Witches
 

Took the kayak out to the witches this AM. Just off the main rock pile is a complete Merc lower drive unit with dual stainless steel props. Looks fairly clean, so I am thinking it must be from this summer.

Pretty sure that occurred this past Sunday. I was coming back from the Weirs heading to Welch and was passed by two marine patrol boats just on the west side of the witches. I then saw someone with a boat load of people right in the middle of the witches completely broken down waving down marine patrol. They were very lucky if all they lost was the lower unit. There had to be 8-10 people on that boat and it wasn't very big...

Dan

The Witches
 

Why aren't the Witches marked better? Those balls that are at Sandy Point would be very visible in all conditions.

I personally think they are marked just fine as is. I would rather not see a line of bouys around the witches, nor the graveyard, nor the six pack nor a thousand other hazards in the lake. I would rather folks use their charts and understand where they should be and not be based on their comfort.

Where would we draw the line? A person navigating this lake without a chart and basic understanding of the navigation hazards will get in trouble regardless of additional hazard markers. The lake has a little under 300 miles of shoreline and within 150' of all this shore is peppered with hazards.

Agree
 

I agree 100%! While they don't necessarily have to increase the number of markers they need to make them more visible somehow. I see too many seasoned and novice boaters either miss the markers completely or turn at the very last minute because they couldn't see them well enough.

Dan

At times the lighting is such that the markers are easy to spot from quite a distance. At other times not so much, you have to know almost exactly where they are and really be trying to focus in. The fact that so many boats are damaged there is evidence that more prominent marking would serve well.

Remember the dive boat?
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...e+boat+witches

While I agree that if you know how to read a chart and navigate, the Witches should never be a problem. Only time it could be would be a sudden fog, but that hardly ever happens. This is a lake, not the ocean.

That said, a well designed, small stone lighthouse might add additional character to this beautiful lake. :)

R2B

I totally agree with you. Sometimes you really have to look hard to see them!

Sometimes the old methods are best
 

1. Post here long tirade about seeing buoys, slowing down and using your compass and chart; don't rely just on GPS and buoys.
2. Post here ridiculous suggestion that DES, F & G and MP work out a plan for removing hazardous rocks as in the past. Sell them to contractors. They used to mine the Witches for free.

The yellow balls are thereto denote a swimming area, and boats under power are supposed to maintain 150'. Yea right... I've seen boats fly by swim balls or swim lines at 25' with smimmers in the water. If you can read a chart or understand navigation markers ... There should be no issue navigating near the witches or orher hazards.

Canadian Shield Lakes ...
 

Ive done some powerboating and a ton of paddling across many dozens of Canadian shield lakes. They are not "rocky", they ARE rock. Crazy dimensions. Hundred foot cliffs that plunge another hundred or more below the waterline. Boulders the size of houses randomly scattered. Reefs any where. Several lakes bigger than Winni. BUT Winni is in a class of her own. So many prop eaters, many in completely surprising places, and then more after that. This is graduate level lake navigation. I, for one, LOVE the complexity, mostly for the fish habitat and protection from the big cruisers and the skiers. I totally get how newbies come here, hear the warnings (or not), and get into trouble. Other lakes just are not like this one.

Now, I do think "buoys" that look like twigs is a bit too little. Then again, if that scares a few folks off, well then, more for me!

Forum members have asked this question several times since at least 2001:

http://www.winnipesaukeeforum.com/ar...cgi?read=22396

Here's one idea :rolleye2::

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/cam/lighthouse.jpg

Plus, look at the free adverising you get out it with "Winni.com" written on it :D:D

Just couldn't resist !


.

better markings
 

I was out with my fishing buddy (Captain Jay) about 3 week’s ago looking for new fishing spots we started at the lady of the lakes (way to much boat traffic) and headed toward Locks Island, (not much luck there either) so we pulled up the trolling motor and headed to the witches, (hadn’t fished there in a while) boy they came up on us fast! The witches are not marked well at all!
There needs to be the bigger hazard buoys! Not just the little 3” red and black buoys but the big 12” hazard and rock buoys! Now before you guys ream me a new one for not having any navigational skills, I have been on the lake for 55 years and know it well, plus I have a certified captain on board, it’s a fine line between trying to read a chart at 45mph (imposable) bouncing around and keeping a look out for boater traffic. Does anybody else think that the witches need better marked?

You are a perfect example of what I was talking about a in my above post #5. I agree with you completely.

Dan

I think most marina's on the lake like the markers just the way they are. Their service departments are always busy.

I am perfectly capable of dealing with Winni ATONs but, I would love to see NH adopt a better marking system.

The witches (and other similar hazards that are not near shore) could be easily surrounded by standard hazard markers that would be far easier to see. Bright orange on white is much more visible than red over white or black over white, and the current marker diameter is too small.

Standard underwater hazard markers:http://www.faecdn.com/d/bex/i/buoy_hazard.gif

Hazards near shore could be marked with these:
http://www.watersafetycouncil.org/bo...fo/index.1.jpg
Which everyone (that boats outside of NH...) knows means don't pass between marker and shore.

Channels like the 6 pack and Graveyard should stay marked as-is, but I would live to see the number of marked channels expanded to include areas like north and west of Dow Island. The spars there practically mark a channel now, why not just make it official so there's no possibility of thinking the proper thing to do is go around the markers rather than through them?

New ideas
 

There really aren't many new ideas here.

I hesitate to guess the dates, but I'd say in the late 60's, for several years, the Witches were ringed with (6? 8?) orange barrels, probably old beer kegs to be consistent with the state budget. These floated on their sides, very high in the water, and had a white reflective stripe, probably 6" wide. Very easy to see, day or night. Good for radar, but nobody had radar in those days.

I don't know why they were removed and not replaced, but I bet they didn't reduce the number of service calls enough to justify the cost of removing replacing seasonally. I believe it was shortly after that when flasher #71 was added.

I sometimes think the extra flasher adds to light confusion. When there was only #28, and you saw a flasher, you knew which one you were looking at. Of course, if you can read the chart at night, you'll see that #71 has a double flash.

Nevertheless, it seems most of the discussion here is about daytime navigation.

If you can find Governor's Island, Lockes Island, and Timber Island, it should be simple stuff to find and avoid the Witches, or to go to the deep water closer to Governor's and Lockes. The Mount goes through there occasionally. You should have no problem.

Sarcastic? Twenty years ago when I was selling my first map, one marina owner said, "Why do we need a more accurate map? We make our money fixing boats." Yes, he said it tongue-in-cheek, but, as my wife says, there's a bit of truth in everything we say.

Most of my boating has been in salt water.

I realize that the markings on inland waters may have a different scheme but my opinion at first observation was that they are inadequate.

My opinion hasn't changed after thirteen years of Winni boating.

As much as some may desire it to be, this is not a place where everybody comes equipped with charts, experience reading them and Chapman's Piloting committed to memory.

Better marking is needed.