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Old 05-24-2008, 09:15 PM   #1
jayp603
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Default was it crazy busy saturday?

probably going to take the family up for a cruise around the lake sunday or monday, was it really busy today?
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Old 05-24-2008, 10:01 PM   #2
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Given the wind and white caps in Alton Bay....It was quite quiet. We never made it much past Sandy Point....Decided to wait for Sunday and sit in the slip. Saw one other boat out in the Bay while we were out. Sunday and Monday (weather permitting) should see much more traffic. Is it just me, or are there many empty slips for this time of year?
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Old 05-24-2008, 10:36 PM   #3
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Default Very Quiet

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Given the wind and white caps in Alton Bay....It was quite quiet. We never made it much past Sandy Point....Decided to wait for Sunday and sit in the slip. Saw one other boat out in the Bay while we were out. Sunday and Monday (weather permitting) should see much more traffic. Is it just me, or are there many empty slips for this time of year?
We picked up the boat today and also went for a short spin on the jetski. Paugus Bay was extremely quiet. There was a sharp wind and swells; coupled with cold water, it was not all the pleasant. However, even with the cold weather, it was a very very quiet Saturday. We will see what tomorrow brings.

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Old 05-25-2008, 08:31 AM   #4
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We drove to Wolfborough Saturday night for diner and the docks were 80% open. No one was in line for ice cream. Very light boat traffic day. So far it does not look like a holiday weekend on the lake.
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Old 05-25-2008, 11:36 AM   #5
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Very quiet over by buoy 3...was look'n forward to the roar of the go fast-be louds as they raced through the narrows...but it wasn't happening, yesterday. Around here, a normal sunny Saturday or Sunday, has it sounding like your ears are inside a chainsaw. It's just not normal without those gas guzzl'n V-8's roar'n around.

Someone has Henry Ford's old 1930's, all wood, go fast boat and supposedly it has a straight 12 cyclinder. It's got to be a 30'er. It sounds a lot like a Harley Davidson.

It was just like the Winnipesaukee tranquility of 30 years ago, before jetskis and most go-fasts......how boring!

It had to be all about the weather and not the price of gas. The fast boats will be back soon!
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Old 05-25-2008, 03:42 PM   #6
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Default not too much activity Sunday either

Moultonborough Bay is deserted..
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Old 05-25-2008, 04:33 PM   #7
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Moultonborough Bay is deserted..
I found boat traffic was down considerably compared to this time last year. I saw a number of boats during my trip from Glendale to Lakeport (about 11:30 this morning), but nowhere near what I expected. The Weirs Channel had very little traffic. The gas docks at Fay's, Channel Marine, Irwin, and Lakeport Landing weren't busy, nor were the boat ramps in Glendale or at Lakeport Landing.

All in all it was a quiet day.
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Old 05-25-2008, 08:28 PM   #8
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Default No one here

I took a ride from Lee's Mills down though the Graveyard and up around Long Island. The weather was perfect no wind and no Boats.The Broads were deserted, just a few boats and no wakes.We had a great ride I hope it stays like this all summer.
Late this afternoon I went to Meredith and the docks were packed.The Dock was doing a good business too.Maybe everyone was staying on the west side of the Lake.It does seem like there are less people around then on a normal holiday weekend.
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Old 05-25-2008, 08:56 PM   #9
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Post Busy on this side

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I took a ride from Lee's Mills down though the Graveyard and up around Long Island. The weather was perfect no wind and no Boats.The Broads were deserted, just a few boats and no wakes.We had a great ride I hope it stays like this all summer.
Late this afternoon I went to Meredith and the docks were packed.The Dock was doing a good business too.Maybe everyone was staying on the west side of the Lake.It does seem like there are less people around then on a normal holiday weekend.
We went around Paugus and out toward Governor's Island. The channel was relatively busy and the NASWA was completely full. Things picked up considerably today, but it still seems a little off for a big weekend. In addition, the restaurants seemed only about 1/2 full.

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Old 05-26-2008, 08:44 AM   #10
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Default Quiet on Sunday

We thought it was quieter on Sunday compared to last year -- and it was great!
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Old 05-26-2008, 02:21 PM   #11
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Default Light Activity

I took a hike up Mt. Major on Sunday; the weather was a perfect 10!

From the top of Mt. Major I noticed only light boating traffic around Rattlesnake Island and Atlon Bay. However, I did notice moderate traffic in the Weirs Channel.

The heaviest traffic I observed was the foot traffic hiking up and down Mt. Major.
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Old 05-26-2008, 04:42 PM   #12
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Default super quiet

went to the Flume this morning (Monday) - to see it during Spring runoff. Well, there was far less water than I expected, which is amazing considering all the snow we had in the mountains. But what was more astounding was the almost complete lack of visitors at the site... only the parking lot nearest the guest entrance had any cars in it, but it was not anywhere near full. If I had to guess there were 15-20 cars there. It was a beautiful morning for a hike up there, and we saw only 2-3 parties during the entire 2 mile walk.

on
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Old 05-26-2008, 05:04 PM   #13
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Default Low Boat Traffic

Left LakePort around 11:0am yesterday. Next to no traffic going thru the Channel. Cruised down to Alton Bay, parked at Shibley's and had lunch. Again, minimal traffic in Alton Bay. Went up to Ragged Island, then visited friends at Cow Island. Left Cow at about 5:00PM, went back to LakePort. Again, the was minimal traffic around the Weirs, and going thru the Channel was no issue.

Where are all the boats ??

Car traffic seems to be about the same, but I assume the lack of people boating will have a financial effect on the area if this continues.

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Old 05-26-2008, 05:46 PM   #14
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We noticed a lot more boats drifting in the breeze on Sunday. Traffic seemed very light. Lots of slow cruzing.
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Old 05-26-2008, 06:05 PM   #15
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There were more kayaks and canoes out on the Merrimack today than powerboats. I was out from 1-5 today, and only saw 3 boats and a couple jet skis.
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Old 05-26-2008, 07:01 PM   #16
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Default certain areas

I just got back home and am surprised to see that many felt the lake was empty on sunday. I felt that in certain areas the lake was as busy as I've ever seen it! I went from Alton to Weirs and found that the area near the witches and the half mile to governers bridge, was nuts. The chop was about 3 ft all around and as far as the eye could see there were boats. Then as we went to the NASWA we couldn't get a spot for about 20 minutes, when we did they squeezed us between two boats. Weirs beach was as busy as I've seen. Maybe some NH residents are doing staycations instead of traveling outside the state and revistiting Winnie for the first time in years. Also, despite cooler weather the West Alton sandbar was packed on Monday.

I will admit though that early morning and early evening were fairly slow, but I though that was due to the fact that it was cool in the am. Also, more sailboats then I have ever seen. there were about 20 near the witches on Sunday in what looked like a race. Great weekend overall, if they were all like this I would know what heavan is like.
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Old 05-26-2008, 07:30 PM   #17
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Default Certain areas were busy

There was a lot of boat traffic in Meredith Bay, but I think that it was due to the craft show that was held over the weekend directly across from the town docks.

Weirs beach was busy because of what looked to be a hot rod show. Other than that, the lake was pretty much a ghost town this weekend.

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Old 05-26-2008, 07:50 PM   #18
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Default Ossipee Lake boating/tourism also way off....

At nearby Ossipee Lake it looked more like a casual mid-week situation. The light scattering of boats didn't even equate to a normal weekend, much less a beautiful holiday weekend.

Also of interest was my trip home today from West Ossipee to Dover at the noon hour. There was moderate southbound traffic with no backups at the lights at 25 or at the infamous 153 intersection in Wakefield. Of particular surprise was the light traffic coming from Winni at the Route 11/Spaulding merge in Rochester. The only delay I experienced was 5 to 10 minutes due to the construction widening on the Spaulding just north of the tolls. And yes, absolutely no lines or delays at the tolls and once the Spaulding opened to two lanes it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.

I did get a good chuckle later when I tuned in Channel 9 at 6 and was informed of the overwhelming number of tourists that supposedly swarmed the area. I am very familiar with Hampton Beach and chuckled at their tapes showing a good showing on the sand but still plenty of room for bathers, and their sidewalk clips looked like a midweek crowd, not the jam packed throngs that have inundated that area in years past.

But hey....no one knows NH like the good folks at WMUR!
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Old 05-26-2008, 09:34 PM   #19
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Default Meredith Activity

Saturday between 10 and 4 was mid-summer busy in Meredith Bay. Perhaps because of the craft fair, who knows? Today's traffic was definitely lighter, but it was windy and choppy out there with some cross currents in the wide open spaces. Summer is here!
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Old 05-27-2008, 09:04 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skip View Post
At nearby Ossipee Lake it looked more like a casual mid-week situation. The light scattering of boats didn't even equate to a normal weekend, much less a beautiful holiday weekend.

Also of interest was my trip home today from West Ossipee to Dover at the noon hour. There was moderate southbound traffic with no backups at the lights at 25 or at the infamous 153 intersection in Wakefield. Of particular surprise was the light traffic coming from Winni at the Route 11/Spaulding merge in Rochester. The only delay I experienced was 5 to 10 minutes due to the construction widening on the Spaulding just north of the tolls. And yes, absolutely no lines or delays at the tolls and once the Spaulding opened to two lanes it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.

I did get a good chuckle later when I tuned in Channel 9 at 6 and was informed of the overwhelming number of tourists that supposedly swarmed the area. I am very familiar with Hampton Beach and chuckled at their tapes showing a good showing on the sand but still plenty of room for bathers, and their sidewalk clips looked like a midweek crowd, not the jam packed throngs that have inundated that area in years past.

But hey....no one knows NH like the good folks at WMUR!
Have to say Hampton Beach was extremely busy yesterday, seemed like more than last year. Made the mistake of coming from Salisbury to home via the beach last night, 45 minutes from the bridge traffic to end of the strip.
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Old 05-27-2008, 09:19 AM   #21
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Originally Posted by Skip View Post
Also of interest was my trip home today from West Ossipee to Dover at the noon hour. There was moderate southbound traffic with no backups at the lights at 25 or at the infamous 153 intersection in Wakefield. Of particular surprise was the light traffic coming from Winni at the Route 11/Spaulding merge in Rochester. The only delay I experienced was 5 to 10 minutes due to the construction widening on the Spaulding just north of the tolls. And yes, absolutely no lines or delays at the tolls and once the Spaulding opened to two lanes it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.
We came south to Dover down 11/16 and 6pm and there was ZERO traffic on 16. The only wait we ran into was the ice cream line at Johnson's

Boat traffic was very light, although I heard that the Wolfeboro docks were crazy. We did not see much traffic near us. Surprisingly a lot of GFBL boats were out, however they were all well-behaved. I was thrilled to see the M/V Bear II cut the corner and come approximately 100' from my dock, sending a tidal wave our way. I was also thrilled to see the Meredith Bay Sailing Association launch almost run over my wife while she was down from a wakeboarding crash...
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Old 05-27-2008, 09:58 AM   #22
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I too went through Merideth and thought it was pretty light traffic for a holiday.The craft show was fairly busy and the docks were full but that is to expected on a summer weekend.We drove by the Weirs and had light traffic.Looking at the channel,there was only a dozen boats or so.I was at a freinds place on Paugus and the boat traffic was very light by 80 degree holiday standards.The real telltale for me was the traffic on 93.We headed back to Manch at 4 and expected the usual backup in Concord.We had a small one just north of Concord which was made worse by an accident but for the most part we drove through at40-60 mph.The tollbooth had zero back-up.My friend picked his boat up at Silver Sands and some guy told him they had about 50 people tell them not to bother putting their boats in.This speed limit thing works fast!
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Old 05-27-2008, 03:14 PM   #23
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Default nice weather sunday

sunday's boating weather was perfect , we took our new craft out for its maiden voyage , launched at center harbor and crused out to braun bay and then over through the graveyard to the end of moultonboro bay
and then back to center harbor , boat traffic was light in the morning and then only moderate in the after noon, the lake seemed rather calm considering the fair amount of wind that was blowing , most waves were from other boats, the new boat managed a top end of speed of 64mph ,this boat is like a corvette on water ,cant wait to put the hammer down next week end , just have a need for speed .
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Old 05-30-2008, 12:01 AM   #24
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Default wow

thanks for all the replys. we put in monday at ames farm {nice place, first time there} and had a nice break in cruize to paugus and meridth. trafic was much lighter than expected, both on the water and the road home. a nice day, except for a bit of unintended wake jumping at the mouth of the weirs channel off the 4 + foot wake off some big cruiser coming in. i can see why people get upset. i would rather be buzzed by a gfb at full honk, my son thought he broke his foot for a few minutes after that.
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