Under Water Rock Formations at Parker Island

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Last year I finally got off my island and did a little snorkeling around Parker Island. We were absolutely thrilled with what we saw and I have been working on finding a way to share this lake fun with you ever since. First I purchased an Aquapac (http://www.waterproofcases.net/sizes.html) camera case, which turned out to be a bit too snug for my first little digital, a HP720. A few weeks ago I realized the water temps were dropping and I had to get busy. Rattlesnake Guy, being the wonderful man he is, took me to Wal-Mart where we picked up a very inexpensive Vivitar camera. (About $20) The next day we were lucky to have a sunny day without too many waves, so we got our dive flag and headed over to Parker Island. These pictures were taken just slightly northwest of the island. I am not a diver, I just take a deep breath, dive under and take the shot and swim on to the next area. We had no idea how they would come out, but I filled the camera and hoped for the best. I ended up with over 70 reasonably good photos and believe it or not, there are many spots I didn’t get to photograph, maybe next year. I hope you enjoy them I had an absolutely wonderful time taking them. Thank you very much Rattlesnake Guy for indulging me, you’re the best! :love:

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Do you have any ideas of where a gal can snorkel and get some good underwater pictures next year? Thanks! :D

[Just Sold]

A Big Thanks to You.

RG you have started something new here! Great shots and very interesting formations. R Guy is the lucky one to have you! Can't wait for next year and see what you find then.:)

[JayDV]

Without knowing what they were called, we just assumed it to be bedrock pushed up by glaciers. There are sheets of this exposed rock between 10 and 30 feet long both above highwater mark and below. The striations (is this correct usage?) rock are incredible. As kids, my sister and I used to pretend to play giant chess underwater. Obviously on a shortened "chessboard" and no color squares, we would place a rock in the squares and pretend to play chess. Well it was 4 ft under water so diving for rocks and then diving to place them made the game very short due to exhaustion, but those raised rock "veins" are so kewl. We even put colored rocks on squares that we thought were out of normal swim/wading paths to see if they were there the next year.

Another story was our ladder fell off the side of the boat and sunk in about 20 ft of water landing somewhere in or on a section of long sheets of this bedrock. Couldn't find it anywhere. Wouldn't you know it? about 8 yrs later on an unusualy calm Broads morning in a canoe I looked over and there it was!! Being 16 yrs then, there was no problem diving down and getting it. I knew then that the Lake will give up things that were lost if you believe.

My "pet name" for these memories is Sensory Recollection Stimulator memories. The ones that are so vivid you can see, smell, hear, touch and taste the experience again and again. These can be so real it seems to take me back physically to that time and place. The sound of the boat motor is so distinct you can pick it out after 11 months of not hearing it. The smell of island sand is different than mainland sand. Even the color of the water is so distinct I have picked it out as I channel surf past ESPN channels showing the fishing tournaments on Winni. That is some more of the magic the Lake has.

[secondcurve]

RG:

Thanks for sharing your photos they are great. How warm was the water they day you snorkled? Did you see any fish life?

[Rattlesnake Gal]

I went snorkeling on Friday, September 14th when the water, according to this website was about 68 degrees. My wetsuit kept me nice and toasty though. I wonder, is it possible the water depth might have made this area slightly warmer? I did not notice any fish this trip. I didn’t notice the workmen on at Parker Island watching me either, so maybe there were fish. :laugh: We were there around 11:30 am or so. Maybe they were out to lunch? Last year there were several very large bass that kept following me around. Bass are curious and once they see you aren’t a threat they will come closer. Sometimes close enough you can pet them, what a thrill that can be! Of course I would not pet a fish these days. Not after what happened last winter with our aquarium. :eek2:
:idea: Next year I will try and snap some underwater shots of the local fish!

[scubajay1153]

...on Lake Winnisquam in Laconia has some pretty nice scuba and snorkelling areas as well. RG if you scuba there is a neat boat wreck neaxt a wall of rock that has a high (iron?) content making it possible to shatter with your hands. It has collapsed in a few areas making neat formations as well. On the southern side by the pump house if you swim along the shore southerly and stay between shore and the marker bouy there is also a huge "rock garden" that is from a foot deep to 35 ish feet deep. Alot of great snorkeling and scuba areas to explore and usually some decent fish life as well.....

[Grant]

Thanks for the great photos. Looks like a relatively clear day in the Lake. Some of the "veins" you'll see are igneous intrusions, where "cracks" were filled with molten lava which later hardened or was transformed by pressure and temperature. The north side of Parker is a great spot to see odd geology. The other (Broads-facing side) features a really nice wall, as well as more strange rock formations.

Speaking of dives, we did our end-o-season plunge down here in PA yesterday. 41 degrees (top and bottom), 103 feet, 39 minutes. A bit warmer than Winnipesaukee. I kept wondering what it would be like diving in the Lake for New Year's Eve. Some day...

[Sunrise Point]

Scubajay,

Thanks for the info on Winnisquam. We have anchored our boat there for swimming several times. Now we can try snorkeling there too.

I often noticed a diving van parked there (Fathom Divers? maybe). I think that they were conducting some sort of class.

[scubajay1153]

Fathom and a couple others shops have done dive training in the area for quite a while and a few of us dive their frequently for fun so you may bump into a few of us if you drop on by the area this summer!

Remember to use a dive flag as you snorkel. It is extrememly common for people to beach their boats along the beaches to allow Fido to poop in the sand ot to let the kiddies of to use the out houses or swim for a bit. Even then watch out because on two seperate occasions we have had jet skiers slaloming our flags for fun.....

You can pick one up from us at the shop in COncord (Aquanuts),Parafunalia or Fathom DIvers in Gilford, etc. Be safe!

[Dave R]

Nice shots! There's lotsa rocks similar to that between the Varney Islands too. It's a bit less busy and far more calm there. Some of the rock formations there look like bonsai trees or coral where the igneous rock was molded by narrow channels in what was obviously far less robust rock.