Has the St. Augustine Mooring Field Been Completed ?

[Kettlewell]

A mooring field was put in Charleston a few years back but it was mostly destroyed in a hurricane and then nobody wanted to pay to fix it all back up, so the lousy holding ground is also littered with the remains of old moorings, chains, etc. to foul your anchor. I will admit that it isn't a great anchoring situation if the wind picks up, but then we generally leave and go to a better anchorage. I'd rather do that than lump around on a mooring with no shelter.

[Soundtrackzz]

The problem that St Aug and all of the other Pilot Program cities have is with derelicts not necessarilly live aboards. I know many liveaboards that keep immaculate boats (im one of them). Cruising and living aboard is supposed to be a dream anyone can achieve no mattter what their budget, a man can put down an anchor and enjoy any town he wants to. But with all of these restrictions on anchoring its pricing the average joe out of visiting many major ports in florida

[Kettlewell]

And, according to statistics gathered already in Florida, the majority of derelict boats are not at anchor anyway! Most of these boats are already washed ashore somewhere or sunken. Florida's Pilot Program law states quite clearly that one of its goals is to promote public access to the waters of the state. It is impossible to imagine how they can see restricting anchoring as promoting public access. We need to get BoatUS and other marine organizations involved in fighting these nonsensical laws. St. Augustine is well on its way to limiting anchoring to 10 days. The Keys want to outlaw anchoring in several places. I highly suggest if you are a member of BoatUS you should write a letter or send an email to their Government Affairs office (govtaffairs@boatus.com) and to their magazine (LettersToEditor@boatus.com), and maybe we can utilize the clout of 650,000 boaters to stop these laws in their tracks.

[Soundtrackzz]

Writing to BoatUS is good!. We should also get in touch with the SSCA. Living aboard and moving the boat every month is possible. Moving it every 10 days is not. But its not enough. Those cities dont have any real reason to listen to Boat US, as a collective they dont generate enough money flowing through florida to make any real difference. What we need to do is contact all the trade associations. The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) is a good place to start and it does carry massive weight, because the boatbuilding industry is so big in florida. Other trade organizations that we could contact are:

Boat Trailer Manufacturers Association
Houseboat Industry Association
Inflatible Boat Manufacturers Asscoiation
National Marine Bankers Association
SailAmerica
SOBA

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Soundtrackzz

... Other trade organizations that we could contact are: ...

The Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF) carefully monitors, comments, supports or challenges government regulations or legislation that it has determined may have an impact on South Florida's recreational marine industry on the local, state and national levels. The Government Relations Committee, Board of Directors and the Association's government relations representatives in Florida's capital Tallahassee and in Washington D.C. are focused on a wide variety of issues to ensure that marine businesses are protected, or can benefit from governmental policies or actions.

MIASF ➥ Marine Industries Association of South Florida

[Kettlewell]

Is anybody here a member of MIASF? I know they have been successful in the past in shooting down laws and regulations that were a negative for the industry.