Lake Winnipesaukee covers 72 square miles with a maximum depth of 180 feet, and has 274 islands. Lake Winnipesaukee is well known for its annual Ice-Out Contest, in which people try to guess the date that the Mount Washington, a large cruise ship that carries tourists around the lake, can safely leave her port at Center Harbor and motor to four other ports. Since records began being kept in 1851 ice-out has happened as early as March 24, set in 2010 and as late as May 12, although 90 percent of the time it is declared during April.

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