Quote:
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.
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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.