How would you rate today's wind?
 

Hi all, as a Winnipesaukee newbie (on my third year vacationing on Rattlesnake) I've had some pretty good weather, today is definitely the worst wind I've had to experience and am curious where you guys would rank a day like today on a 1-10 scale.

I had to go out in it and it tested every bit of the non existent boat skills I have.

Today's wind
 

I would say, Hivolt, that you are light-years ahead of a lot of boaters by the mere fact that you recognize and admit that you have limited boating skills. You are on the way to being a good boater.

Enjoy the summer.

I would rate today a 6.5

I had to follow a friend in his 13’ whaler SS while he drove it from Welch to Locke’s. While he didn’t have any issues making it, he did get quite wet!

Dan

Today's 10 to 12 sustained with gusts to 20 out of the NW I would give a 7.

We are on the west side of Welch so a NW wind makes docking interesting. My own clip level for docking in a NW wind is 15 gusting to 22 or so.

We had company at home today so we did not go over to Welch but would have if not the conflict. About 2-3 mph higher and we would not have gone over.

Slick,

Just an FYI... according to my weather station on my breakwater, current sustained winds are 18 mph with gusts to 26 mph.

My wife just came across from Glendale with her 18’ Bayliner with no issues but a little wet. Someone has to work you know!:eek::laugh:

Good for her. Apparently it was she who went to work today:D

I would rate it as COLD when you weren't in the sun.

This weekend will feel like you're walking on the sun!

I came in from Mark about 7:30 this morning heading to Smith cover. The spray off the right side pontoon was taken by that NW wind and blown back in the boat, so a hard lean to the center of the boat was required to stay kind of dry. Docking at the slip was a little sketchy as pontoons convert to sails in the wind...needed a few attempts to dock. Compared to the conditions in November and December, I'd give today a 3.5!

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Wavy Day
 

It was a wavy day. I concur with Ishoot305 and Slickcraft - varied throughout the day at 6.5 - 7.

Taking waves at an angle is key. Gaining experience is always a good thing. That being said, I stayed put today. Lol.

Yes it was windy and no I didn't take the boat for a ride today.

At least the waves were all facing the same direction!

There have been summer weekend days with much bigger waves, actually boat wakes, going in all different directions. :eek:

The important thing is to assess the conditions and make the right decisions.

It seems like you are doing that.

Remember: NOT going out is never a failure.

I am ready for that!!

"Get-There-Itis"...A Nervous Condition You Don't Want...
 

The "wind scale" would depend on where you were located on the lake. An afternoon run from, say, Alton Bay to Rattlesnake Island would have had the wind directly "on the nose". This isn't so bad as having to "quarter" the waves in a smaller boat—you just have to throttle back and take your time. Fortunately, there weren't a lot of oversized boats out there to get you wet.

The wind started the day from almost due north, when it was good sailing weather. Then it shifted gradually around to about NW to WNW, and very rough. Its strength had picked up quite a bit in the middle of the afternoon. (This was easy to note, as I spent most the day on a dock repair).

As much as possible, navigate the less turbulent lee of islands to get to your destination. Most often, winds are calmer in the early morning and towards sunset. But remember, you don't have to get there. (Among aircraft pilots, a deadly condition called get-there-itis).

A Rattlesnake Island couple impressed me when the wind came up strongly one afternoon, and the islanders decided to "weather it" overnight at the Wolfeboro Inn. :cool:

.

If you are interested in the current wind conditions this is on our weather page:

<iframe align="top" name="wind-map" id="wind-map" src="https://widgets.sailflow.com/widgets/web/windMap?w=684&h=450&c=0A2946&rp=18&m_m=t&csn=Lake Winnipesaukee&search=43.5718,-71.4253&sn=Laconia&sid=799&u_t=F&act=Sail&m_c=43.5 9,-71.38&m_z=10&app=sailflow" width="684" height="450" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="no"></iframe>

Thanks for the tips, advice and opinions. It certainly did get worse later in the afternoon. I hit a bit of a "lull" when I returned and was able to time the swells and make it behind the breakwater.

The most nerve wracking part was that the wind was blowing almost directly on shore for me so I had a very narrow window of both space and time to get docked and tied up before I drifted too close to the rocky shore. I deemed getting in unscathed a success. The experience gained was priceless though and today the conditions are much much better. :D

Docking in wind:

We recently got the Boatloop at the suggestion of ishoot308. We got the 6' model.
https://www.parafunalia.com/boatloop.html

Makes it easy to grab a dock post.

Good idea!
We just got our first boat hook a couple weeks ago...don’t know how we docked without one!

We made our own.
 

We made our own.

We had friends down on Halfmoon lake in Barnstead, who just gave it the gas then coasted in, looping his loop over a post.

We made one as well; a length of aluminum tubing like a roof rake section, and drill a hole in one end. Take a coat hanger, straighten it out, run a length of old garden hose the wire, and make an eyelet on each end. Run a bolt through the eyelets and the end of the pole.

Voila! Worked well.

Dave

Man I wish I knew about this a couple weeks ago, what a great idea. Next year will be even easier with this, thanks amazon.

It seems that NOAA forecasts regarding windows have been off quite a bit over the past few weeks. Every boating day we've been out so far this season has been considerably more windy than forecasted.

2-3 club wind
 

Because of the wind, we opted to play golf rather than go boating.

Up on the hill at Pheasant Ridge, the wind was a consistent 2-3 club wind. Five iron rather than a seven iron for a 150 yard shot into the wind. Also had to put my hat away.

White caps were right to the bridge in Alton Bay when we got home. Glad we played him.

Dave

Even more so, the on shore wind reports are often too low even in the present or an hour in advance. I sail Moultonborough Bay, and like you, it seems windier than the reports state, pretty much every time I go out. Not sure if it's this part of the lake or something else

Not Amazon, Parafunalia in Gilford! Support a great local business with excellent prices!

Dan

Boat Loops
 

Boat Loops are an excellent docking aid! I had no idea there were asuch a thing. Lol. My husband made one for me for when I boat alone. In addition to the loop, I have a preset line for my middle boat cleat that has a loop. As I get close to the dock, I loop the end dock post. It’s really great in windy conditions that could blow me into the cross dock. These two devices give me much more confidence with docking alone.

Wow!
 

Windy On Winni?
Man the wind is gusting at my home here (not on lake) and I just checked my wind forecaster app and see that it’s gusting into the 30’s this afternoon all over Winni!
Be careful out there !

Whitecaps in Hanson Cove, which doesn't happen outside of winter.

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Its calming a bit now but the broads were cranking earlier. Had to go get my daughter and realized we've been doing pretty good with wind the last few years. at least the weather is breaking

I was just thinking about this thread and checked out some of the web cams, seems much worse than what I had to deal with and that was tough!

Anyone know what the conditions are forcasted to be tomorrow? I am test driving a couple of boats tomorrow and am hoping for some rougher seas to compare to the bowrider I've been renting the last few years.

With any luck I'll be a first time boat owner tomorrow.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is supposed to be calm and beautiful!!

Congrats on your hopefully new boat!

Dan

Enjoy your first of the two best days in boating! :D