Re: Lake Winnipesaukee, NH... beaches for boats??
Re: Lake Winnipesaukee, NH... beaches for boats??
Suggestion: Look to other states for your boating fun. NH, Winnipesaukee in particular, doesn't seem as friendly as in the past.<br />Here is a post of my experience this summer:<br /><br />I'm an out of state tourist to New Hampshire. For the last 15 years I have been coming to NH to enjoy boating on the lakes in NH. I have complied with all the laws from Massachusetts regarding boating. I have never had an enforcement problem in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. <br />My wife and daughter and I have enjoyed boating safely in both states.<br />I currently own a 18 foot bowrider power boat. I pull a blowup toy for my daughter and her friends, and water skis. My equipment is up to date.<br />I have life jackets for all on board. I have coast guard approved life jackets on board. I have all other required items: horn, fire extinguisher, bailer, oar, ropes, running lights, flashlight, compass, cell phone, flares, first aid kits, maps, anchor. My boat has passed a voluntary inspection in Massachusetts previously, about 9 years ago. I have kept all equipment up to date since then.<br /><br />Recently, while out boating, my outdrive seized up. I called on the cellphone to the police to find a tow in. I did not know about Sea Tow. Otherwise I would have simply called them directly.<br /><br />A local police boat showed up. The officer, tied off to my boat. He then proceeded to run me through an inspection of my boat. I do not have an objection to this, since boating safety is important. He incorrectly claimed that I do not have a throwable floating device, since I do have coast guard approved lifejackets on board, the orange kind. These were what was necessary to pass the same inspection in Massachusetts by a coast guard approved inspector. The officer however wrote me a citation, without fine. <br /><br />However, while waiting for the tow boat to show up, the officer informed me that New Hampshire has passed a law that requires all boaters to have passed a certification test approved by New Hampshire to operate a boat on the lakes in New Hampshire.<br /><br />As a law-abiding citizen of the United States, a resident of Massachusetts, and operating a boat in full accordance with the laws of both the United States and Massachusetts, I was very surprised to hear that I would be in violation of an non-publicly posted, apparently arbitrarily enforced law in New Hampshire.<br />As it turns out, because I happened to be just old enough, I did not need to have passed this certification until January of 2006. In otherwords, I was lucky that I was not in violation of this law. What is failure to comply?<br />Impounding of my boat? an arrest in front of my wife and daughter?<br /><br />As this is my first experience with this type of behavior from New Hampshire's government, I was very surprised. Clearly New Hamsphire's government must not want out of state tourists, or the revenue and taxes that they bring. Clearly, I should be looking to other places to spend my time and money for vacation. For example: Rhode Island, Connecticut, western Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York come to mind.<br /><br />The behavior of the New Hamsphire government in passing a law that results in New Hampshire not recognizing law-abiding citizens from a neighboring state is most likely unconstituitional. However, barring a state or federal supreme court ruling, I doubt that it will be struck down.<br /><br />However, it is in extremely bad taste by the government of New Hampshire to have passed an onerous, arbitrarily enforced law such as this. The message is clear to me: Don't come to our state and enjoy yourself. We will attempt to harass you with entrapment laws.<br /><br />This could have been a very big deal for me. If I was one year younger, then I would have been in the embarassing situation of being in violation of the law in front of my daughter. In otherwords, the state of New Hampshire, through entrapment law, could have arrested me in front of my daughter. <br /><br />This is the first of as many sites as possible that I will be posting this.<br />I strongly believe that all Massachusetts summer tourists should consider all of the other states, including Massachusetts, that would welcome your patronage. <br />I believe that the state of New Hampshire owes me an apology, and <br />that if this law is to continue, that it be appropriately enforced.<br />This means:<br />1: Publicly post it at the boat launch to every single public boat ramp on every single lake in New Hampshire.<br /><br />2: Broadcast public information announcements on TV stations in all neighboring states of this law and any other laws that might be construed as entrapment, arbitrarily enforced, or general harassment.<br /><br />3: Or, correctly recognize the rights of all UNITED STATES citizens to travel within all 50 states, including their waterways, as long as appropriate laws have been followed in their home state.<br /><br />As I said, the results of the action of the New Hampshire government, is that I will now look to spend my vacation dollars elsewhere.
