told to move from a anchor in fl

[Randall]

I met a person on the naples docks which i might ad are the worst and he told me he was anchored down the river and was told by marine patrol to move he could not anchor there. He was not in the channel, he was to the left side between the shore and the markers. He was told to goto the naples docks. i looked for the laws that have been up in the air here. Are they right? Can they do that i mean i know they can but what do you do if this happens. I read the latest update on the law i could find and it was ver confusing any one have a laws for dummies update? I thought you could anchor as long as there was not a designated morring field or in the maked channels.

[Zoomie]

I get the hairy eyeball every time I pull up to the Naples City Docks in my old Dodge pickup with out of state plates and park among the fine European motorcars there. Being the high dollar town it is, I would suspect that mooring is limited to private docks and the city dock so you don't block someone's water view. Or that particular waterfront was private property. Twelve years of regular visits there and the snobbery still irks me.

[AnchorageGuy]

According to current state law they can not do that hence the court case in Marco Island, etc. On the other hand a man with a badge and a gun can pretty much do what he wants. You can refer him to current Floriduh Law but that does not mean that he or the municipality will abide by it unless you take them to court. Are you prepared to do that. My advice would be to avoid Naples altogether. There are lots of places along the west coast you can anchor with no hassle. There is somewhere to report municipalities that do not comply but I can't find that info right now. Floriduh State Attorney might be a starting place.

[Randall]

yea this town is bad i live here for now but since so many bussiness have closed due to lack of a season last year we normal people are starting to be a need thus they are a little nicer to us. i always try to park next to the most exspencive car i can find out there real close to the line.

[Zoomie]

Originally Posted by Randall

i always try to park next to the most exspencive car i can find out there real close to the line.

LOL! Not me. I don't need some Izod wearing octogenarian claiming the rash on his Silver Cloud came from my truck...

Anyway many of the clientele at the city docks are doctors at NCH and my GF is a nurse there. No sense in making her life worse than the locals already make it.

[Pblais]

On the other hand a man with a badge and a gun can pretty much do what he wants.

Being right is all fine if you have a faster boat and a bigger wallet. Local authorities around the world do the job they were hired to do. It's always a let down to find out you ain't the right people. Plenty more places to go and nicer people to meet if you go there.

[lannen]

There have been some recent cases involving local Florida municipalities illegally restricting anchoring. It appears that every time someone takes the city to court, the city looses. It is dependent on whether or not you care to go to court.

Articles appear in both Southwinds and BoatUS. Southwinds is available free online.

Southwinds Sailing - Serving the Southern Cruising & Racing Sailor since 1993

[imagine2frolic]

Ask them to put it on paper, and sign it. Once you have the paper in hand leave to avoid problems. Then find the right agency to give a copy to.....i2f

[Vasco]

I have found the best approach is to listen to the cops/sheriff/etc. and then to ignore what they say. It's no use getting into a confrontation, you never can win that. Just listen politely and then do what you want. I've stated before that one cruiser in Lake Sylvia told them they had no right to tell him to move on and showed them the legislation etc. All that did was to prolong the visit as the water police said they didn't care about that. They had their local marching orders and carried them out.

[RickD]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

Ask them to put it on paper, and sign it. Once you have the paper in hand leave to avoid problems. Then find the right agency to give a copy to.....i2f

I would heartily agree with this statement.

Be polite, but be firm and ask them to write it down and make it a written order. If they refuse, be firm but polite and ask for their name, badge number and jurisdiction information and YOU write that down and then comply and then contact the local District Attorney or even the Sheriff's office for the county. Many times the Sheriffs office is the "highest legal authority" for a region in a county - and they can generally give you advice or tell you whom to contact in case of such disputes. Sometimes they won't help, it depends on the state you're in or whether you get someone lazy on the phone.

I'm saying this after having dealt for many years with the law enforcement community, both from a "government point of view" and working with them in various capacities.

I'll say this, by far nearly every police office you run into in the United States is a "good guy" and will look out for you. If they stop you for something (whether it is in a car, truck or a boat) then you're autoMAGICALLY a suspicious character and you're probably a "perp" as far as they are concerned and until they "clear you" in their minds you're going to be treated as a "perp".

But if you ask them things like "Since I am unaware of that particular law, might you tell me under what state statute I can find the exact law, Officer?" many of them will 1) give you the exact regulation or 2) will state they don't know "but" and give you some other justification for their actions.

And I'll say this, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES even if you're 100% right and they are 100% WRONG give them a reason to taze you, shoot you or arrest you. If you get away with simply a warning, you've done good. Avoid them later!

Over the years I've worked with many of the agencies that are now a part of the larger "Department of Homeland Security" and there are some jerks out there. You ARE going to run into them occasionally - but for the most part they are like the person that stopped the original poster's friend... someone who wanted to push his badge and make someone do something that MOST LIKELY wasn't legal in the first place.

I'm wondering if folks don't have a thread of "Good places to go" and "Bad places to avoid" for folks cruising around the coastline? If not, maybe it would be good to have some kind of thread going where people can post the good, bad and indifferent about places?

[Zoomie]

There's a very good reason that people in Naples (including the County Officers and the Marine Patrol) are the way they are; during the past 50 years a lot of time and money has been spent cultivating that area in the beautiful place that it is, both on the inland side and the gulf side. And they aim to keep it that way.

Still doesn't give them the right to push around people just because they simply "ain't the right people". Had a confrontation first of this month with a security guard at a mall because, in his words, "the length of my hair and the cut of my beard made me look indigent".

Next time I pause on a sidewalk to use my cel, I'll visit Supercuts first.

[cooper]

Had a confrontation first of this month with a security guard at a mall because, in his words, "the length of my hair and the cut of my beard made me look indigent".

That is disgusting.

[AnchorageGuy]

Hey folks welcome to the sunshine state. Now don't you want to run down there and contribute to their economy?

[onestepcsy37]

cruising friends of mine stopped in lake sylvia, fort lauderdale, a few weeks ago. after a few days the water nazi's came by and told them they had to leave by 6pm the next day. my friends told them they were a yacht in transit and legally allowed to anchor there. the nazi's got loud and belligerent but my friend held his ground. they finally left saying they'd be back the next day. his parting words were 'see you at 6pm tomorrow'.

they never returned. friends left a few days later. not once during the entire encounter did he ever let on to the nazi's that he was a retired orange county (florida) sherrif's deputy and u.s. customs agent....

[BassAckwards]

[quote]

Originally Posted by RickD

I would heartily agree with this statement.


And I'll say this, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES even if you're 100% right and they are 100% WRONG give them a reason to taze you, shoot you or arrest you. If you get away with simply a warning, you've done good. Avoid them later!

AS they say, "You may beat the rap, but you arent gonna beat the ride"