Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post

secondcurve · 11-11-2005, 11:57 AM

Glove:

I came across this old post and thought about you and your young family. It pertains to a storm that ripped through Winnipesaukee just after the Fourth of July in 1999. I'll say it one last time....bigger is better!

I think the advice that other members have given about boating accessories is fairly comprehensive. I would add an air horn to replace the whistle requirement mandated by the state. It is much more effective in a situation where you have to alert another boater of your position.

I was in the Broads during that storm... I was never and have never been as scared as I was that day. I was in our smaller boat going from Cow Island to Wolfeboro with my husband and two sons. One of my son's was only 7 months old. The other was almost 2 years. My husband did an amazing job getting us to safety. It was sunny one moment and, then, the sky got really black and it started pouring... then came the hail (sp?). I am a spiritual-type person but, I believe more in about being a good person than about organized religion but, I can tell you that, while I was in that little boat holding my two boys, I was praying to God. We managed to get into Winter Harbor and my husband found an empty dock... I still have no idea how he found it as we could not see but 4 feet in front of us. (He was going to beach the boat and hope we did not hit a rock.) He had to keep the boat with the storm because if he tried to turn, the boat would rock and nearly capsize. The waves in the broads were at least 6 feet... maybe some more than that.... (My neighbor says they were 6-8 feet coming from Moultonboro Bay to Cow Island and were hitting his house from the water.) Well, we managed to get to a dock. My husband tells the story like this:

"I was going to try to beach it and hope we could get to shore. I happened to see an empty dock but had no idea how we were going to dock the boat with all the wind and the current, waves, etc. Then, a big wave came up behind the boat and pushed us right into the U-shaped dock. Almost as though something had lifted us, like a hand, and we landed softly at the dock."

I ran to the nearest house. Amazingly, no one was home and it looked as though no one had been up there since last year. There were sheets on the couches and other furniture. (Like the caretaker had not opened the house for the owners, yet.) I knocked but knew no one was home. I ran to the house next door and, before I could even finish my sentence, the nice, older woman came out and was running down to her neighbors dock... she heard me say my two little boys and she just said where and started running. She helped me carry them to the house while my husband tied the boat, tightly. Her husband and her kept us at her house until the storm broke. We thanked them profusely. The weird thing is that I have been trying to remember their name as I wanted to drop them off a token to let them know how thankful we are (were) but, I cannot.

I have written a post previously about this experience... and the events, etc. We sold that boat almost immediately and purchased a Grady White. Not that a bigger boat would have been any better but, I feel safer driving around in the Grady and, if a storm does kick up (as it always does on Winni) and we are out on the water, we will not capsize... the little Well Craft was a great little boat but, when water started pouring in over the side and from the open bow... I was scared to death. I prayed and sang to my children... it did not seem to bother them... as far as they could see everything was "ok". My husband said I never moved just trusted him and held my boys tightly. Now, Brian is almost 6 and Brodie is 4.5. We haven;t been in another storm like that one. Hopefully never are again.

My father knows of a family from Tewksbury who died in a storm on Winni. The boat capsized with 4 people on it and only one person survived. I believe their names were the DeCarlis' (but am not 100% sure). I believe the wife survived because her husband saved her but, then he went to save her parents and he could not do it.

I see storms coming, now, on Winni, and I watch the boats and think... I hope they get out of the water. Some seem to be headed for safety... others, who are less enlightened, seem to continue water skiing, tubing or just boating. I hope they do not learn the hard way.

11-11-2005, 11:57 AM	#49
secondcurve Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 2,117 Thanks: 1,329 Thanked 559 Times in 288 Posts	Glove: I came across this old post and thought about you and your young family. It pertains to a storm that ripped through Winnipesaukee just after the Fourth of July in 1999. I'll say it one last time....bigger is better! I think the advice that other members have given about boating accessories is fairly comprehensive. I would add an air horn to replace the whistle requirement mandated by the state. It is much more effective in a situation where you have to alert another boater of your position. I was in the Broads during that storm... I was never and have never been as scared as I was that day. I was in our smaller boat going from Cow Island to Wolfeboro with my husband and two sons. One of my son's was only 7 months old. The other was almost 2 years. My husband did an amazing job getting us to safety. It was sunny one moment and, then, the sky got really black and it started pouring... then came the hail (sp?). I am a spiritual-type person but, I believe more in about being a good person than about organized religion but, I can tell you that, while I was in that little boat holding my two boys, I was praying to God. We managed to get into Winter Harbor and my husband found an empty dock... I still have no idea how he found it as we could not see but 4 feet in front of us. (He was going to beach the boat and hope we did not hit a rock.) He had to keep the boat with the storm because if he tried to turn, the boat would rock and nearly capsize. The waves in the broads were at least 6 feet... maybe some more than that.... (My neighbor says they were 6-8 feet coming from Moultonboro Bay to Cow Island and were hitting his house from the water.) Well, we managed to get to a dock. My husband tells the story like this: "I was going to try to beach it and hope we could get to shore. I happened to see an empty dock but had no idea how we were going to dock the boat with all the wind and the current, waves, etc. Then, a big wave came up behind the boat and pushed us right into the U-shaped dock. Almost as though something had lifted us, like a hand, and we landed softly at the dock." I ran to the nearest house. Amazingly, no one was home and it looked as though no one had been up there since last year. There were sheets on the couches and other furniture. (Like the caretaker had not opened the house for the owners, yet.) I knocked but knew no one was home. I ran to the house next door and, before I could even finish my sentence, the nice, older woman came out and was running down to her neighbors dock... she heard me say my two little boys and she just said where and started running. She helped me carry them to the house while my husband tied the boat, tightly. Her husband and her kept us at her house until the storm broke. We thanked them profusely. The weird thing is that I have been trying to remember their name as I wanted to drop them off a token to let them know how thankful we are (were) but, I cannot. I have written a post previously about this experience... and the events, etc. We sold that boat almost immediately and purchased a Grady White. Not that a bigger boat would have been any better but, I feel safer driving around in the Grady and, if a storm does kick up (as it always does on Winni) and we are out on the water, we will not capsize... the little Well Craft was a great little boat but, when water started pouring in over the side and from the open bow... I was scared to death. I prayed and sang to my children... it did not seem to bother them... as far as they could see everything was "ok". My husband said I never moved just trusted him and held my boys tightly. Now, Brian is almost 6 and Brodie is 4.5. We haven;t been in another storm like that one. Hopefully never are again. My father knows of a family from Tewksbury who died in a storm on Winni. The boat capsized with 4 people on it and only one person survived. I believe their names were the DeCarlis' (but am not 100% sure). I believe the wife survived because her husband saved her but, then he went to save her parents and he could not do it. I see storms coming, now, on Winni, and I watch the boats and think... I hope they get out of the water. Some seem to be headed for safety... others, who are less enlightened, seem to continue water skiing, tubing or just boating. I hope they do not learn the hard way.