Moorings

[DeborahLee]

I just got back from a cruise to New england. I had to cut it short as I was starting to run out of money getting moorings. I find it annoying pulling in at 6 or 7 at night and having to get a mooring when I have a perfectly good anchor and am leaveing at 5 the next morning and haveing to pay anywhere from 30 to 60 dollars. I would normally go over on the beach for dinner but having spent all my money on the mooring I stay on board.
In other places where there are private moorings I found about 40 percent not even being used. It is just a way to keep you from anchoring. In one place we saw a boat that had 2 moorings. One in one place and another one in another place.
In one place a Harbor of Refuge the town was allowed to take it over and put in a marina, no anchoring allowed and $2.25 a ft.
Some of these moorings are owned by businesses and rented out, they are going to be hurting the marinas as they have just about no overhead. The days of taking you wife out for dinner is going to go by the wayside as it becomes expensive paying $50 for a mooring for a couple hours and buying dinner. There were many towns that had no anchoring laws also forcing you to get a mooring. I thought those laws had been found to be illegal.
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this, or may be I'm just venting.

[Cheechako]

Sounds pretty bad. Can they actually say you cant anchor? I'd be surprised that's legal..... isnt it a federal thing?

[Gpser2]

The Seven Seas Cruising Assoc. attacked Florida's anchorage restrictions. Anchoring is allowed, while in transit outside mooring areas. Concerns there are derelict boats, and snobby homeowners that want no one anchoring in their sight. The Federal Govt. owns the water, not cities or individuals.

[djmarchand]

I cruised New England a few years ago. I found that in a few popular areas: Manhasset, Oyster Bay, Fishers Island, Block Island, Edgartown, mooring fields had taken over and squeezed out almost all anchoring.

Having said that, there are still an enormous number of places to anchor in NE. But they are likely to be remote from a town, so taking your wife out to dinner isn't going to work unless you are ok with a long dinghy ride.

New England cruising caters to the 1%.

David

[bobconnie]

If ya have any fed charts that show anchorages, these are legal. If ya get hassled call the costies cus if thier on the fed charts nobody is saposed to be able to keep ya out ! at least that was what I was taught in Marine school LOL maybe with the costies being part of homeland sec. might mean the don't have time to inforce stuff like this anymore?? I don't know anymore !! just my 2 cents

[zeehag]

good thing new england is coldville--i wont be going there..LOL
(unless my family members have docking space i can use)

[gettinthere]

Most of the good spots are filled with moorings...in many places, empty moorings. It takes some extra effort but there are still good places to anchor. Getting decent access to shore facilities is more difficult, especially for grocery shopping. $60 to tie to a ball is a joke. How about $15 to tie up the dink? $15 per person launch ride?
On top of all of this is the worst wake offenders I've seen on the east coast. Richy rich in his pseudo lobster boat motoring by 30' away, rolling out a 4' wake while smiling and waving. Clueless.
On shore, nobody makes eye contact or returns a hello either; quite cold in many ways!

[sailorboy1]

I've been out cruising all this week. There are LOTS of places to anchor. But they aren't that convenient sometimes for going into town (but sometimes almost as good).

But I definitely feel your pay pain for the mooring prices up here!!

[DeborahLee]

I forgot to mention Newport. There is room to anchor there and the city is doing a nice job helping the cruisers. They have opened a marine center in the basement of the old armory bldg. you can tie up your dingy free they have a nice area with tables and chairs free WIFI and a TV tuned to the weather chanel. They have showers $1.75 and washers and dryers. They really seem to want cruisers. Spent several days and a lot of money in town really had a nice time. They just don't cater to the Mega Yachts. They also have a web site.

For those that were there a couple years ago the mooring installers have been busy. There were 3 of them in one cove alone installing moorings. There is some places to anchor but It is in 60 ft and I don't carry 300 ft of rode. I have the ability to go from 6'6" to 27" and the moorings were into the shallows of course many of them were empty.

[gettinthere]

DebLee
I don't understand your post. You mention Newport is good to cruisers but then seem to say you have to anchor in VERY deep water because of more new moorings.
Is there good space to anchor in reasonable depths, less than 20'?

Thnx

[impi]

Originally Posted by DeborahLee

I just got back from a cruise to New england. I had to cut it short as I was starting to run out of money getting moorings. I find it annoying pulling in at 6 or 7 at night and having to get a mooring when I have a perfectly good anchor and am leaveing at 5 the next morning and haveing to pay anywhere from 30 to 60 dollars. I would normally go over on the beach for dinner but having spent all my money on the mooring I stay on board.
In other places where there are private moorings I found about 40 percent not even being used. It is just a way to keep you from anchoring. In one place we saw a boat that had 2 moorings. One in one place and another one in another place.
In one place a Harbor of Refuge the town was allowed to take it over and put in a marina, no anchoring allowed and $2.25 a ft.
Some of these moorings are owned by businesses and rented out, they are going to be hurting the marinas as they have just about no overhead. The days of taking you wife out for dinner is going to go by the wayside as it becomes expensive paying $50 for a mooring for a couple hours and buying dinner. There were many towns that had no anchoring laws also forcing you to get a mooring. I thought those laws had been found to be illegal.
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this, or may be I'm just venting.

I could not agree with you more ... hate the amount of moorings going into bays in the BVI's. I drop anchor anyway and refuse to pick up moorings ... This is something I have been taking up with the people at tourism in the BVI's

[DeborahLee]

Your right the post is confussing. Newport is great anchorage is good, depth good @ 10'.
The second part I was responding to the post about being in Maine a couple years ago and how things have changed.