the second born...

[AC2717]

i'm not telling either, but it was great and did not take ownership until I put signs up and add saying it was found

[sluggo]

Mine was the best find of all......HAPPYNESS

[upthesaukee]

Found one one day in the middle of the broads. A few weeks later, found another one, again in the middle of the broads. Thought it was something until we saw how cheap they were. No wonder nobody looked like they were looking for them.

[Kamper]

To keep? An oar, some fenders, a couple hats and a dock section.

A swim raft came ashore at the property I used to manage. This was April/May-ish. I tied it to a tree and it was gone when I came back for Spring cleanup. They kept my ropes too! I also had a spar bouy wash up and the MP sent a boat to pick it up.

[Just Sold]

I found a very nice 25' mooring line. It was even in a matching color to my boat. Another time a brand new fender & rope that was definately from a Pontoon because of the railing hook on the end of the rope. Both times no other boat was anywhere near by nor did I find/see anyone looking for one. Years ago a very nice inflatable single person raft. Yes, plenty of trash, boards and logs too.

[boat_guy64]

I found a kids tooth retainer off of our beach in about 2 feet of water. When I was telling my wife about it ( I know how much the cost) an 11 year old runs up to me and says thanks and that he lost it 2 days ago.

Of course....he popped it right into his mouth....No worries for him

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

People often ask me: “what’s the best thing you ever found while diving?” My stock answer is: “narrow the category for me”. Do you want to know by?
• Jewelry: modern or antique
• Watches: Men’s, women’s, dive, dress, or antique pocket watches
• Wallets, purses, or hand bags
• Fishing gear: Rods, down riggers, weights or the whole transom with two down riggers and the motor
• Boats: new ones or the old ones or the boat trailers
• Cars: new ones, antiques or just the trucks
• Outboard motors: what size, what color, what era?
• Coins: antique, silver, gold or how about the box full of silver ½ dollars
• Cash
• Tools
• Pottery
• Rocks, I love breaking open a geode… what treasure it is
• Bottles (this one breaks down into several sub categories)
• Guns, new or old, bullets or cannon balls
• Arrowheads, spearheads or stone tools
• SCUBA gear
• My favorite category; Towels, I’m a sucker for beach towels…

The list goes on and on. There are literally thousands of items that I have found over the years diving in the lake. Like I always say; if you like dump picking, you’ll love diving in the lake… How all this stuff got to where it is on the bottom is another story all unto itself.

[Par Four]

Sounds like fun and adventure there... Gotta wonder about the boat trailer(s?) you came across. Also the SCUBA gear? That was a surprise to read.

I've made probably only 2 underwater 'finds'... The first was the embarrassing 4' plunge of shame along side the boat tied to the dock to retrieve my cellphone.

The second find was also embarrassing to perform. It was years back, when we had the registration license plates for the transom. We had a humble little runabout and it was our first time in NH. I put tie-wraps thru the mounting holes of the plate but couldn't find any suitable way to mount it. I thought I'd run the risk of taking the boat back to the cottage dock where I would surely figure out something.

Well, this was on Winnisquam and I was on one side of the bridge, needing to get to the other side, and wouldn't you know it the Marine Patrol was hovering under the bridge. So I pull over closer to shore and try to attach the plate to the outboard's steering control arm. Of ourselves I dropped the plate into the water about 8-10' deep, but clear and sandy bottom.

I took an immediate sight-line reference bearing to mentally mark the spot, which was a deck full of party people having a great Saturday afternoon blast. I set the anchor up wind and played out just the right length of line to position the boat right on top of my drop. I was able to use a $1.99 K-Mart child's goggles to see the 20-minute old shiney new reg plate on the bottom.

It took 30-minutes at least, to tie together 2 fishing poles and with a treble hook at the end of it, finally able to snag the tie-wrap loop, and bring my prized plate back up to the surface.

Now I could a least get back to the cottage at start our vacation. I looked over to the bridge in time to see the MP boat pulling away!

The party crowd on the nearby dock cheered ( I think it was a cheer) but a lone voice called out "why didnt you just jump in an grab it? You could probably stand up there..."

Well, when you're new, you don't see things the same as when you now have 30-ish years experience with "stuff" happening.

Here many years later, I'm still happy about that "find". And I still Rembrandt the voice from he dock, too. Not sarcastic, but just say'in...

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

Ya, you got a wonder about the stories that are tied to all the treasures own there.

The boat trailer is off Seawall Point, it went through the ice and the owners just abandoned it. It was almost new when I found it.

SCUBA gear is a very popular find in the lake. Most divers put their gear on & take it off in the water due to the weight. I'm always cleaning up after my dive buddies and even my gear too. It's very easy to inadvertently loose stuff off the boat.

The best explanation for artifacts on the bottom is: There has been over 300 years of civilization on the lake and for the first 250 years, it was considered the dump. Just haul your trash out on the ice, come spring, it's gone. Fast forward a few hundred years and all that left are glass, ceramics and non-ferrous metals. AKA: "treasures"...

[Kamper]

Originally Posted by Winnipesaukee Divers

... The boat trailer is off Seawall Point, ...

They thought the boat was a little slow so they cut it loose?

[AB_Monterey]

A brand new pillow still in it's plastic packaging floating in the broads in May.

No luck on sheets or comforter

[chaseisland]

A couple of years ago during an early morning of fishing I saw an orange plastic case bobbing, after retrieval found a blackberry inside. A day of searching and it was returned to its owner. Silly me, I was hoping for a blackberry pie.

[ursa minor]

My total over many years: 2 towable tubes, 1 Obrien slalom ski and numerous fenders (I've never actually bought one ) The tubes and ski were all left out on the dock for days but no one ever claimed them...

[Gatto Nero]

I found my own missing raft on someone else's mooring

[Pricestavern]

To Island Girl's credit (though too modest to take the credit) she found our runaway floating trampoline and dragged it back to us in rough seas whilst we were away!

[ghfromaltonbay]

This one floated up to our cove near Sandy Point. Still no owner has claimed it. I posted the find on this forum, but maybe the person who lost it doesn't frequent this website.

[ursa minor]

Forgot a good one. My Mom found one of the lighted bouys (either from Pick Point or the Barbers Pole, I forget) floating off Cow Island really early one Monday morning in the 1970's when she was coming back from dropping my Dad off so he could go to work in MA while we stayed for the week. (Poor guy) We dragged it back, tied it to the dock and called the Marine Patrol. Those old ones were a LOT bigger and heavier than the lights used now. It looked cool at the dock though.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Originally Posted by Pricestavern

To Island Girl's credit (though too modest to take the credit) she found our runaway floating trampoline and dragged it back to us in rough seas whilst we were away!

That was Rattlesnake Guy and Rattlesnake Gal. You were very smart to put your telephone number on it.

In addition to the trampoline, we have found some nice friends, a swim raft (I still wonder if the people thought we stole it. Never said thank you or nothin. ) a Roll a Dock tire, a lighted buoy, though it was too rough to get, so I just reported it to MP, a raft float from a swim raft, a pontoon boat, two mooring balls, many bumpers, a big fishing lure, a baby duck that lost its family, lots of debris and trash an inflatable swim ring, a 4" x 6" dock post, a shirt and underwear an American flag with it's broken pole, an arrowhead, an old champagne bottle, a cool rock with a bunch of craters and ripples in it and several great pieces of drift wood.

The very best thing is that I found a piece of myself at Lake Winnipesaukee that I didn't know I was missing.

[Lakegeezer]

Found a brass rudder in some shoals while snorkeling. It had "NH Marine Patrol" stamped on it. Shined up pretty good.

[Shreddy]

I lost my boater's license in the water years ago maybe 400 feet out in front of Suissevale beach. About 3-4 years after, I was swimming at one of our rafts and I broke a necklace and it fell to the bottom (maybe 10-12 feet at most). Me and a buddy started diving and we eventually recovered my necklace and the charms on it. In the process, as I was sitting on the swim raft, my buddy dove and came up with a small white plastic card. I knew IMMEDIATELY that it had to be my boater's license from years ago. Sure enough...it was mine, nice and seasoned from spending a few years at the bottom of the lake. Somehow it managed to drift about 500 feet inward towards shore during that length of time.

[Gearhead]

I know what somebody else found this year on July 3rd: MY mooring. I guess he thought they were just free for the taking.

[HellRaZoR004]

Originally Posted by Gearhead

I know what somebody else found this year on July 3rd: MY mooring. I guess he thought they were just free for the taking.

LOL, as in they were using it? How did that end up?

[HomeWood]

Originally Posted by Lakegeezer

Found a brass rudder in some shoals while snorkeling. It had "NH Marine Patrol" stamped on it. Shined up pretty good.

Excellent lake house decor.

[lakershaker]

Originally Posted by Lakegeezer

Found a brass rudder in some shoals while snorkeling. It had "NH Marine Patrol" stamped on it. Shined up pretty good.

Was that near Ganzy Isl?

[Broken Glass]

I have found bumpers, balls, hats, lines, jackets, and too many empty beer cans and bottles to count. I fish on the weekends, and I always try to pick up some trash while I am trolling along enjoying the lake. Last weekend, after being almost swamped by two cruisers headed into Meredith, I found a TV remote control bobbing up and down like a beer bottle. I had to laugh to myself thinking that it probably slid off of the table of one of the "bubs" that went crawling by.

Dan "Good Stuff"

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Originally Posted by Gearhead

I know what somebody else found this year on July 3rd: MY mooring. I guess he thought they were just free for the taking.

They took your mooring or your mooring ball? Did you call Marine Patrol? I've found two in the past that came loose. (They did make it back to owners.)

[Lakegeezer]

Originally Posted by lakershaker

Was that near Ganzy Isl?

Found it in the shoals that come out from Gun Island and extend towards marker 13. The water looks very safe for travel there, but is only for the very lucky.

[Justenuff]

Sailing out on the lake, going slow we used to see a lot of stuff floating. Being conscious of the environment, we would pick up water bottles, floating cooler or pieces of coolers and other trash left by someone. We used an old pool skimmer we had stashed on deck.
One day we picked up a nice 4 foot plastic cutting board, most likely a fisherman's who lost it off of the back of the boat. It looked like it had never been used.
Cut it up into smaller pieces and everyone had a new cutting board near their grills!

[Gearhead]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

They took your mooring or your mooring ball? Did you call Marine Patrol? I've found two in the past that came loose. (They did make it back to owners.)

To make a long story short it's not a problem for me any more. It did prevent us from using it over the fourth.

It was the WHOLE mooring.

[ghfromaltonbay]

This thread reminded me of something I posted over 5 years ago involving a lost wallet found by a long time friend. Here it is again for those who may be new to the forum:

Your story reminded me of another great find in Alton Bay. Someone asked 2 guys I know to dive for a lost brass boat lamp just north of Light #23 near Sandy Point. One of them found a men's wallet in the silty bottom and brought it back to shore. The wallet contained money, license, etc. for someone from Mass. and based on the license date it had been there for a few years. The diver called this gentleman who hung up on him. He called again, said it wasn't a hoax and mentioned that there was a half of a $1 bill in the wallet. This kept the man on the line who told the diver that he had lost the wallet out of his back pocket while sitting on the side of his friend's boat. Over the years many of his buddies made prank calls pretending that they had found the wallet and he thought this was another prankster. When he heard about the 1/2 $1 bill, he then knew my friend was not trying to pull his leg. He explained that he and his wife had cut a $1 bill and each carried a half. His wife passed away shortly after he lost his wallet and he still kept the half she had carried. Now he had his half back as well as the money that had been in the wallet. I seem to remember it was quite a large amount and since it had been in the water so long it had to be separated carefully with tweezers. The story of this discovery was carried on CNN and featured the young hero.

[granitehead]

I live on Braun Bay and like to snorkel up in the cove Monday mornings after busy weekends. Best single day was maybe 10 yrs ago when I found:
a) 8 lb Danforth anchor
b) pair of Oakley shades
c) wallet with $50 cash.
Still using a) and b). c) had a MA non-driver's ID and credit card in it along with the $50. ID indicated owner was a 22 yr. old male. Dried it all out and mailed it intact with cash back to the owner along with my contact info... not a peep.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Originally Posted by granitehead

I live on Braun Bay and like to snorkel up in the cove Monday mornings after busy weekends. Best single day was maybe 10 yrs ago when I found:
a) 8 lb Danforth anchor
b) pair of Oakley shades
c) wallet with $50 cash.
Still using a) and b). c) had a MA non-driver's ID and credit card in it along with the $50. ID indicated owner was a 22 yr. old male. Dried it all out and mailed it intact with cash back to the owner along with my contact info... not a peep.

The man who's wallet you found was inconsiderate. A thank you note was the least he should have done.