posted September 15, 2004 12:02 PM               

At a bit over 4000 acres, it’s about the 3rd largest lake in NH, after Winnipesaukee (by far, the largest) and Squam (which is practically part of Winnipesaukee). It’s just off I89 (you can see the interstate in the NE corner of the lake chart, below), so quite convenient whether coming up from the Boston area or even down from Montreal (though if I was coming down from up north I’d probably go no further than Champlain!). It borders, in part, on the Sunapee State Park, which is home to a ski area as well. New London is a quaint town quite nearby & there is plenty of dining, lodging & camping. The Lebanon/Hanover/Dartmouth area is about 1/2 hour up the road, where I89 intersects with I91, so it’s not far off of that main north/south route as well. The lake has many beautiful homes on its shores, and the mountain scenery is fantastic.

Here are charts of the lake:
North end:

South end:

For reference, the charts overlap near The Thumb, on the western side of the lake. This chart is available for $8 at the gift shop dockside in Sunapee Harbor, right next to the ramp there. I’m sure they’d love it if they knew I just posted it, so please go buy one for yourself! The chart shows you where & how to get around the red & black spars marking rocks. On our first day out, we didn’t have one & nearly got into real trouble. (I know, WHAT was I thinking not getting a chart from the start?!?)

The issue of public ramps is thorny in NH. State law mandates access, but many local areas give begrudging compliance at best. The state has been diddling around about building a better public ramp at Sunapee, but the issue is bogged down in local politics & won't happen any time soon.

At the northern most part of the lake, there is a public ramp at Georges Mills, but there is NO parking at all. Effectively, that makes it unusable for most of us!

The next ramp moving south is in Sunapee Harbor, on the western side. It’s free, has good access to the best part of the lake, and is available 24 hours. However the streets are a bit tight, in a quaint but congested area. They also loop you up a hill and around a parking lot to stack you up as you wait your turn to launch. There are two large cruise boats docked there too, so you have to be wary of them. There is a dock, but it ain’t public, and you have to park your trailer on the main road, which is a bit of a walk away. While there is normally room, you have the additional headache of parking your boat while parking the trailer. This issue, I have heard, is a big pain, as there is only one ramp and you don’t want to jam it up while the next guy is waiting. We didn’t use this ramp, so much of what I’m relaying is hearsay & conjecture.

The only other ramp is further down on the western side at the State Park Beach off Rte 103 in Newbury. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the gate is open from 9:30am to 7:30pm and there is a fee of $8. Other times of the year it’s free & the gate remains open 24 hours. The gate issue is problematic. I’m sure plenty of folks would like to get out earlier on a beautiful summer morning, and the rather early closing of 7:30pm is a bother, especially if you’re there midsummer when it stays light enough to sail until after 9. But unless you plan to stay overnight, ya’ gotta haul out and be on the other side of the gate by 7:30!

There’s plenty of parking at the State Park Beach, however the launch is not ideal. It’s a single ramp into a narrow, shallow channel with a couple of branches overhead on the way out, making it a little tricky to get through without the mast hitting. Not big branches, but a nuisance. (Next time I go, I’m taking a handsaw & will hack away at the tree on the south side to open it up a bit!) The first day we were there, we saw a large motor cruiser trailering out as we were coming in. I took comfort from that, thinking if that guy could get in & out, we’d have no problem. What I found out 10 minutes later was he came in, saw what was there & headed right back out without even trying! Once out of the channel, it's shallow for another 100 yards or so before getting to deeper water. The other nuisance is a washed out gully on the port side of the ramp. Maybe they’ll fill it in with gravel by next season(?). Notwithstanding the aforementioned, we could launch the S565 with no real difficulty.

Once out on the lake, the sailing was great. The first two days we went (on Labor Day Weekend) were diametrically different. The first day was sunny with the wind out of the NNW. The next was cloudy with a SE wind. Both days, happily, the wind blew strongly. We went back the following (last) Sunday & the wind was hardly a breath, so we just motored up to the north end, but a terrific SE wind blew up starting at about 5pm & we had some great sailing back to State Park Beach until past sunset.

The Narrows, coming up from State Park Beach, demanded some quick tacking on the first day, but the second day we flew wing-to-wing right up the gut. We kicked in the motor to expedite passing through the East Channel & entered the widest part of the lake where we enjoyed the breeze immensely. On that second day the wind was perfect to fly wing-to-wing all the way to the northern most part at Georges Mills. When we came about, we had another quick tacking session – it was maybe 300 yards across – until we got back to the big part of the lake. It was good, fun sailing & we had the chance to get the kids learning how to tack!

On that second day we started by motoring to the southern most part of the lake. We raised the sails, came about, and made very nice speed running before the wind & traversed the lake all the way to Georges Mills in just under two hours. Since we were before the wind and couldn’t perceive the breeze, it didn’t feel like we were moving that fast, but I could certainly tell we were making excellent speed. I kept getting this stupid grin on my face every time I felt the wind give us an extra lift. On the way back windward, naturally, it was blowing enough that sweatshirts were in order! It took us about an hour-twenty to get back to The Thumb, toward the south end of the widest part of the lake, where we kicked in the motor to be sure we had enough time to haul out and get on the right side of the gate. It took about 30 minutes to motor back to the State Park Beach.

There’s more to say about how much sailing/fun we had, but I guess this report is enough to give an idea. We could not have been more pleased to discover this venue. If anyone has the chance to visit, let me know. We’re adopting this body as our home area. It’s definitely the best/closest place to sail for us. We hope to find a place to moor for next season, tough I imagine when I find out how much it would cost, I’ll opt to continue to pay my $8/day & use the State Park Beach!

If you’re planning to come, here's the weather there.

------------------
Kevin
Shortstay III, #901

posted September 15, 2004 12:03 PM               

The kids can’t get enough of hanging over the edge on the foredeck & getting sprayed! (Yes, lifelines are on high the list for next season!) Eastern shore in the background.

Swimming is also a requirement for us. My daughter is the biggest water rat there is!

These pix are from one of those cheap cameras with the plastic case capable of use in water. Well, I had to try it out! Mt Sunapee is in the distance to the south.

The fat man and the sea… Mt Sunapee also seen in distance.

Heading back. Eastern shore in distance. Steady as she goes.

Cloudy & chillier the next day, but a terrific wind. The kids show pride in having executed numerous tacks coming out of Georges Mills. Northern shore in background.

posted September 15, 2004 03:03 PM               

Don, pains me as it does, I have WalMart do it. It's really only a couple of bucks more to put them on disk. I save a buck by only printing singles, not doubles, then pay the $3 to put them on disk. If I want more copies, i print them out on my Mac. In the meantime, I can email/post them.

Windy, I wear a jacket when it blows hard or is cold. I guess you're implying I should "do as I say" with the kids? You're right, of course.

We live in Brownsville, VT, which is about 25 miles away, so it takes about 40 minutes to get there.

posted September 15, 2004 04:42 PM               

Great report ! I can't wait to get up there ! Maybe Ivan will give up some wind this weekend.

posted September 15, 2004 07:18 PM               

Bob, let's just keep our fingers crossed it stays dry! I'm still hoping to get out again on Sunday.

posted September 15, 2004 10:43 PM               

Great series of family photos. I can't help but draw comparisons with my family. We look to have kids of a similar age. My boys are just like your kids, love to ride the rail/pulpit, and love to jump in off the boat!

The young lad in the 4th pic looks like a true seaman! Good on 'em!!

I don't know if I posted this pic yet, but here's my crew in action! Look familiar?? The Sandpiper is a great little boat to enjoy family outings!

Cheers, Eric

posted September 15, 2004 11:03 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eric:
The young lad in the 4th pic looks like a true seaman! Good on 'em!!...

I don't know if I posted this pic yet, but here's my crew in action! Look familiar??

---

The lad in the 4th pic ain't so young anymore! But it ain't years, it's the mileage!

Ohmygawd, yes! That crew looks quite familiar. Maybe a year or so older, but the same eager look.

And the boat looks familiar too, except yours is tons cleaner, shinier & prettier! (Your pix are clearer too!) We hope we can get Shortstay looking that good by next season. We got a late start aquiring her in mid-July.

Thank you all for the kind replies!

posted September 16, 2004 12:51 AM               

I've also heard that New Hampshire does not allow personal water craft on their lakes. If that's true I may have to immigrate.

posted September 16, 2004 01:14 AM               

We discovered Jay Peak in Vermont last year, and the whole family loved it! We'll likely plan another ski holiday there this year.

posted September 16, 2004 10:44 AM               

Yes, it's true PWC are banned in NH. If only we could get them to ban snowboards, it would be heaven, indeed!