Florida Anchoring rights

T

thataway

Active member
There is a survey by Seven Seas Cruising Association ref. an upcoming meeting with Florida Fish and Wildlife commission ref anchoring rights of cruising boats.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SSCAANCHORING2014

You do not have to be a member of SSCA, or live in Florida to take the survey. The issue of anchoring rights, is not just a Florida issue--it affects every state where boats anchor or cruise. There are those who oppose any cruising boats anchoring--and want vessels to be at a municipal mooring field, or marina.

In my view, there need to be anchoring rights for boaters who are genuine cruisers (not necessarily those whom live on a derelict vessel.). SSCA is mostly composed of sailboaters, and has some world wide representation. I was a member for nearly 50 years, was a Commodore member for over 20 years, and was an officer on the Board of Directors. SSCA does try and represent all boaters--although it is primarily a sailboat organization.

Even if you don't live in Florida, or have immediate plans to cruise Florida, it would be good to take a few minutes to do the survey. What happens (in the way of restrictions in Florida--and there are some entities which do not want any boats anchored in their bounds--May shortly apply to other states.

Thanks,
 
I have no idea who "Kettlewell" is, but he makes at least one error in his blog:
"The city has tried to force more boaters onto moorings by charging just as much to dinghy ashore as to rent a mooring." The fee for dinghy dock usage is less than for mooring ball usage. He does not give any reference for a claim that hundreds of thousands of dollars from other sources are used to pay for the mooring field.

One has to remember that people who use the mooring field also use social and school resources--and pay no property tax in Florida. We have been going to Marathon for 4 years now, and we see many of the same boats there year after year--I don't know how many remain in the summer, but suspect a fair number. $300 a month for weekly pump out (by barge) cheap good water (5c a gallon) good showers, WiFi, a parking space, lounge with TV etc is not bad ($10 a day try and find that anywhere else) There is good public transport, library near by, many free things to do etc. The daily rate for a waterfront RV site, with boat slip is about 10x what the mooring ball rental is, pro-rated for a month!

There remains problem with derelict boats in Marathon still, even with the new fees and ordinances.

There does remain an issue with some "cruisers" who abuse water front anchorage. (Not that a C Dory owner would, but there are many who do).

Anchor a few feet off a private dock, run the stereo Generator, make noise, pollute water, etc--as well as landing on the private property. Some are boats which cannot move under their own power--which I believe should be a requirement for a "Cruising boat" .
 
It is very important to remember that many and I mean many maritime laws pertaining to "casual" boating are written from circumstances from boaters within our Florida waters, and these have become representative in many other states.
 
I'm sorry to have posted a link to something with inaccuracies... :oops: I would have thought he'd have a handle on it; but then it was just a blog post so maybe a bit too casual.

Kettlewell is a long time cruiser/writer. I don't know him personally, but know of him because he wrote a couple of ICW chart/guidebooks that I looked at when I was prepping to head up the ICW (back in the early 2000's).

http://www.amazon.com/Intracoastal-Wate ... 0071803904

http://www.amazon.com/Intracoastal-Wate ... sing+Guide
 
That was an interesting survey. I can certainly understand that nearby property owners don't want permanent or semi-permanent liveaboard bum's blighting their lifestyle within a stones throw of their multi-million dollar McMansion.

On the other hand, because someone has a million dollar McMansion - how much of the water right (and view) did they acquire with their home? We will be very interested to see this discussion unfold.

Take the survey. I thought there were several interesting items mentioned. One question seemed to sort-of suggest a real "cruising" vessel might have a windlass, but a hand anchored vessel might not be a cruiser. Interesting. Another question dealt with establishing a "mooring" versus anchoring. Yet another question asked how long your onboard sanitation system was good-for, and whether you'd be willing to display sanitation device servicing records or receipts. (No problem. My porta potty "record" is a 3x5" card that says I 'serviced it two days ago. The use of a porta potty is going to give these folks a 'fit!)

Several of the items in the survey will have to be defined more clearly before this whole mess is put to a vote. The lawyer's will have a 'ball on this one.

Somehow I hope that we can all "...just get along" and find solutions that work for all (most all?) of us. Silly me....

Best,
Casey&Mary*
*Florida inland resident boater's who vote, but only own a 23' vessel (but it has a windlass and porta potty)!
 
Those who don't cruise in Florida may think this is a local issue. If you enjoy anchoring out, you will want to take the survey so your voice is heard. What starts there can be used as a precedent in other states.

My personal take on this is: anchoring is part of boat navigation. But, there has to be some regulation, because of people who are inconsiderate of others. Derelict boats can be a hazard, for both navigation and pollution. Land owners should have a reasonable expectation that there won't be a community of neglected boats right off their property. (I do recall a guy shouting at us from his deck, when we were anchored during a norther while in Florida - we weren't "moving in", just looking for a protected place to hold up.)

For some perspective, there are people on the west side of San Juan Island who think boats should not be allowed within a half mile of the shore on that side of the island... probably going to mess with those who like to fish in that area. There are already "sensitive areas" with distance restrictions for commercial operators. If it can happen in Florida, it can happen anywhere.

Jim
 
Anchoring rights is a long and complicated issue. S. Calif. has had multiple restrictions for many years--fortunately I was lucky to sail there before there were many restrictions--and have seen them increase thru the years. These tend to limit access to many places. There are some good compromises--such as the anchoring field off Lido Isle in Newport Beach (which I believe is now threatened).

I have been a waterfront home owner for a total of 25 years, as well as living aboard for 13 plus years, so I see the issue from both sides. Marathon has taken the issue to an extreme--however not all of what was proposed was enforced last winter. Sister's creek, was a great place for C Dorys, and other smaller boats to anchor and wait for a mooring (the mooring field is full often during the winter, and a several day waiting list is present.)

No problem with anchoring for real cruising boats, but staying a long time, where multiple services are used on shore is a different issue, and probably should be addressed in some areas. The derelict boats, or "bum boats" are also an issue. There some issues I disagree with with Mr. Kettlewell--and those have to do with distance from home, and specific mooring areas. There are multiple stories of boaters who abuse anchoring rights. As always there is a balance, and good compromises can be made.

I agree that some of the questions are poorly worded (and I expressed this in my comments on each question). SSCA seems to be the only boater organization who is representing the public. This survey apparently was to get the feel for what boaters in general felt about anchoring, anchoring rights and mooring fields. Not sure what role Boat US is playing--they should be involved. Two advocates have recently passed on--one was Skipper Bob, and the other was Claiborne Young (Whose Salty SouthEast blog/forum was very active on this subject). The Publishers of Waterway Guides have been involved in replacing these two individual's voices, but do not seem to be as proactive.
 
Interesting survey. Found the "your answer is 99 days" for airhead systems interesting. The generator after 10pm was interesting too. We use to take our C-Dory back in coves where their was less than 2' draft and that took care of most noise issues to eliminating generator noises. But then, Honda produced great small portable gen sets...to run things like my AC system, blender, hot water heater...and other things I enjoyed on my C-Dory that most less than 2' draft boats did not have on board. Now, whole new generation of big-arse pontoon boats...that have the shallow drat and gensets invade. I am thinking 2 hours after dark rather than a time of day. When traveling, daylight hours drive when I get up and go and rack out.


Like James said, when on extended travel trips, sooner or later you will be in one of those, I gotta anchor or tie up here modes.

Family has owned lake front property for many years. This with 100' Corps of Engineer rules which also get crazy. Have ran down and helped folks tie up at our docks with bad storms coming, invited some of them in. Have also had to ask some of the wake boarder generation to turn both their boats & personal volumes down while tied to our dock or anchored right in front of our house while they reload beverages/folks from neighboring homes. Ya just need to respect folks and their lives too. I found some interesting situations traveling down the east coast intracoastal waterway on a 44' Kadey Krogen. Again, just respect folks and, if we are in seeing and hearing distance of their space....be nice. This does not even happen in anchorages from other boaters.

I too have been on both sides of this fence. I have received help from other boaters, receive help from other on water property residence while boating, and from land, I have both helped those needed help, gentle good morning waves and nods to those close to our home that stayed overnight..sharing coffee and omelets with some..and have damn sure just ran some off and away...regardless of the letter of the law. They were just being rude, giving the boating community a bad name, and needed time and distance from us.
Lets get out and have fun on our boats, but, we need to be able to travel on our boats too.
Thanks Bob! Hope to be back down south in the near future.

Margareta's anyone? Served fresh from the cockpit, politely 2 hours after sunrise, and 2hours before sunset!
Margaritaville_in_Apalachia_Ashley_Lynn.jpg
 
Well, here we go again. Florida will undoubtedly pass some kind of anchoring rules. The FWC has held their 3 statewide public meetings and based on that feedback have another survey to further refine public opinion. This is another opportunity for your input. Eventually they will stop asking and then it will be too late. Intro says survey should take you about 30 minutes and can be found at http://myfwc.com/boating/anchoring-mooring/

You do not have to be a Florida resident to take this survey. If you visit or plan to visit Florida your opinions are welcome. The more feedback the better I would think.
 
Take the time to do the Florida survey.

It is very well done, and addresses several issues of interest to the boating community.

Best,
C&M
 
Molly Brown":2zxv3c97 said:
This must be the fourth or fifth entity looking for public comment that I've responded to in the last couple of years. I think this is the latest survey to come out. For those interested the link is at http://survey.constantcontact.com/surve ... /questions
Click to expand...

I just went through and did that survey. And when I clicked "finish" I was notified I had done that survey before. Maybe it's the same place again, stilll looking for more input.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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