NSW South Coast - Coastal Cruising

[Robert Tilbury]

Originally Posted by Mozzie

I'm sure that if you got the one location rule in writing, it would be pretty straightforward to challenge the fine in court if not a pain the the but. If enough people do it, the maritime officers will be told to pull their heads in.

Either that or they'll change the rules.

As an aside, I once worked with a German postdoc who had to go to Immigration to for some interview or something. When he came back he said: <accent=german>"I have to give it to you Aussies, I thought we had perfected bureaucracy, but you have perfected it."</accent>

We Australians like to think that we are larakins, but we are insanely officious. There is this belief in Australian society that if everything isn't regulated, everyone's heads will fall off or something.

I have to agree with you , we have a rule for everything ,,,
The governments think we are so stupid we dont understand if we put the hair dryer in the bath we go boom !
We need to deregulate 90% of the stipid laws in Australia ,,,,
Oh and get rid of the greens ,,,, that will take 20% of the stupidity away in one hit !

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

We're on our way back to Tasmania where folks are a bit more welcoming...

Jim

Keep a spot for me please.

[Robert Tilbury]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate View Post

We're on our way back to Tasmania where folks are a bit more welcoming...

Jim

__________________________________________________ _______________

Hi Jim ,

I think the wording is a bit off mate ,

We in NSW are very welcoming it`s the Authorities that are the hitlers , I love seeing and chatting to all from allover , the stories the pictures ect ,,,
Its a pity the Police , waterways , councils ect don't just pull there heads in a little , don`t they realise we spend so many dollars in there local area ,

Funny thing in the shoalhaven i hear ,, OH GOD IT`S TERRORIST TIME AGAIN !

you never hear i with the tourists would just spend there money some where else !

I believe with a little more freedom Australia would be a sailing hot spot ,
more money would be invested in the industry if it wasn't so regulated ,,,

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by Robert Tilbury

Originally Posted by Jim Cate View Post

We're on our way back to Tasmania where folks are a bit more welcoming...

Jim

__________________________________________________ _______________

Hi Jim ,

I think the wording is a bit off mate ,

We in NSW are very welcoming it`s the Authorities that are the hitlers , I love seeing and chatting to all from allover , the stories the pictures ect ,,,
Its a pity the Police , waterways , councils ect don't just pull there heads in a little , don`t they realise we spend so many dollars in there local area ,

Funny thing in the shoalhaven i hear ,, OH GOD IT`S TERRORIST TIME AGAIN !

you never hear i with the tourists would just spend there money some where else !

I believe with a little more freedom Australia would be a sailing hot spot ,
more money would be invested in the industry if it wasn't so regulated ,,,

Yes, it was great 40 years ago, but this country changed. People too laid back ( drunk ? ) to fight the changes to their freedoms.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Robert Tilbury

Both ,,, the MSB are little hitlers and will be sitting 50 metres away waiting for you to move then they will approch hand you your overnight stay fine (parking fee) I had it happen to me last season , Talking to other river users i found at least 5 others that have been done also , sail and power craft .

my son lives in bega and he said its the same there , its like there are people watching and then bam !

there is no way the msb would have known we were on board unless some **** dobed us in ,,, the lights were off at 10 pm he nailed us at 7.30 am .

Again, Robert, what statute were the overnighters breaching? If there is a fine involved, seems there must be a written and codified law that supports the fine.

Lacking that statute, this seems like personal harassment, possibly at the behest of some lubber.

Jim

[clownfishsydney]

Originally Posted by Gypsy23

While I share your outrage at the restrictions, I need to correct some of your points.
The notification of being away from a mooring is 28 days, not 14. Still absurdly restrictive. One gets the feeling they would prefer to see the bays as permanent parking lots.

But as for the 28 day away limit, it is a real pain for those of us who want to go on an extended cruise. Last time I did that I had to buy another boat to keep on the mooring and pay a transfer fee. Of course one can never have 'too many' boats - and the smaller one was in good working order, but there should be a more practical way.

End of rant in reply to a rant.

All you need to do is write to RMS and say you are going away for xx period. They will then approve it. We have done this for 6 months and 12 months without a problem. But yes, it should be more than 28 days before you have to seek approval and yes you should be allowed to let someone use your mooring when you are not using it.

[Mozzie]

Incidentally, If I am coastal cruising, what do I need in the way of safety equipment. Is a life raft necessary?

[Robert Tilbury]

Originally Posted by clownfishsydney

All you need to do is write to RMS and say you are going away for xx period. They will then approve it. We have done this for 6 months and 12 months without a problem. But yes, it should be more than 28 days before you have to seek approval and yes you should be allowed to let someone use your mooring when you are not using it.

i agree All you need to do is write to RMS and say you are going away for xx period.

but we realy should not have to ,
as i said we can go way in our cars ?
but dont leave the mooring ,, i believe they are after any excuse to take the mooring and re sell it on , (as you can see im not a fan of the RMS) |at the local fire works 2 weeks back a bloke left his yacht and rowd into the warf BAM fined for no safety gear in his tender >
a mate phone the local rms bloke and mark from rms sad its a complyance officer from sydney down for 2 days ,,,,
Great way to have every rms bloke hated for years to come ,

[Olddave]

Originally Posted by Mozzie

Incidentally, If I am coastal cruising, what do I need in the way of safety equipment. Is a life raft necessary?

Mozzie
You should have some sort of plan to continue floating if your vessel sinks. We have a Zodiac inflated on the foredeck, a dinghy with positive floatation should be the minimum. If I was taking kids coastal cruising I might want a life raft for it’s ability to self deploy or be easily deployed if you don’t want a hydro-static release.
Dave

[clownfishsydney]

Originally Posted by Robert Tilbury

at the local fire works 2 weeks back a bloke left his yacht and rowd into the warf BAM fined for no safety gear in his tender ...

Quote from RMS web site:
Tenders (if operating in enclosed waters, less than 3m in length and operating within 200 m of the shore) - Exempt from carrying other safety equipment if the vessel carries a paddle or oars, a waterproof torch if operating between sunset and sunrise, a bucket/bailer or bilge pump.

Therefore, if the above did occur, there is no basis for it and he should fight them in court.

[ozsailer]

G'day Mozzie,
there is a specified list of safety items that you must have on your boat and are listed on the RMS websites of your state. For going offshore you require the following. Some of these are Anchor and chain, chart of the area your sailing (must be a paper chart) fire extinguishers, water, V sheet compass,flares etc and if more than 2nm offshore a Epirp and marine radio.
Other items are then at the discretion of each master of the boat. While some are happy to utilise their dinghy we have a fully certified liferaft. We also keep two ditch bags. These carry our wallets, keys, at least one of our mobile phones, spare reading glasses etc.
Your question regarding what safety gear do you need is a full topic in itself and does differ from skipper to skipper.


Greg and Sue
Sunshine
Lagoon 410

[Mozzie]

Yeah I guess going offshore with kids an inflatable life raft would be the best bet.

But I'll definitely check out the RMS regulations.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I would be interested to hear what statute thed Maritime chap is alleging these guys to have broken. One is not allowed to "live aboard" a vessel in NSW, but I'm not aware of any rule prohibiting overnight anchoring when cruising. We've anchored in the Shoalhaven without issues several times, occasionally for several days... then moved on.

And re the "one location" thing: the local Maritime officer, Steve Nugent, has declared to us that the whole of the Pittwater, from Mona Vale to the bridge at brooklyn, and including all the creeks is "one location". IMO this is nonsense, and I'm glad that the head office disagrees with Steve (apparently). Steve just retired, so it will be interesting to see what nuances his replacement settles upon.

We're on our way back to Tasmania where folks are a bit more welcoming...

Jim

A bit of an update, it appears that Jim is absolutely correct and that head office phone answerers don't have any idea of the rules as written in the legislation. If one follows the rules as written we are allowed to use our own vessels for the"generous"period of 90 days per calendar year at anchor in NSW waters.
The 28 day limit per calendar year is also correct as is the Jim's information (thanks for the info and sorry to have doubted it) on the entire area of Sydney harbour being described as one location. Ditto pitwater/broken bay and god knows where else.
I have written to my local member (for what it's worth) suggesting that this regulation is ridiculous and only worthy of removal and also note that on another sailing forum, seabreeze.com.au there are others that feel equally aggrieved.
Sorry Jim, you were correct and I was stupid enough to believe the information offered via the phone from maritime.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

A bit of an update, it appears that Jim is absolutely correct and that head office phone answerers don't have any idea of the rules as written in the legislation. If one follows the rules as written we are allowed to use our own vessels for the"generous"period of 90 days per calendar year at anchor in NSW waters.
The 28 day limit per calendar year is also correct as is the Jim's information (thanks for the info and sorry to have doubted it) on the entire area of Sydney harbour being described as one location. Ditto pitwater/broken bay and god knows where else.
I have written to my local member (for what it's worth) suggesting that this regulation is ridiculous and only worthy of removal and also note that on another sailing forum, seabreeze.com.au there are others that feel equally aggrieved.
Sorry Jim, you were correct and I was stupid enough to believe the information offered via the phone from maritime.

No worries, mate! And if I were an Australian citizen, I too would be soliciting help from my elected representatives. This sort of legislation, rules that are poorly thought out and highly restrictive, invite arbitrary enforcement as we have seen practiced locally... and this surely is unfair to the average sailor!

Perhaps a letter or two to Afloat and Cruising Helmsman would stir up some interest and additional pressure upon the Maritime folks. As a guest here in Australia, I'm loathe to complain, but for you dinkum Aussies, well, it seems almost like a duty!

Cheers,

Jim

[ZULU40]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

No worries, mate! And if I were an Australian citizen, I too would be soliciting help from my elected representatives.

Now I know how screwed we really are ...