Anchoring restrictions introduced in Florida bill

[David M]

How interesting. The land owners had more money than the boat owner had to pay off the politicians.

[redsky49]

Politicians suck!
(Written in lieu of a thoughtful response)

I guess boaters have to buy some legislator to have our side heard. Can BOAT US fight this, and will they?

I answered the Florida Anchoring Survey too. It might as well have asked "When did you stop beating your wife?" Clearly designed with an intended result, and that wasn't in boater's favor.

Vessel Safety my a**!

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

Technically, that's not a contradiction. It's something you don't like.

Contradiction :

"a combination of statements, ideas, or features of a situation that are opposed to one another"

It contradicts their comment at the beginning of page 2 about anchoring for mechanical breakdowns.

Saying you can anchor for mechanical breakdowns but can't anchor when your boat is not being propelled as intended by the manufacturer are contradictions it seems to me.

See your own definition of what contradiction means.

[LakeSuperior]

I like it...the cost of a mooring ball in FL will rise without bound like a helium filled balloon.

[redsky49]

Originally Posted by nautical62

It contradicts their comment at the beginning of page 2 about anchoring for mechanical breakdowns.

Saying you can anchor for mechanical breakdowns but can't anchor when your boat is not being propelled as intended by the manufacturer are contradictions it seems to me.

See your own definition of what contradiction means.

I think your actual complaint should focus on clarity of language. The referenced section (perhaps first draft?) seems poorly written, and subject to interpretation.

This may not, in fact, be a bad thing as it might serve as reason to challenge the law [lawyers, step in here please] in court.

Rather than argue semantics/syntax, we should figure out how to stop this law, and avoid the annual attempts made by some Floridians to lay claim to the waterways - something that belongs to all of us and best served by a national navigation policy. Hmmm... Doesn't that already exist?

[sailorboy1]

I'm starting to really think Florida boat owners need to fight back harder. They live there and are stuck with mainly being "local" and not getting to go anywhere and anchor under these laws. People cruising will just "move along".

[Group9]

As dysfunctional as government is these days, maybe the bill won't make it out of committee.

Sad, when all you have going for you is your hope that government performs as poorly and as inefficiently, as usual.

[irwin37]

unfortunately most of the responders to the questionnaire were ok with a setbacks for anchoring, I believe the most common answer was 150 ft, maybe because that was lowest answer available. I selected nothing and wrote a long massage explaining why but over 60% said 150 ft or more? Read the results. Maybe part of the problem is we are not all on the same page?

[Group9]

Originally Posted by irwin37

unfortunately most of the responders to the questionnaire were ok with a setbacks for anchoring, I believe the most common answer was 150 ft, maybe because that was lowest answer available. I selected nothing and wrote a long massage explaining why but over 60% said 150 ft or more? Read the results. Maybe part of the problem is we are not all on the same page?

Yes, I saw a poll where 90 per cent of the responders said you should only beat your wife once a month. Of course, the only three answers were:
a. Beat her once a month.
b. Beat her twice a month.
C. Beat her every day.

Based on this survey, beat her once a month is clearly what almost everyone agrees is right.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

I like it...the cost of a mooring ball in FL will rise without bound like a helium filled balloon.

And then come crashing down when these towns realize that they don't have much to offer to boaters and no one stops to use them.

It does say that "active recreational fishing" is an anchoring exception. So, hang a fishing line out.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Island Time O25

It's not only the wealthy waterfront property owners. It's also marina owners. And the towns themselves with this law they're setting up extensive and profitable mooring fields.

Well, yes, of course. There's always that, too. So on the one hand you have wealthy donors telling politicians that they want their view of the water protected. On the other hand you have the politicians realizing that they can collect yet more money in the process of pleasing their donors. And finally the marina owners lobbying these same politicians in hopes that they can kill any competition. It's almost too much to expect any politician to resist!

The one thing that this proposal is absolutely and unquestionably NOT about is dealing with derelict boats. There are already more than enough laws in place for doing that.

[jaybird1111]

What this legislation should be teaching you all is this:

Cruising/transient boater spending comprises very little of Florida's tourist dollars, and in fact, probably do not revenue as much as they cost:
-mooring fields are usually an exercise in financial loss
-it's expensive and problematic to deal with derelicts
-cruisers are largely cheapskates (don't take my word for it, just read these very fora) and don't spend much money, yet expect all sorts of services


I'm not surprised at all that regulation is happening, I just wonder why it's taken so long

[TeddyDiver]

How about legislation against compromising marine safety?
"All coastal lights must not interfere with lights used for navigation, ie running lights, anchor lights or other navigational lights used on waterways. So all white, red, green or yellow lights or lights resemling any of these should be turned of after dusk untill the the sun rise" :P You could enjoy anchoring at night in front of those stupid property owners and not to know they are sitting there in the dark seeking their sundowners..

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, beachsailor.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by jaybird1111

What this legislation should be teaching you all is this:

Cruising/transient boater spending comprises very little of Florida's tourist dollars, and in fact, probably do not revenue as much as they cost:
-mooring fields are usually an exercise in financial loss
-it's expensive and problematic to deal with derelicts
-cruisers are largely cheapskates (don't take my word for it, just read these very fora) and don't spend much money, yet expect all sorts of services


I'm not surprised at all that regulation is happening, I just wonder why it's taken so long

Mainly because, years ago, most of the Florida waterfront was still natural and undeveloped. You couldn't see the water for all of the mangroves. Thankfully, for real estate developers, they are all mostly gone now.

It's all been bull dozed and paved over and covered with condos now, and waterfront mansions to house all of the Yankees from New York and New Jersey (two places with probably the smallest per capita boat ownership of any coast states), and for the Russian crime lords who need to have a safe place to put their mansions, who don't want to have to worry about a sailboat with a sniper or explosives in it, getting too close to their security perimeter (and there is one town in south Florida where if you get too close to certain Russian mafia bosses waterfront homes, the local police will come check you out and ask you what you are doing there). But, really, although obnoxious, the Russians are a much smaller problem than the real estate brokers.

The good news for boaters: The panhandle is like south Florida used to be (and unlike southern Florida, still has a high percentage of native Floridians in it). I don't know for how much longer, though. All we can do is keep calling it "The Redneck Riviera" and hope all of the New Yorkers and New Jerseyites continue to believe it, or they will start moving there and ruining it for boaters, too.

In the end though, money always wins. Always. And the big money in southern Florida wants condos and mansions on every square foot of waterfront property in Florida. And, they don't want any silly boats, blocking their views of the water. And, what they want is what will happen.