05/13 - 05/15 - Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

ffheap

New member
The first Lake Winnipesaukee Spring meet will be held from 5/13-5/15 at Y-Marina in Meredith New Hampshire. Y-Marina is the new east coast dealer for C-Dory. A great weekend is being planned by the men of Y-Marina. Come one, Come all.
 
This sounds cool! I added it to the calendar and created a signup list for it. I also changed the discussion thread title somewhat so it would fit on the Upcoming Events list in the right spot.
 
So, how big is this lake of yours? Is this the place?

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You are correct, sir!
This is our little corner of it. Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire- featured in the movies "On Golden Pond" and on a lighter note, "What About Bob". The lake is 26 miles long and has over 365 islands, depending on who's counting. Our Marina is in Meredith, NH 03253 (if you want to Yahoo/ Mapquest it).
Our weekend Extravaganza includes a cook-out, naming ceremonies for newly purchased boats, test rides on all the 2005 boats, and we're working on a nautical scavanger hunt where you get to explore the lake for fun and prizes. No need to have a boat to come make friends and share in the C-Dory- C-Brat- C-Dog experience!
Anybody with a boat will have a chance to see the latest C-Dory features and compare. The West Coast is going crazy over the 25' Cruiser and we'll have the only 2005 model there to experience.
And as the signs say, this is the 1st Annual Event, so any additional ideas will be entertained and those with merit will be shamelessly stolen!
In the true C-Dory spirit this will focus on having a great time and letting the "Haves" mingle with the many "Have Nots" and answer the many questions that mere dealers don't have the experience to handle.
If you can make it, we promise to make it worth the trip!!

More details to follow here!

Fair winds...
John
Y-Landing
 
Haven't been on Lake Winnipesaukee since my college days in New Hampshire -- my memory then, in a canoe, is one of loons, tree-covered islands, and gorgeous summer homes. Like everything else, it must be more crowded now but still beautiful. Is Winnie still in the lake??
We are ambling over toward the right coast now (in TN) and sure is tempting ... maybe a strong southerly will woof us up the coast and inland to New Hampshire! The Chesapeake Gathering is in early June, and we'll be there, so looks like we'll still be too far to the south'ard to get up to NH in May -- maybe at a later event in the Northeast -- we have the Erie Canal in fall on the calendar.
We have fond memories of the First New England C-Dory Gathering in Bath, Maine a few years ago -- with some great cruising along the Maine coast.
 
Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire- featured in the movies "On Golden Pond"...

How cool! If you guys catch Walter, we want a picture before you let him go. He's a crafty old SOB.
 
Hey John,

Just a quick question. Are you guys going to have water and electricity at the docks that early in the year? I mean, the ice may not even be gone yet! :wink:

Dun (CTYankee)
 
To All,
We have electricy on the docks and water "Near" the dock, but not piped out to the individule finger piers. We'll also have all the free ice you can tolerate.
"Ice Out" , a local event (determined by aircraft over-flight every year, defined by when the Mt Washington can make all its port calls without encountering ice) should be at least a week or two before our weekend.
I think we can promise a great weekend as we'll have the lake to ourselves. Within weeks there will be boating/parking/berthing issues as the crowds travel north. Any party ideas or special requests are welcome here or at
C-Dory@y-landing.com

Go New England C-Dory!
John
Y-Landing

PS I'm toying with the New England C Dory thing or N.E.C.D. Does anybody think I could convince people to pronounce it like "Nekkid"? Can you imagine little nautical pennants that are pronounced "Go Naked". I think it might help local membership if anything...
or
I've got too much free time...
 
Hey Guys (and gals).

I havent' heard anything from anyone recently. Is everything still on? I sure hope our weekend weather up there duplicates this glorious week here in southern New England. Couldn't be better, and the boat is de-winterized and ready to go. Can't wait!

A question for John at Y-Landing. I cant't decide if I should drag the boat up there with the 4-Runner 200+ miles or use the Motorhome. It's a tough pull for rhe Toyota, but I need a bit of extra room for the big rig. Is there room for it at your Marina?

I hope everyone is well. See you soon!

Dun (CTYankee)
 
Another question for John at Y-Landing: we won't be able to make it up for the NECD (definitely pronounced "nekkid"!), but we are thinking about coming up for a week in July.

1. Can we get a slip with you for a week beginning July 17?
2. Any realtors you could recommend we talk to about getting a small house or cabin nearby for the week? Need a place that is willing to accept a couple well-behaved four-legged critters.

Regards,
 
IT HAS BEGUN!!!!!

The Man From Nantucket drove up from Massachusetts to be the first arrival for our New England C-Dory Weekend!!!!
Please check the weather channel as we have a frost warning for tonight and tomorrow night and 40% chance of rain all weekend.
Directions can be found at www.y-landing.com . There is a boat launch about 1.3 miles away by car (600yards by boat) at Shep Brown's Boat Basin. Use the directions to get to Y-Landing, then, instead of turning left onto Powers Rd, continue straight about 1/2 mile and turn left at the Sign for Shep Brown's. There's a public dock/launch ramp there. Call us if you need somebody to help launch or details (603)279-5050.
Come if you have a C-Dory, want a C-Dory, or like the looks of the C-Dory. We expect to have 5-12 boats to admire.

THANKS!!!!!!
 
LET THE FUN BEGIN -- Hooray for the stalwart New Englanders begin their 'nekked' Gathering -- "with the granite of New Hampshire in their muscles and their brains." Freeze warning? Eyah, jest take the hot wine out o' the oven... We're with you folks in spirit, and applaud your hardy natures. Have fun!!
 
THEY WON'T STOP COMING!!!

Four 22' Cruisers and Anglers so far, the Marina's closed, and THEY KEEP COMING!!!

C-Brats and C-DOGs already partying on the dock. I'm glad we don't have a webcam!

Seriously, this is getting fun...

John
Y-Landing
 
It’s official; the 2005 New England C-Dory season has been kicked off with a Boom. The Usual Suspects plus some new C-Dory fanatics gathered at The Y Landing Marina on Lake Winnepesaukee for a weekend of cruising and camaraderie. The dire weather predictions were wrong, so we got in 85 miles of lake cruising.
The family at Y Landing Marina was great. The Grand Lady of the Marina, Tuffy, was a wonderfully entertaining hostess opening her home to us for meals, and meeting us on arrival at the dock with Lake Charts, Welcoming packages, and Hats. John squired us around the lake, and resolved any of our needs. Charlie fixed Fred’s engine, and Dave provided logistic support. You couldn’t have better hosts for a C-Dory gathering. They even provided a 12 week old puppy for entertainment.
There were 5 boats and crews: Widget (Dave & Valerie), Inn the Water (Fred), Hunky Dory (Rick & Carol), Crescent Girl (Dun & Becky), and Lil Duke (2 guys from MA). Plus there was a brand new 22’ cruiser and a 16’ cruiser for sale and viewing at the marina. A couple of wannabes from CT (Ken & Carol) cruised and dined with us too.
The Friday the 13th start was typical: Expired trailer registration, Engine fuel system problems (3 boats), and launching without the plug. But things smoothed out from there, with Fred providing shuttle service.
Saturday Dave led us into the relatively undeveloped northeast regions, under low bridges and thru rock gardens. It takes a while getting used to the unique lake bouyage system, so we were glad that our GPSs had bread crumbs to follow back to Y Landing. After a huge lunch at Tuffy’s, we took 4 boats for ice cream at a Burger King that has about 40 slips, but no Boat Cruise Thru lane.
Sunday it was raining, but we took off for Wolfeboro at the other end of the lake. Wouldn’t ya know it? The rain stopped for 2 hours, so our wives managed to maraud the gift shops (and savage our credit cards). Not even Carol’s cast slowed them down. With 3 boat crews as a team, we quickly maneuvered trailers and hauled our C-dories for their next adventures.

Yup, it was a great kick off for this season,
Rick & Carol from Maine
 
FROM Y-LANDING

As a Marina and a dealer we'd like to thank all the C-Dory folks that made the sometimes long trip to our humble corner of New Hampshire.
It was a simple pleasure having the C-Dory crews around. A more helpful and independent group we've never met.
There was talk of the C-Dorys returning in the Fall when we should again have free dock space, warmer weather and a much prettier view of the mountains. Y-Landing is open to suggestions and more than willing to adjust to meet the open schedules of the most members.
We know we learned a LOT, and for anyone lurking out there these gatherings are a great chance to see the boats and hear the tales.

Thanks again to everyone who made the first annual Lake gathering such a hoot!
The journalist that interviewed everyone also works for USA Today so we are hoping for expanding coverage as the story gets out.
Pictures to follow as I figure out the download procedures.
Again, Thanks to all!

Fair Winds...
John
Y-Landing
 
The 05 Lake Winnipesaukee cruise is history. Four 22' C-Dorys showed up, Hunky Dory(Rick and Carol), Widget(Dave and Valerie), Inn the Water (Fred, the Man from Nantucket) and Crescent Girl (Dun and Becky). The weather was cold and cloudy throughout with showers on Sunday. John and "Tuffy", the owners of Y-Landing Marina and new C-Dory dealers, did a fine job of welcoming us, providing slips, ice, food and bathrooms, and generally running around keeping us happy and acting as guides. We did three major excursions from our base, and several minor ones. Ken and Carol, prospective owners from Branford, CT took a cruise with us, and a new owner of a 16' Angler from Cape Cod joined us for lunch on Saturday.

Lake Winnipesaukee is a large lake, very deep with hundreds of islands and many bays and inlets. The lake has become very developed over the years, and housing prices are now sky high everywhere. It has, however, retained much of it's rural heritage, and it is known throughout New England as a get-away haven from the cities of the coast.

Becky and I enjoyed seeing our C-dog friends again, and caught up on each other's lives during the cruises and at our meals together. Special thanks to The Man from Nantucket for arranging the wonderful get together. Y-Landing has again offered us accomodations next year, and extend the invitation for any other C-Dory owners to visit at anytime.

I've posted a few pictures (sorry for the quality...it was very overcast the whole time).

Thanks to all,

Dun (CTYankee)
 
Hi Folks,

The trip was great. I arrived on Wednesday and did the shuffle, we had to launch our boats at a ramp about 2 miles away as a car drives. With a little help, I made it. John and I went out to dinner on Wednesday night and talked boats, people etc.

The Y-Landing Marina was once owned by the Lawrence Massachusetts YMCA, and is still used as a connection to the Camp which is located on Bear Island, due east of the marina, and the largest Island on the lake without a bridge. The Marina is now owned by the Hamblett Family. Tuffy, the mother runs the store at the Marina, and Dave, her youngest son runs the Marina. The crew are an assortment of relatives and friends, both male and female. All are great workers and great people.

The marina;s cliental are mostly people who live on the islands, and need a place for their boats to get to and from the islands.

The interest of C-Dory's came from one of the island people who purchased one from the Florida dealer, and use it as a ferry boat to and from Bear Island. Their boat is a sixteen footer.

The owners of the Marina saw a good thing, so started working on the Tolan Family to give them a dealership. After the Tolans sold the business, the new owners decided to give the dealership to Y-Marina. At that time, John Cameron was brought aboard to sell the C-dory. (John was the roommate of one of Dave's brothers at USNA. and a former commercial pilot.)

On Thursday, I decided to go to Meredith for breakfast by boat. The wind was blowing, but I thought it would not be a problem. WRONG. When I turned the corner of Meredith Neck, and got beyond Governors Island, the wind coming down from the White Mountains and funneling between the hills really blew. The lake also had a short chop and white caps. I managed to get INN-THE-WATER under the lee of the MOUNT WASHINGTON at The Weirs and docked her. While I was coming across, the wind got under the zipper of the awning and unzipped the middle brace. It was worst conditions that I had ever been out in.

I then waited out the storm, and had breakfast and read a newspaper.

When the wind died down, I returned to the Marina, and then went to Center Harbor for coffee.

On friday I stayed around to help the other C-Brats.

Saturday has been explained well by others. One thing of interest. When we went to the other side of Moultonboro Neck, I went with Rick and Carol. Rick had put in waypoints to get us there, but not on a chart. It was interesting. We followed the "bread crumbs" back.

On Sunday morning, I got up early, drove the rig to the launch ramp, walked back, took INN-THE-WATER over by water, pulled her out, and went back to Hingham. After putting the boat to rest, I had a sandwich, and crashed for the rest of the day. I returned to Nantucket on Monday morning, and Sheila left for Hingham on Tuesday. Wednesday she gets to go to Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI. and play with the GrandChildren. I get to run the Inn. (I think she got the best of the deal>)

See you all at the next Meet.

Fred Heap
 
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