Quote:
Originally Posted by BroadHopper
Lifetime shorefront residence of the lake, I can tell you my observance. Early years before McMansions and Mcyachts, boaters and landowners had a peaceful existence. Landowners accept the fact the boaters have the right to common sense use of the lake. Watersports at sunrise and sunset were considered normal. Small loud race boats were also the norm. A loud rafting party that pops up on weekends was also tolerated. We accept that as part of the use for the right to live on the lake. Even neighborhoods had block parties where we get to socialize and know each other. The kids get to play outside together. During the waterski racing era, Neighborhoods would form a race team to participate. Allowing distant neighbors to know each other.
Today this is all gone. A great reason for the family to move to Winnisquam.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ishoot308
Good post! I do agree with most of what you said...
As someone who remembers the lake as a kid in the 60's and 70's, waterskiing and louder race boats (now called classics!) were definitely more prevalent and totally accepted back then. They were fun to watch and would bring in crowds of people as spectators.
You would NEVER hear anyone complain about water skiers or those loud beautiful classic race boats as they were a sight to see and watch!
There was also a very active runway with planes taking off on Wolfeboro neck and those planes were loud but no one ever complained about them actually quite the opposite most would love to see them land and takeoff!
Back then there were no "wake boats", no 1000 watt stereo systems and the lake is much busier with boaters from all over New England. Add this to a much less tolerant and disrespectful society and you have what we have today...Unfortunately this was created by us....
Dan
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Well I never lived on Winnipesaukee but I did stay there every summer as a kid in the 1960s and spent a lot of time there all through the 1970s to today and there are some additional points I feel need to be mentioned.
First and foremost the volume of traffic is incomparable to the past, I could have never imagined all the boats you see today. Some days in the summer in the 1960s I would wait long periods without seeing anyone and was thrilled to have a boat pass by the docks on Echo Point.
The boats have also gotten bigger, MUCH bigger, and MUCH more destructive. The Wake/Surf boats are truly an abomination when used anywhere other than the Broads. I would not be a happy home owner to have them circling in front of my home blasting concert level music any time of the day.
Then I also feel obliged to say there is a difference in the quality of people at the lake these days. Way too many "entitled" Jersey Shore types, arrogant, mouthy, vulgar, pushy, the world is theres get out of there way attitudes everywhere. In the 1960s and 70s you had much more modesty, respectful, friendly, low impact fellow visitors.
Now I feel 100% certain that the dug in old folks who were also here in the 1960's probably felt similar about the people who were summer guests and brought there above the waterline ski boats and "FM" radios and Bbq grills and kids!
But the difference between the impact of summer traffic in the 1960s feels microscopic compared to the what we see today. Some days its like a bad reality TV show. So much so I have flat out refused to come to the lake on any Saturday in the summer for the last many years.
So while I totally agree that Winnipesaukee was ALWAYS a place were there was active speed boats, water sports, summer visitors, etc, the differences is it used to be X on a scale of 1 - 10, now its not even at 11, its completely off the scale. When you boat up to Wolfeboro or Alton on a weekday and have to wait 20 minutes to get on a dock on a Wednesday, and you are fighting 30' plus boats and giant pontoon boats and Wake boats with giant towers you cant see whats behind them, that a lot of different traffic than you saw as a kid here in the 1960's!
Still love it and come as often as I can, but I have much less desire to buy a Winnipesaukee home now than even 25 years ago,,,
Maybe mine are different colored lenses than others, we each have our own perspective and opinion and thats mine.
ATB