First time on boat in lake, thoughts and reflections(so far)

[Thundra]

I had completed my first trip, on boat, to the lake a few Monday's ago. It was the Monday after the first heat-wave that had come for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was with a friend that had spent the past 15 years on the lake up there as his elderly mother was, and had come down with alzheimers and he would take her, a dog and himself and enjoy riding all around and had learned the ins and outs of everywhere up there so it was nice having him as my guide.


As I had mentioned in another post, between having taken the boat-ed NH course-and having a C-MAP chip that is licensed from Bizer, the C-MAP was really spot-on for all the buoy locations.

The lake is calm. While it was a Monday in June-I know better than to go on a weekend as I have learned as I get older and older, to not go on the weekend when one can go on weekdays(what vacation time is good for), we can leave the weekends to the amateurs. I love that the lake is calm with not much current and no tide to worry about, ever.

The big town harbors have public docks and at least at Wolfeboro where we had lunch, and Weirs, one did not even need to pay to tie up and use the dock. When I finally saw the Weirs public docks I was in awe at how many there were and not one was taken/used. It was a Monday at around 5:30pm or so but my buddy did mention that no matter what, during the week, there is always a spot for a boat at those docks. I'm used to going places where there are virtually NO public docks, either paid or unpaid so to see them all was heartening. I can also understand that coastal property is so expensive and maintaining tidal docks in the winter is just costly but it is just nice knowing that boaters really are welcomed with open arms on the lake.

The water is clear, maybe not as clear as days gone by, but clearer than the salt waters I've been used to. The water also has about no taste and just feels so good to swim in. My 8 and 10 year olds were loving floating and swimming around, so much so that they are looking forward to going up again-very soon. The water also happened to be a great temp, of course this was like June 23rd or whatever that Monday was after a heat wave but that the water is not like ice as it is in Maine or even Hampton Beach, it makes swimming just awesome.

I now know why so many go to the big lake all these years. The mountains all around. Solitude by water if one wants it, then civilization with food and lodging for us boaters, I'm hooked and am all in for this upcoming season.

For two or three straight summers, a lad sometime in the 80's, I had stayed for weeks at a time at the YMCA boys camp on Bear Island. I had vaguely remembered what the pier for the Mt Washington ferry had looked like but I do remember, every night, trying to catch the fish off the docks at the camp where the water was so incredibly clear, I could see every fish in the water and trying in vain to try and catch one. Other than having snowmobiled on the lake a few times in the early winters of the 2000's, we'd get on somewhere around Wolfeboro, ride out to the Broads and then go back, I had never spent any time or had visited the lake or any of the towns surrounding it. I really look forward to docking in Weirs and checking out that boardwalk as I do love visiting places by boat more than by motor vehicle.

[Descant]

Great post; thanks for sharing. Just remember when you find a great place to anchor, don't post it and don't ask for our secret places. In the meantime, Join Lakes Region Conservation Trust, and you can visit some of their islands, hike and explore.

[Biggd]

When I was in high school back in the early 70's we all went to Cape Cod every weekend. When I graduated High school I started coming up to the Margate with a friend of mine who's family owned it. I never looked back and very rarely do I visit Cape Cod anymore.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

[Thundra]

Originally Posted by Descant

Great post; thanks for sharing. Just remember when you find a great place to anchor, don't post it and don't ask for our secret places. In the meantime, Join Lakes Region Conservation Trust, and you can visit some of their islands, hike and explore.

I'm glad I could share.

I have been reading on here for a few weeks now as due to COVID, where I was leaving the boat on a dock at my dad's place down on Cape Cod, as we will wait for the green light/phase 4 here in MA so we don't take any chance getting him sick, the gear needed to be switched and as the lake is only some 70 miles from home, and the water just so, so nice, I consider myself so fortunate to live close enough to get up and back with no problems towing the boat whenever we want to go.

I have learned, like fishing forums, especially striped bass ones, that spot burning is very much frowned-upon and on this forum it is the same way with only places to anchor and visit. At least from what I had seen from a few hours on a Monday in June, the number of places that one can spend time in are almost endless as the amount of shoreline is massive. I surely will not ask for any secret-places.

The hiking spots will be a nice change of pace, if we can get the kids out of the water.

[Thundra]

Originally Posted by Biggd

When I was in high school back in the early 70's we all went to Cape Cod every weekend. When I graduated High school I started coming up to the Margate with a friend of mine who's family owned it. I never looked back and very rarely do I visit Cape Cod anymore.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Like most everywhere in the world, things have changed as time has gone on.

I was a hardcore fisherman from about 1996 to 2010 when my firstborn came and for many years, the fishing in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds and Buzzards Bay along with on Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge was fantastic. (Debbie Downer Alert)-I had been taking the kids out to fish in the sounds and at all the places, times and tides, using the same techniques/fishing methods, baits/lures etc, there are just fewer fish out there nowadays. Never mind that somehow, while the kids have gotten into many of the things that I'm into, they have not really caught the fishing bug like I had when I was a kid and into adulthood. It is why I don't mind not being on the cape this summer and will not miss being down there if I never go again.

As I had mentioned earlier, some can get sick of the same thing, year after year and I'm afraid my kids got jaded with visiting their grandfathers place and stepping off a dock and onto a boat and being able to go to some remote beaches where boaters are allowed to anchor/beach and enjoy the sun, sand and salt-though we also need to deal with sharp shells and rocks mixed into the sand(I know, I know, poor boater, sharp shells and rocks that hurt the footsies). Still, being able to get up to the lake to enjoy it every now and then is a new revelation as I know we only have maybe 8 years left as I'm painfully aware that once the kids get their drivers licenses we won't be doing these family trips like we used to and these/this-summer will be just a pleasant memory.

[Thundra]

This past Tuesday thru yesterday=spectacular.

We got up to the resort right at lunch on Tuesday. Wife and kids wanted to enjoy the beach so I went to running up to Weirs and getting fuel/gas.

Wednesday was threatening to rain all day and it did for about an hour so my boy and I had decided to put on our rainjackets and go back to Weirs-he, like his dad when he was younger, loves his video games and the arcades that were open at Weirs were actually pretty good. We did go to Funspot afterwards and my gosh, I had seen video games that I had never seen in my life and as a kid during the arcade boom-along with having spent time on Younge and Bloor streets in Toronto for a few summers in the early 80's, I had seen a lot of machines in my time but Funspot blew my mind and I'll go back up just to go back to that arcade.

The lake was completely empty on Wednesday-I can understand as no one wants to get caught in lightning but with no wind and a very light rain, the waters were calm and also empty, perfect. It was so calm out that I could not help but to burn more fuel running at a higher cruise than normal as it was all so much fun. I had even took the time to show my boy how the throttle and shift work on the boat as he will always be my first mate so getting him used to putting the motor in and out of gear and to get used to the DTS-Digital Throttle and Shift(Verado is smooth).

Yesterday was perfect anchor in a nice area and put up the (Taylor)-Anchorshade and swim/float and relax. A buddy from home came up so we had met him at the dock, we took a cruise from the bottom of Alton Bay up to Center Harbor and with a 40mph cruise, it only took about 30 minutes to run the 21.7 miles to see Center Harbor, turn around and head back where we picked up my boy so he could be my spotter so I could surf behind the boat. Hot days are great on the lake as the water, for now, is cool, while the air is hot or warm. I can imagine that as the weeks pass by, the water will get warmer through August.

Looking forward to the next trip. The good part is that nothing broke and nothing is needed for the next trip other than the time and a room for the 4 of us somewhere and maybe the same place as we now know it and liked it.

[dickiej]

Making memories....gotta love it! Good for you...your kids will remember them fondly forever...I'm 67, and to this day some of my greatest memories are exploring the lake in my fathers 14' dreamboat with my best friend.

[Garcia]

Originally Posted by Thundra

This past Tuesday thru yesterday=spectacular.

We got up to the resort right at lunch on Tuesday. Wife and kids wanted to enjoy the beach so I went to running up to Weirs and getting fuel/gas.

Wednesday was threatening to rain all day and it did for about an hour so my boy and I had decided to put on our rainjackets and go back to Weirs-he, like his dad when he was younger, loves his video games and the arcades that were open at Weirs were actually pretty good. We did go to Funspot afterwards and my gosh, I had seen video games that I had never seen in my life and as a kid during the arcade boom-along with having spent time on Younge and Bloor streets in Toronto for a few summers in the early 80's, I had seen a lot of machines in my time but Funspot blew my mind and I'll go back up just to go back to that arcade.

The lake was completely empty on Wednesday-I can understand as no one wants to get caught in lightning but with no wind and a very light rain, the waters were calm and also empty, perfect. It was so calm out that I could not help but to burn more fuel running at a higher cruise than normal as it was all so much fun. I had even took the time to show my boy how the throttle and shift work on the boat as he will always be my first mate so getting him used to putting the motor in and out of gear and to get used to the DTS-Digital Throttle and Shift(Verado is smooth).

Yesterday was perfect anchor in a nice area and put up the (Taylor)-Anchorshade and swim/float and relax. A buddy from home came up so we had met him at the dock, we took a cruise from the bottom of Alton Bay up to Center Harbor and with a 40mph cruise, it only took about 30 minutes to run the 21.7 miles to see Center Harbor, turn around and head back where we picked up my boy so he could be my spotter so I could surf behind the boat. Hot days are great on the lake as the water, for now, is cool, while the air is hot or warm. I can imagine that as the weeks pass by, the water will get warmer through August.

Looking forward to the next trip. The good part is that nothing broke and nothing is needed for the next trip other than the time and a room for the 4 of us somewhere and maybe the same place as we now know it and liked it.

I loved reading your positive, enthusiastic post. Thanks for sharing - and keep creating those happy memories. I am more excited to be here in this, my 53rd summer, than ever. Each year just gets better!

[Thundra]

Originally Posted by Garcia

I loved reading your positive, enthusiastic post. Thanks for sharing - and keep creating those happy memories. I am more excited to be here in this, my 53rd summer, than ever. Each year just gets better!

Thanks, it means a lot, that others like my stories.

I had realized, not all that long ago as my kids had started liking all the things that I did, both when I was a kid/child and even as an adult, that all my life was spent practicing, learning and going to all the places and doing all the things was all to show them and do them all with my own kids and thankfully, between swimming and some fishing, they have been loving the lake.

I also agree that things just do keep on getting better and better as we were mercifully spared any effects of COVID.

I also learned why so many enjoy taking the drives up and even around the lake and why the bike week is in Laconia every year, even the road, Rt11-up to Weirs is quite nice and even with a mostly 35 mph speed limit, is a fun drive. I'm still not jaded on driving and even after years of commuting into Boston, still love driving. The entire area up there, even though I have probably only seen or experienced .001% of it, is just incredible.

[dippasan]

Originally Posted by Thundra

This past Tuesday thru yesterday=spectacular.

We got up to the resort right at lunch on Tuesday. Wife and kids wanted to enjoy the beach so I went to running up to Weirs and getting fuel/gas.

Wednesday was threatening to rain all day and it did for about an hour so my boy and I had decided to put on our rainjackets and go back to Weirs-he, like his dad when he was younger, loves his video games and the arcades that were open at Weirs were actually pretty good. We did go to Funspot afterwards and my gosh, I had seen video games that I had never seen in my life and as a kid during the arcade boom-along with having spent time on Younge and Bloor streets in Toronto for a few summers in the early 80's, I had seen a lot of machines in my time but Funspot blew my mind and I'll go back up just to go back to that arcade.

The lake was completely empty on Wednesday-I can understand as no one wants to get caught in lightning but with no wind and a very light rain, the waters were calm and also empty, perfect. It was so calm out that I could not help but to burn more fuel running at a higher cruise than normal as it was all so much fun. I had even took the time to show my boy how the throttle and shift work on the boat as he will always be my first mate so getting him used to putting the motor in and out of gear and to get used to the DTS-Digital Throttle and Shift(Verado is smooth).

Yesterday was perfect anchor in a nice area and put up the (Taylor)-Anchorshade and swim/float and relax. A buddy from home came up so we had met him at the dock, we took a cruise from the bottom of Alton Bay up to Center Harbor and with a 40mph cruise, it only took about 30 minutes to run the 21.7 miles to see Center Harbor, turn around and head back where we picked up my boy so he could be my spotter so I could surf behind the boat. Hot days are great on the lake as the water, for now, is cool, while the air is hot or warm. I can imagine that as the weeks pass by, the water will get warmer through August.

Looking forward to the next trip. The good part is that nothing broke and nothing is needed for the next trip other than the time and a room for the 4 of us somewhere and maybe the same place as we now know it and liked it.

As I sit in my home office, I have all I can do to not pack a bag, get in my car and head to our camp after reading your posts.

My sister and her husband recently purchased a boat and rent a slip on the lake. They are now completely smitten by the charm and beauty of Winnipesaukee. They "get it". I receive regular mid week texts from them now, saying how they can't wait to get back there each weekend.

Thanks for sharing your positive impressions of the lake through fresh eyes helping to remind us how wonderful it really is.

[Thundra]

I'm going to miss this past summer.

The lake was an incredible place to visit. It had just so happened that we got to go up during heat waves so that the water was about as warm as it could be. My 8 and 10 year old both learned to snorkel this past summer in the lake and with the water so clear, it was a treat to snorkel with them.

Finding a nice, out of the way place to anchor off one of the islands for a couple of day trips was also a treat. We would only go during the week so there were very few boats out while we were up there.

I think that no matter what, for as long as the kids enjoy going up there and enjoy cruising around on the lake with their mom and dad, anchoring or drifting along with the boat while swimming, catching all the rock bass that will easily take a very small Berkeley grub with a curly tail and taking the boat to one of the public docks at every town on the lake to have lunch and dinner and being able to sit back and just spend the time, we will be back.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Thundra

I think that no matter what, for as long as the kids enjoy going up there and enjoy cruising around on the lake with their mom and dad, anchoring or drifting along with the boat while swimming, catching all the rock bass that will easily take a very small Berkeley grub with a curly tail and taking the boat to one of the public docks at every town on the lake to have lunch and dinner and being able to sit back and just spend the time, we will be back.

Take advantage of all those days you can get, in no time those kids will be grown up and doing their own things. Our favorite family vacations were on the lake, but those days are long gone now... Don't get me wrong, we are still having a great time boating (and will be back on Winnipesaukee for sure next year since we bought a pair of 3 person Sea Doos and a trailer), but boating is completely different with grown kids.

[Thundra]

Originally Posted by Dave R

Take advantage of all those days you can get, in no time those kids will be grown up and doing their own things. Our favorite family vacations were on the lake, but those days are long gone now... Don't get me wrong, we are still having a great time boating (and will be back on Winnipesaukee for sure next year since we bought a pair of 3 person Sea Doos and a trailer), but boating is completely different with grown kids.

You are so right and I know that it is coming as I remember when I started not wanting to go to places with my parents and being free to do whatever it is I wanted to do, well before even having a license or motor vehicle to drive.

At 8 and 10 years old, our times together are more than 1/2 way over and I cherish all the time we get to spend together as it sure is all flying by.

I'm going to miss all the times we have had and all the times we have not had yet and certainly once they do grow up, boating will never be the same and not even close.

I'm going to be looking forward to the first heat waves for next summer as the heat waves were when it was the most perfect time to be up there and on the water.

[dippasan]

We bought our camp 10 years ago.
My son's were 20, 18, and 11.
Fast forward 10 years....my oldest is 30 with a daughter, middle son is 28 getting married this weekend, and my youngest is 21 and moving to Minnesota in 2 weeks for a new job.

Kinda wish I could go back to when I was teaching them how to work the throttles and what trim tabs do.

Enjoy every minute......it goes lightning fast.

[Garcia]

Originally Posted by dippasan

We bought our camp 10 years ago.
My son's were 20, 18, and 11.
Fast forward 10 years....my oldest is 30 with a daughter, middle son is 28 getting married this weekend, and my youngest is 21 and moving to Minnesota in 2 weeks for a new job.

Kinda wish I could go back to when I was teaching them how to work the throttles and what trim tabs do.

Enjoy every minute......it goes lightning fast.

You're right. It is also wonderful living through the change and growth. I have great memories of being a kid and watching with awe as my Grandparents and parents put in docks and waterlines, built decks, troubleshooted boats, and did so much more. Now I do it and have loved having my own children look on in awe, gravitate to being helpers, and now take initiative and do things on their own. Remembering the past is great, but so is living in the moment and looking to the future.

[Descant]

Originally Posted by dippasan

We bought our camp 10 years ago.
My son's were 20, 18, and 11.
Fast forward 10 years....my oldest is 30 with a daughter, middle son is 28 getting married this weekend, and my youngest is 21 and moving to Minnesota in 2 weeks for a new job.

Kinda wish I could go back to when I was teaching them how to work the throttles and what trim tabs do.

Enjoy every minute......it goes lightning fast.

It's your boat, right? You get to teach the new daughter in law and the grand daughter. More great times to come. And you get to visit the Land of 10,000 Lakes and stay for free. Sounds good to me.

[dippasan]

Originally Posted by Descant

It's your boat, right? You get to teach the new daughter in law and the grand daughter. More great times to come. And you get to visit the Land of 10,000 Lakes and stay for free. Sounds good to me.

Yes sir
I couldn't agree more. I try to put a positive spin on everything and this is no exception. It's all positive stuff and we sure did enjoy our Granddaughter at the camp this summer.

[Thundra]

Here we are, on the cusp of Labor Day 2021 weekend.

At the end of last season, as we were able to enjoy three mid-week heat-waves on the lake, we were able to get up to the lake for FOUR mid-week heat waves this year. I had made the dream of going up more than three times come true.

Once again, the lake is pretty awesome. The water is so clean and clear. Once we got past one of the wettest July's on record and got to August, the water was warm and I did not need my 3/4 wetsuit to enjoy the water with the kids. The kids did not mind the cooler water as they are kids and don't feel the coolness of the water unlike my skin and bone-body and older-age,

We got to visit a few new places and anchor at different places to swim and just letting the day pass us by. I had learned to no longer just cut right up The Broads when the wind is blowing but to instead hug one of the shorelines as the fetch over that part of the lake-as it is so "broad", makes running in it, even with way less boat traffic mid-week, is tough on the wife and kids.

We had also learned that Fridays are a busy time on the lake during lunchtime, especially when the weather is so nice. We were lucky in that we did bring enough food to tide us over that Friday so we did not have to wait to eat in either Wolfeboro or Alton Bay.

I know that the lake is beautiful in the fall, with less traffic and less people but, as the kids are swimmers and as the days are cooler, heat waves are the right time for us to go. I will be looking forward to next summer and when school gets out again and for that first heat-wave so we can all get back up there to enjoy "The-lake".

[Juiced06GTO]

Great follow up! We managed a good 9 or so days out on Winni and another week or so at our family place on Upper Suncook. Any time on the lake(s) is good time!