Who is OCDACTIVE? Is it you Islander?
 

Concord, here’s the thing. Director Barrett did NOT say or imply this statement! It is a slanderous statement put forward by questionable sources on the Winnipesakee dot com forum trying to imply Director Barrett had no intention of collecting data and that you, members of the state legislature are in complicity.

Where did the following quote come from?
Someone on the internet identifying him/herself as OCDACTIVE!

Concord, now the opponents of a speed limit have taken to slandering a respected state official (Director Barrett) with "quote" from anonymous sources that could very well be themselves on an internet forum.

There is no data to support their position. There is an abundance of data to support the position that speed is not a problem on Lake Winnipesaukee.

It's time to show leadership and end this nonsense, there are laws in place to handle all the issues raised by the "speed limit, powerboats gotta go" crowd.

There were a lot of things stated in that thread, many of them inaccurate. Why is this the only one you obviously took as fact?

It could be BS but it does have the ring of truth.

It does illustrate the attitude of the high performance boat crowd. Not exactly the image one gets on this forum is it!

However I posted the link to back up my claim that the high speed crowd have devised a plan to skew the MP test area data. It does a pretty good job proving my theory doesn't it?

That thread is all the evidence anyone needs to prove than any data collected on test area speeds is useless.

Yet the MP is still out there every day wasting money collecting "data". Since the test zones are dead why don't they move this data collection effort to an area high speed boats are not avoiding. It's all a sham!

The accident in Maine is under investigation. There is some speculation that the smaller boat may have run into the speed boat. The MP said that alcohol was not a factor for the PEOPLE IN THE SPEED BOAT. They have not said anything about the people in the other boat. Let them finish the investigation before you point the fingures at the speed boat.

A really good idea! :)

Ummm...ummm... :confused:

It was my understanding (Laconia Citizen article) that there were(are???) six test zones where speed data has been (is being???) collected. Where the locations of all six disclosed? I only know of the two proposed speed limit areas and only assume that they were two of the six test areas.

I think that website attracts a very different crowd than this website, it's not my scene. I seriously doubt that any "high performance boaters" try to hide the fact that they enjoy high performance boats here. People don't buy those to blend in...

That said, this issue should never be about attitudes. I don't own a high performance boat, probably never will, and I am certain that there are plenty of high performance boaters out there that I would never be friends with. Many I've met strike me as jerks (plenty of good ones too). However, I strongly oppose laws aimed squarely at getting rid of people I don't like or don't share opinions with. To do otherwise would make me a bigot, or at least a snob.

If there were evidence of a need, I'd be completely for a speed limit, I boat with my kids, and I have strong protective instincts. I am 100% certain, based on years of boating on Winnipesaukee, that for the time being, a speed limit will not affect me at all, positively or negatively. All the accident data available clearly can only back up my certainty. I also occasionaly boat in places with speed limits, and can assure you Winnipesaukee boating is vastly less stressful and surely feels safer. Spend a day boating on the CT. River down in MA sometime if you wish to see how well 45 MPH speed limits work. It's an eye opener.

New editorial in Today's Citizen:

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll...045/-1/CITIZEN

From the editorial:

"We have said in a previous editorial that we seriously question the need for a boating speed limit law. Stronger enforcement of boating regulations already on the books — like the safe-passage and headway-speed rules — would go a long way toward making a day out on the water more pleasurable for everyone out on the water, regardless of whether they are in a speedboat or a canoe. Also, the need for boaters to exercise courtesy cannot be overstated."

These people speak sense.

Please speak out regarding HB847
 

I just want to second the above poster who provided details on how to contact your local rep. They are getting hundreds of phone calls per week from supporters of this bill. Trust me, I've attended the hearings.
Please, I implore you, contact your rep to let them know how you want them to vote. They are working for YOU! There is strength in numbers and if they only hear from supporters, this bill may pass.

A quick phone call or letter is all it takes. I see many on the board who seem to not agree with the bill, speak your mind to the people that will listen!
The most important folks to contact right now are the ones listed as part of the 'transporation committee'...they are determining the fate of this bill shortly.
Thank You :)

I have made several telephone calls to various members of the transportation. Left a couple messages, and spoke directly to a couple. They very much so appreciate hearing from people on this and several other transportation issues that happen to have come up.

I'm glad I did it, and so were they, thanks for the suggestion. :patriot:

Where are their names listed? Perhaps the power of the Winni forum can overcome the power of funded a political action committee. Again.

When you go up against the boating industry, and administrators that are looking for future boating industry jobs, you need professional help.

Don't forget to also contact your State Senator. That is where speed limits lost by just two votes last time. The new Senator for this area lives on Bear Island.

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/ns/b...xtcommcode=H27

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/sena...s/senate15.asp

Hopefully.......
 

It is refreshing to hear that you admit you need professional help. We finally are in agreement on one point. :laugh:

Hopefully, the new State Senator has much more common sense and is more open minded than his "Island neighbor".

R2B

BTW, the Senate roster doesn't show anyone claiming Bear Island as their residency, also I think they represent a District, not an Island :rolleye2:

Bear Island is represented by a Senator that lives here. The Senator also represents some off island areas as well.

You just twist and twist and twist. The roster lists no Senator that claims Bear Island as a residency. Is the roster incorrect? You stated that a Senator lives on the island. Now you say "lives here". Where, in NH? Every District is represented by a Senator that lives here in NH, correct me if I'm wrong Skip but I think residency is a requirement to be a Senator.

Bear in mind (pun indented) that Senators represent a District made up of people who vote. My vote counts as much as yours, assuming you can vote in NH and are a resident of the District your "Senator" represents.

I wonder if that Senator has a boat??? I am assuming that he does... What if it is a "High Speed Craft"??? Maybe Islander won't vote for him... Oh, I forgot, you actually have to get off the Island to go vote... Right on PBR :) Holy Cow... I just thought of something else... WHAT IF THE SENATOR RAFTS TOO??? If he doesn't, maybe we can invite him to see how much fun it can be with responsible people that lack agendas!!!!!!!!!!!! Moreover, what if that same Senator has a High Speed Personal Watercraft??? Oh my gosh... We better get all the scoop on the yet-to-be-named Senator!!!

Bear Island & Senate District 2
 

Bear Island is located in New Hampshire's State Senate District 2. Senator Deborah Reynolds(D) represents Senate District 2 and is a legal (full time) resident of Plymouth, NH.

Do you people need to make a Federal case out of every comment I make?

I said the State Senator for the area lives on Bear Island. It is the truth. Geeeesh!

Now I got Skip going all legal on me! I guess I screwed up since nobody lives on Bear Island year round, then nobody is a legal resident, therefore nobody actually lives on Bear Island. So I guess I don't live here either.

Yet here I am. And so is Deb, she lives a few houses down from me.

I bet you are one of those neighbors that feels the need to bend her ear on a regular basis, even if she is trying to enjoy the nice weather.

I wonder how many registered voters are residents on bear vs the number of registered voters in Deb's district. I bet its a very small percentage. I'll have to give Deb a call and find out her position on this issue, and let her know what mine is. Thanks. :D

Skip, is there a telephone number listed on the roster for Deb, or will we have to flag her down like her neighbors do?

I'm certain the percentage of registered voters is higher on the island than in the rest of her district. We are a very civic minded bunch over here.


I guess you can ask her where she stands on speed limits, but did you miss the part where I told you that she lives on BEAR ISLAND.

Wow!
 

I guess I can now say that I live in NH!!

Twisting everything seems to be the new way to go!

Carry on Islander!

R2B

Senator's State contact info page
 

Nope, flagging down won't be necessary as the contact info and a neat little bio on the Senator can be read HERE.

Or maybe next time you are in the Plymouth, NH area where the good Senator actually lives, you could take her our for a cup of coffee and feign surprise when she acts surpised that you believe she actually lived in Meredith! :eek:

Politicians get very sensitive about these things....:)

Oh, and expect that she will expect for you to pick up the tab! ;)

The MP have been "testing" speeds again. They place their boat at the narrowest part of the test area, between Camp Monotomy and the shoals off Jerry Point. Boats passing through the area have to go around the MP. Many boats slow down to do this, others have to slow because they slow etc.

They employ a regular MP boat, you know, the distinctive design we all can spot about a mile away. If you are new to the lake there are always the words MARINE PATROL in two foot high letters on each side of the boat.

I can't imagine any observer seeing this and thinking "real" data is being collected.

If you want a lesson in police presence come on down to the Pine/Bear NWZ and see what passes for no wake speed when the MP are in site and when they are not. The same dynamic is evident in "speed testing".

It's no longer a joke, it is embarrassing and an insult to our intelligence.

Words to live by... :D :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

So what do you suggest , everyone fly by the MPs??? Come on , use your head. Where ever you see a cop on land , speeding or not , everybody slows down. It's a natural reaction.
Why don't you be the first to fly past them at a dangerous and totally unsafe speed of , say , 51 or 52 mph and report back to us what happens:D

Civic minded doesn't mean a thing when they are not citizens of the state of NH, and can't vote her out of office(which I've hear you say in the past). I also wonder which two senators you replaced out of how many that voted against it, all the while saying to us you replaced the two that voted against it. LMAO.

LOL... You think the percentage of register voters is higher on Bear Island versus the rest of her district? Let me check with the town of Meredith and Visionappraisal.com about the mailing address of these folks(that would be the first clue that you are very wrong, how stupid do you think we are?). I already know your not from her district. :D

I think you are absolutely right. Where you see a cop, everybody slows down. And if that cop was recording those speeds to see how fast boats are going on the lake, then his readings would be a lot lower than reality.

I think we are left with three possibilities

1. The MP are absolutely clueless about how to take A sampling of lake boat speeds.

2. The MP are not able to come up with an unmarked fishing boat, aluminum skiff or bowrider to take the readings from.

3. The MP leadership want the data to be low so the legislature will think a speed limit is unnecessary. Then these same leaders will have earned cushy jobs in the boating industry.

And the difference will be?
 

You actually think a speed limit will change boaters' behavior? Even with a speed limit in place, they'll see the distinctive MP boats that by your own admission are easy to pick out from a distance, and they'll slow down.

And you are? Of course your are, you're obviously so intellectually superior than the rest of us #$%&^%$# that live here and vote here, but then again you live on an island so of course your are.. All I can say is that it must *^*^ awesome being so superior to the rest of us. In all my years on this board, I have never been so personally affronted by anyone, but you. Your smug, holier-than-thou attitude is really starting to wear. I hope you show your neighbor, the senator, aka summer resident, this thread. By my account, you're pretty much the only one on it supporting a speed limit (on this thread about speed limits). I'm sure you'll correct me as I'm probably wrong. I've never added anyone to my blocked reply list (not even APS :D ) but there's a first time for everything. Someone died, it was a tragic accident that could have been easily prevented, with good judgment and responsibility not a speed limit. Isn't it interesting that the majority of support, locally, for the speed limit, seems to be coming from Bear Island, at least on this forum.

BTW, I should probably thank you because your rants have hopefully gotten more people off their duffs who believe in personal freedom and responsibility and less government intrusion, to take some action. You haven't been a terribly great spokesperson for your cause IMHO. In fact, maybe your a plant for the anti-speed limit cause?

Islander:
You really have crossed the line!

If I were a Marine Patrol officer, trained in the use of radar on the water, I could be stationed on what you some of you folks call the "Battle Cruiser", the rest of us call a " Coast Guard Utility Boat" and I could still get you for violating any law on the NH books.

How Big and visibile is the Marine Patrol Battle Crusier? I think it's a 44 foot USCG Utility Boat is it not? Hard to hide one of them! NOT!

Wanna hide a 44 ' boat? No problem, I will pick a spot where most of us are familar. Let's put the 44 just on the Glendale side of Governor's Island point near the Witches. The 44 would be hidden by the Island and is a stable platform. Certainly big enough for even you to see isn't it? Hell. It's a 44 foot boat! Betcha it can clock all kinds of boats going into Saunders Bay or out toward the Broads! Maybe a few will be doing, 35 or 40 miles an hour!

Any of you can find other spots where these "HIGH SPEED CRAFT" operate, and locate a 44 foot Marine Patrol Boat out of sight if needed and the results will be the same.

Or maybe guess what, the Marine Patrol is currently using smaller boats in the same areas doing the same thing! As I recall the local papers said there are (6) six test areas on the lake. Only two have the "speed limits".

Nope, the 44 isn't going to do a high speed chase. A properly trained crew will get the bow numbers of Islander's 60 mile an hour boat and arrest her later!

:fire:

I continue to hope that my posts provoke thought.

Someone?

Some want to blame the collision on a waitress for "overserving". :confused:

Had the 36' boat been able to go faster—just as in the recent case at Long Lake, Maine—ejections from the bigger boat would have put everybody in the headlines instead of just one poor guy. In that case, we'd already have speed limits by now.

On many lakes, like Texoma, Travis, Smith Mountain Lake, Long Lake and at Grand Haven, the headlines of those dozen+ recent fatalities are starting the call for speed limits on those lakes.

But everyone's eyes are on Lake Winnipesaukee: what happens here determines the future of a plastics industry that pumps out still-heavier, still-wider, still-longer and still-faster boats.

As examples, what were the biggest Donzis made 15 years ago—or even Cobalt? And look at those today!

Why such inappropriate vessels appear on our narrow, protected waterways remains a mystery to me, just as it is to respected BoatUS moderator Les Hall. He states, "Take it to the ocean". (Les is a New Hampshire resident).

Say, now that "Education" has been extended to nearly all Winnipesaukee boaters, where have the trumpets gone that heralded that answer? :confused:

How many opposing opinions arrive from California, Florida and Texas—by boaters who have never visited Lake Winnipesaukee nor known the decedent?

This lake shouldn't have a fear factor that has many of us in 20-foot boats looking over our shoulders when we hear that dreaded drone getting louder.

And speaking of headlines, I'll bet even barbecuing near the shoreline has become a concern at Maine's Long Lake! :eek:

I think the speed limit will change a boaters behavior when they are deciding which lake to trailer their boat to. They will not be trailering their GFBL to lakes with 45 mph speed limits.

I think speed limits will change a boaters behavior when the time comes to buy a new boat. Why spend 500k for a boat that will go 130 mph when there is a 45 mph speed limit.

I think a speed limit will change a boaters behavior just because most people are law abiding. They may push 45 to 50 or 55 but they will not go much faster than that.

And once speed limits are in place it might dawn on the MP that a unmarked boat is the best answer if they want to set up a speed trap.

More than one person has died. Earlier this summer, during one two week period, three PWC's were involved in fatal accidents that took the lives of two teenagers. Do you people keep up with the news, or just ignore it.

If they can hide their boats then why don't they? What is your point?

My point is they are displaying their identity on purpose so that boats will slow down. The data they then collect is useless.

If they can hide their boats, why don't they?

BTW, I have no idea what line I have crossed. Will you please explain?

Trying to sort through all the noise of your posts, I see two recurring themes:

1) Speed limits are inevitable. Both because the vast majority of people want them, and you live in close proximity (at least part of the year) to a NH senator

2) The efforts of various LE groups to test speed limits are being done in such a way as to skew the data collected, such that it is useless and likely to show that there are no speed issues on the lake.

These points sort of seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. What leads you to believe there will ever be a speed limit on the lake if the efforts to test the need for it are being purposefully mishandled?

Note: if I have misinterpreted your posts, I'm happy to have you clarify these specific points, if it can be done without dragging the issue in 300 non-relevant directions.

Tigershark NEVER made a PWC that did 70. If you saw 70 on a dreamometer that doesn't make it true. Even today there is not a production PWC that will do over 70. Closest right now is the Kawasaki Ultra 250 and the SeaDoo RXPs and RXTs and the Yamahe GPRs, they all come in 68 -70 MPH. Tigershark hasn't made anything in years and the fastest PWC on the water when they quit were in the 60 MPH range. I have done endless GPS tests on man y different PWC so I have first hand experience in this area.

Speed limits are inevitable, but my proximity to a Senator has nothing to do with it. The Senate voted down the previous speed limit bill by two votes. The current Senate has more liberals, more women and more democrats. The numbers are there now to pass this bill.

Plus the death toll is rising. Four in the area just this summer. And Coast Guard statistics show boating accidents on the rise.

Even the organized anti speed limit crowd have given up. Where is NHRBA? Gone from this argument.

The MP have been against speed limits from the beginning. This test area baloney is just their last shot in a losing battle. The Legislative Committee voted unanimously to reject the MP's 8 year delay tactic. Even Barrett now says a speed limit will pass.

Public opinion has also changed with 78% of registered NH voters favoring speed limits.

Keeo telling yourself that
 

I have never seen anyone make up statistics to the degree you have. I have yet to see you post any valid source of these ficticious stats you quote. Meanwhile all research that other people post here is real.

I was involved in voting out a Senator who supported the speed limit, and he doesn't even own a boat! And will continue to not vote for politicians who support laws that remove freedoms.

To everyone else: If we don't post anymore the ONE person who believes there will be a speed limit and defends it here will have no one to argue with.

I know the Bear Island contingent and their feelings on PWC's. The funniest thing is that when we go to visit relatives on BI the kids are literally drooling to take a ride on our PWC. It's such a dichotomy to see the NO PWC'S THEY ARE EVIL crowd and the PLEASE PLEASE TAKE US OUT FOR A RIDE ones. I always chuckle each time we see this!