Rules on Mooring...or at least my best interpretation of them.
The number one
rule for mooring your boat is DO NOT
anchor within a navigable channel of the
ICW. You will certainly, sooner than later, be asked to move if anchored in a navigable channel in the
ICW.
The other hard
rule on
anchoring is that a boat may
anchor anywhere if it is looking for protection from a storm or adverse conditions.
Other than that, the rules and how they are enforced are are a little fuzzy and subjective. Almost all costal cities have their own rules on
anchoring outside the icw but inside city limits. Frequently, there are time limits placed on how long you can anchor in one spot; usually between 24 and 72 hours. Enforcement of the law varies from place to place. Here in Clearwater there is a time limit but I don't believe it is strictly enforced. In fact,there has been a guy living on his
Morgan 41' out island in the intercostal for almost two years. I see him every time I go out and he moves his boat around about once a week so that the local law enforcement does not harass him to much. So,
living aboard in the intercostal can be a little tricky when trying to skirt the rules. If, however, you are cruising but not
living aboard a federal law was passed recently concerning anchoring outside city owned mooring fields...
Southwinds Magazine
"Nothing contained in the provisions of this section shall be construed to prohibit local governmental authorities from the enactment or enforcement of
regulations which prohibit or restrict the mooring or anchoring of floating structures or
live-aboard vessels within their jurisdictions or of
any vessels within the marked boundaries of mooring fields permitted as provided in s. 327.40. However, local governmental authorities are prohibited from regulating the
anchoring outside of such mooring fields of non-live-aboard vessels
in navigation.”
Finally, I am not sure exactly how it works if you do not
liveaboard but want to anchor your boat in the icw and leave it. I know they(local authorities) don't like you to but I see it happen all the time. From Blackwater Sound(key largo) to St. Josephs Sound(Dunedin) I have seen boats that were unoccupied and just anchored for long periods of time. I don't know if I would want to do that, though. It would not take much to wipe out all the
money and time I have invested in my boat i.e. frayed anchor line, rusted chain link, sudden storm, pirates, etc. It really sucks writing that check for my slip every month but I sleep better at night when i do.
I hope this helps.
ep
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