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  Your Anchoring Rights in Florida

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September 18, 2011 - Update on Florida's Pilot Program & Formation of New Boaters' Rights Group: B.A.R.R.

Hello all! Want you to all to know that the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Pilot Program (PP) has been in the stages of taking input from the public. For those of you who follow my writings at SSECN (www.cruisersnet.net), you are well aware that I have been representing SSECN boaters at the PP Stakeholder Meetings that take place here in Monroe County. Each of the five PP area sites have separate Stakeholder Meetings. Ordinances are presently being discussed and some areas are in the process of drafting proposed ordinances for their site areas.

Many of the ordinances on the table are quite unreasonable. YOUR INPUT IS VITAL as the FWC has made it clear that it will only approve what the public wants. To keep you all informed with the details, to get you quickly up to speed about what is occurring, and what you can do to ensure we retain our right to anchor outside of mooring fields; a brand new anchoring rights group has been established: B.A.R.R. (Boater's Anchoring Rights & Responsibilities). We are dedicated to preserving your right to anchor and promoting boater responsibility.

Our Facebook page, "Mariner's BARR" is growing rapidly, though we just organized a little more than two weeks ago. There is a link to our Facebook Group, "Mariner's Barr" at our www.marinersbarr.org website. The website is in its infancy, but within the next couple of days it will have enough to get you caught up with the history and injustice of the Pilot Program. Please come via our website or Mariner's Barr Facebook Group and "Join Us at the BARR!"  Ordinances are scheduled to be submitted to the FWC mid-November. The time to get caught up and proactive is NOW, my fellow cruisers and boaters. Thank you, in advance for your help. You need not be from Florida to make your voice heard...the waters here are in the Public Trust for all who wish to traverse them.

Hugs, Charmaine


March 8, 2011

Pilot Program sites? How about ALL of Monroe County being ONE of those sites. Well, that's what is happening. Tell me something isn't up with that arrangement! Below, I've reprinted a portion of SSECN's Claiborne Young's editorial earlier this month in where he makes reference to an article I wrote and he published this time last year of my warnings to stay vigilant on this issue. Another link follows a the end so you can peruse his entire write-up. I am once again collaborating with Claiborne Young and am very pleased to announce it!!

Claiborne Young writes:

"...During all the debate which raged around the 2009 Florida Anchoring Law, and, in particular, the establishment of the pilot mooring field program, it came be to be generally acknowledged that, to be effective, there was going to have to be some sort of NO-ANCHORING ALLOWED buffer zones established around the pilot mooring fields.

The argument ran that, without such buffer zones, cruisers could simply drop the hook 50 feet outside the mooring field, pay nothing, and dinghy ashore to take advantage of all the services established to support the mooring field, such as showers, dinghy docks, etc.

Now, let me be very quick to point out, there were strong and well reasoned voices in the cruising community which did NOT accept this premise. At the height of the debate, we published an extremely thoughtful article, authored by SSECN contributor, Captain Charmaine Smith Ladd, in which she strongly asserted the notion that the pilot mooring fields in general, and any sort of no-anchor buffer zones in particular, were bad ideas (Seehttp://www.CruisersNet.net/stay-vigilant). A fear that the no-anchor buffer zones might be abused was front and center in Captain Charmaine’s arguments.

And, indeed, I worried about this same thing. During a particular FWC meeting, one Florida municipality made what I thought was an outlandish statement that for a mooring field to be successful along their waterfront, waters as far as twenty miles away would need to be included in a no-anchor buffer zone..."

Read Claiborne Young's entire editorial: http://cruisersnet.net/?s=anchoring+rights&cat=-6&x=35&y=14


 

August 17, 2009

What Does the Passing of HB 1423 Do For Your Anchoring Rights?

The passing of HB 1423 gave us nothing more than we already had as far as anchoring rights.  Florida s. 327.40 protected our right to anchor.
Local jurisdictions never had a right to ask anyone to move out of their areas, with the exception of "liveaboard" boats that were outside of mooring fields.  Liveaboards are defined as those boats that do not move (used solely as a residence or place of business {not including commercial fishing boats} lost their rights in 2006.
 
For quite some time, here on my website, I have had a copy of the statute and told others it would be prudent to keep a copy aboard in the event you
were asked to moved.  Now Boat U.S. comes out with something similar and people think it's great.  This is nothing new at all.  It's to make you think
they actually care about your rights.  Your rights to anchor were already there.
 
What HB 1423 did do is add the EPA's Pilot Program.  This is the real problem we have.  The Pilot Program was added after all public comment
was included and all proposed revisions made to the statutes via the FWC.  I noticed two pages added to the very end of the final revisions that were
submitted to the FL Legislature.  It was titled "Pilot Program."  After I read it I was shocked!
 
On the FWC website they explained "due to pressure from homeowners and some others..." they added the Pilot Program.  Unreal.  Our exercise of trying to steer the FWC to make changes that the public asked for was all in vain.  Everyone who followed each revision of the statutes mainly focused on s. 327.60 which protects our rights to anchor.  Once everyone saw it remained intact they stopped looking.  No one expected a back door approach sneak attack.
 
The Pilot Program is EXEMPT from adhering to s. 327.60 which means that on the grounds of "environmental protection" or whatever else the
EPA comes up with they can make adjustments to their demands.  As it stands, a mooring field that is part of the Pilot Program (there will be five
initially) can keep others from anchoring outside of it.  Boats in navigation have rights under Maritime Law and are not prohibited from anchoring outside a Pilot Program mooring field...well, not YET.
 
I truly believe that the Pilot Program is a threat to our anchoring rights.  What could be its purpose otherwise?  Do we really believe the EPA and
FWC in conjunction are going to study the environmental impacts of anchoring vs. moorings?  I don't think so!
 
This is just the beginning.
 
A number of board members of the FOW (Freedom on the Water) and SSCA resigned when their groups went along with the Pilot Program.  Boat U.S. and the NMMA caved in too, calling it a compromise.  Compromise
to whom?
 
We had the momentum and got the revisions we wanted throughout the public forum of FWC's proposed revisions.  What no one knew is that
the few people who are behind it all and very well connected politically...had this Pilot Program already planned out in the event the public refused to go along with restrictions to anchoring.
 
The Public spoke and the money got its away against an overwhelming majority of boaters, cruisers, and weekend boat owners. It is a shame!
 
The Pilot Program is our Achilles' Heel.  Before it, there was NOTHING in Florida's Statutes that would prevent us from our rights to anchor.  Now
they have you all thinking it's all GOOD...that HB 1423 saved us and that you have a victory.
 
Nothing could be further from the truth.
 
Watch and see.  These programs will pop up in the very places where the cities have been in court trying to keep boats from anchoring in their
waters.  A coincidence?  Not likely.  Sarasota Bay got caught letting the cat out of the bag when they tried to enforce a strict no anchoring.  They were
immediately taken to court.  Sarasota backed down.  I am sure they know Sarasota will be a part of the Pilot Program and they flexed their muscles too soon.  The areas are supposed to be diverse and chosen by a committee.  Who are they kidding?  The Pilot Program is the WAY for those areas to get what they've wanted all along.
 
By way of politically correct environmental protections it is not difficult to see how our rights to navigation will take a back seat to "saving" something
environmental that really isn't in jeopardy in the first place.  But when you have the EPA as your hitman...landlubbers will listen.
 
The Pilot Program will be the doom of us all.  It is the ONLY venue that can erode our rights to anchor. 
 
Follow the money.  Who wants it this bad?  Can you imagine no anchoring in all of Sarasota Bay?  Well...imagine.  It CAN happen.  It couldn't before,
but with the addition of the Pilot Program to HB 1423 and with its passing it CAN NOW.
 
Charmaine Smith Ladd

Update May 2009 - House Bill 1423 has passed.

- There will be no more harassment of boats in navigation while at anchor.

- Boats in navigation will be allowed to anchor outside mooring fields (within certain limitations).

- The State of Florida is trying desperately to repair its tainted image of being "boater unfriendly" and realizes the boon boater tourism is to its economy.

Even though the "Pilot Program" passed, cruisers can call this a VICTORY.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The above is basically what is being said by every large boater activist organization.  But is it all really TRUE?  Is is a VICTORY?  This writer most sincerely has her doubts.


 

Update April 14th 2009

Clarification of the Florida Anchoring Bill currently in committee in

the Florida Legislature: 

http://www.cruisersnet.net/western_florida/anchoring_rights/

April 14, 2009

An Open Letter to Wayne Marshall from Charmaine Smith Ladd

There is no clarification at all in Wayne Marshall's letter to Southwinds as to why certain groups are backing HB 1423. But there's plenty to show why no one should be backing it: NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

First he states that cruisers' will not be defined as liveaboards. That's not news or progress. That has been that way since July 2006 when Jeb Bush made the differentiation between a non-liveaboard and a liveaboard. Nothing has changed, the definitions are the same as in 2006...but the confusion still piles up. 

When something reads "other than liveaboards" it is referring to we cruisers! We're all that is left. Therefore, the section of the proposed legislation that begins "Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 327.60..." (that's the section that protects cruisers' rights to anchor and says we are not subject to local ordinances against that right)... that's not a good thing as it means it is EXEMPT from the very law that protects us. 

Bottom line: the problem is the Pilot Program. It is still the ONLY avenue by which cruising boats can be told to leave a mooring area and not anchor there. 

Didn't Mr. Marshall see this fact? 

AGAIN: "Notwithstanding" means disregarding. It means that the powers that be DO NOT have to abide by it. It means the very statute that protects our rights to anchor will be null and void when it comes to the Pilot Program areas. 

I cannot be more BLUNT. Forgive me, but this is probably the most important issue of your boater lifetime. You have a voice and you will only use it if you understand what exactly is happening here. We MUST get this understood for exactly what it is and act accordingly. 

It is this simple: If the Pilot Programs are not in place, then our rights as boaters to navigation, anchorage, and safe harbor are NOT in jeopardy.   

WHY anyone would back House Bill 1423 the way it is is beyond me. We do not have to go along with this. Will one person tell me just why they think the Pilot Program is in the best interest of cruisers. Forget all else...just answer that one question. 

I can't think of one good reason for the Pilot Program except for doing the bidding of those so greedy they not only want to control the land but also the waters across from their condos and million dollar homes. They are the ones the FWC referred to when they stated on their website the reason the Pilot Program was added at the 13th hour (after all public forums) was "due to pressure from homeowners and some others." 

The FWC isn't trying to hide the motivation here. It is just that simple.

 

Mr. Marshall, you are not being of help to clarify the situation. In myopinion you've clouded the issue even more so. I do not see your reasoning for backing House Bill 1423. In fact, you say you are clarifying due to "positive developments" and then you never state one positive development or any reasoning at all as to why HB 1423 is in anyone's best interest other than the multi-million dollar home owner who wants the unobstructed view.

 

Charmaine Smith Ladd

Marathon, FL

 

 Update: March 27th 2009

Salty Southeast Cruisers Net joins with SSCA and Boat U.S. to support House Bill 1243 (with certain changes).  My take on this?  Read below:

March 27, 2009

 
Don't Snow Me...SHOW Me!
HB 1423 - Florida Anchoring Rights Proposed Legislative Changes

- STAY ON YOUR GUARD

 
by Charmaine Smith Ladd
 
Salty Southeast Cruisers Net joins with SSCA and Boat U.S. to support House Bill 1423 (with certain changes). My take on this?  In a nutshell:

I highly suggest no one change their stance on killing House Bill 1423 until we know it has changed and changed in our favor with no strings attached or dangling daggers waiting to stab us in our unwary backs! If I'm cynical it is because I have good right to be so. I've seen the snow fall before...and it sure wasn't dandruff!

If we don't keep up our guard, somehow this will turn around and all our positive feedback and grand momentum toward what is right will be lost. Then it is easy pickings as we are disarmed and run over with absolutely no recourse because it will then be too late to act.

We don't need the Pilot Programs...period! The Pilot Programs were never a part of the original proposed legislation and were never offered up for public debate. They were added after the fact, after all was said and done as a way to appease (as the FWC put it): "due to pressures caused by homeowners and some others." So why is the Pilot Program suddenly a viable and necessary part of what needs to be done when it never was before when it was added quite underhandedly at the 13th hour?
 
The derelict boat issue is addressed with the proposed law that will require ALL boats over 14 ft. to register with the State of Florida. To date, any boat without a motor, regardless of size, does NOT and never has had to register with the State of Florida. No wonder we have the derelict (abandoned) boat problem in Florida...our State created it and perpetuated it by not acting far sooner than now!

With the abandoned boat issue RESOLVED...what is the need of Pilot Programs that will effectively interfere with one's rights to anchor? We don't need it and never did. We have proven we don't need it to curtail the problem of abandoned boats and their burden on Florida's taxpayers.  So get rid of the Pilot Program!

Remove the Pilot Program from House Bill 1423 and we're in business! Otherwise, we're right back where we started. The inclusion of this backdoor bogus "Pilot" program is only there for those who wish to manipulate it for gains with their own agendas (i.e., keep the majority of boaters from anchoring in their waters).
 
Remember, the Pilot Programs are EXEMPT from established law. E-X-E-M-P-T. That's how the Pilot Program was barely noticed to begin with. Who cared...our rights to anchor were intact...what we didn't know was that the Pilot Program would be exempt from adhering to the laws that protect our right to anchor.  Fool me once, shame on you!  Fool me twice, shame on me!  It is imperative the Pilot Program be removed altogether and I (and others) won't be looking under every rock as if someone is trying to sneak something in and through while we're busy celebrating our so-called victories.

Even though I'm not from Missouri, you still have to SHOW-ME if you want me to go along with something.

So...go ahead, SHOW ME!
_______________________________________

Charmaine Smith Ladd, SSECN's Regional Correspondent of the Florida Keys, bringing you "The Low Down from Down Low."
 
Update from Boat U.S.

March 19, 2009

 

Big Helping of Legislation on BoatUS Plate


Tallahassee bill includes boating safety, fishing licenses, and anchoring regulations.
 

Boat U.S is currently engaged in several boating related legislative proposals in the Florida state legislature. In the last few weeks the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has put several of its proposals into one bill, House Bill 1423. In the Senate, there are two bills: SB 2536 and SB 2618.

For current status on these bills, click here:


HB 1423   SB 2536   SB 2618


Background:


In the House, many issues are combined into one fifty page bill.


Click here for a copy of the introduced language:

HB 1423 addresses:

  • Trying to resolve some anchoring issues and creating pilot projects to test new anchoring/mooring scenarios
  • Creating phased in mandatory boating education; Changing the age that kids must wear a lifejacket to “under 10”
  • Increasing registration requirements for boats being stored on the water
  • Removing the shoreline exemption for a FL fishing license so that in the future, FL anglers don't have to pay for both a federal and a FL fishing license.

Boat U.S. is aware that a primary reason the Florida anchoring debate is so strong is the numbers of truly derelict or abandoned vessels in waterways across the state. What will happen to them during the next storm, and how will they impact others? While we actively seek solutions to reduce the abandoned boat problem nationwide, we know that the vast majority of boats and boaters are viable contributors to local economies and we believe that boaters should be treated as such.

Status


HB 1423 passed out of its first committee this week without any amendments. The sponsor, Rep. Baxter Troutman, expects well over 20 proposed amendments when the bill is heard again. The Senate bill has not yet been placed on an agenda. Boat U.S. is at the table working in both the House and Senate to find solutions to the problems without granting local governments undue added authority over boats and anchoring.

This issue will continue to change over the next six weeks of the Legislative session and most probably won't be decided until the closing moments of session in early May.

We encourage Florida boaters (or those aspiring to cruise there!) to check back often for the latest updates as this issue continues to develop. If you have particular thoughts you want to make sure we hear, send us an email to: govtaffairs@boatus.com

 

March 21st 2009

It's about time, Boat U.S.  The derelict boat problem is solved as legislation is on the table to require ALL boats over 14 ft. to register with the State of Florida.  To date, boats that do not have motors, regardless of size, do NOT have to register.  What a huge oversight that has led to Florida's derelict vessel problem.  How can you find a boat owner when the boat has never been registered! - Charmaine



Anchoring Editorial Stirs Up Considerable Comment AND A New Anchoring Rights Article by Captain Charmaine Smith Ladd
 
There's a LOT of new text to read on the Salty Southeast Cruisers' Net's special "Florida Anchoring Rights/Regulations" page.  First of all, we present a major, new article by Captain Charmaine Smith Ladd, our regular Florida Keys correspondent. Captain Charmaine warns that anchoring rights are NOT yet secure in the Sunshine State. Her words are very much worth perusing by ALL who have any interest in Florida anchoring.
 
And then, my anchoring editorial of last week spurred, as you might expect, more than a little comment. I have strung many of the most relevant messages I received into a single posting, located just below Charmaine's prose.
 
You can read all the above by going to our "Anchoring Rights" page at:
 
 
That's all for now! Good luck, good cruising to all!

Claiborne S. Young
Salty Southeast Cruisers' Net
http://www.CruisersNet.net


February 18th, 2009

Your Anchoring Rights in Jeopardy:

Florida's Proposed Pilot Program

by Charmaine Smith Ladd

This is for those who still think Florida cruisers' anchoring rights are not in jeopardy; for those who think the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) proposed statute changes recently submitted to the Florida Legislature are mainly aimed at cracking down on derelict vessels; and for those who think full-time cruisers are not being targeted... just maybe Florida's liveaboards.

Think again. 

This is also for those who may be none of the above and are just plain confused about the entire matter.

First, a little background:

Florida Statute 327.02 (17) defines a "liveaboard vessel" as: (a) Any vessel used solely as a residence; or (b) Any vessel represented as a place of business... or a legal residence. 

Cruising vessels are therefore classified as non-live-aboard vessels. As such, we are protected from local anchoring ordinances:
 
Passed into law on July 1, 2006:
 
Section 6. § 327.60
Local regulations; limitations.—
 
(2) ...makes it clear that local ordinances cannot:

(f) Regulate the anchoring of non-live-aboard vessels outside of the marked boundaries of mooring fields....

By omission, it is currently on the books that "liveaboard" vessels are indeed subject to local anchoring ordinances when outside of mooring fields.

So what's the problem with the final proposed changes submitted to the Legislature?

The problem is the last two pages.  Seemingly added at the final hour prior to submission to the Legislature, it introduces an evil entity.  One that serves solely to take away the anchoring rights of non-liveaboard vessels outside of a mooring field without changing § 327.60, the very statute that protects non-live-aboard vessels' anchoring rights.

Had s. 327.60 been revised, all who were following each FWC draft and its revisions would have been aware of this threat. Instead, this surprising final draft revision was placed far away from where anyone would expect to find changes regarding anchoring rights. It is this writer's opinion that the placement of "The Pilot Program" was at the bitter end for obvious reasons.

THE PILOT PROGRAM

Proposed to the Florida Legislature is the making of a Commission (which includes both the FWC and EPA).  Five geographically diverse "Pilot Program" sites for the purposes of comparing anchoring to mooring with respect to impacts on the environment will be selected by the proposed Commission.

The chosen sites would be exempt from Florida law Section 327.60 (which prohibits local ordinances against anchoring for non-live-aboard vessels).

It reads:

Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 327.60, a county or municipality selected for participation in the pilot program may regulate by ordinance the anchoring outside of a mooring field by  vessels other than live-aboard vessels as defined in s. 327.02.

The exemption would allow Pilot Program sites the right to pass and enforce ordinances to severely limit or even ban anchoring of non-live-aboard vessels (that's we cruisers, folks!). 

Early January, Sarasota announced a 72-hr. anchoring limit in their waters.  Under Florida law, they cannot make or enforce such an ordinance. It has since been contested and dropped.  But it proves that Sarasota clearly jumped the gun and let the proverbial cat out of the bag.

How Sarasota knows it is to be one of the five sites to be chosen is beyond me.  Proposed legislation at this point has distinct parameters:

Any ordinance enacted pursuant to this pilot program shall take effect and become enforceable only after approval by the commission.

The proposed legislation, if passed, would become law October 1, 2009. The Commission would select the five sites no later than July 1, 2011 and turn in their findings by January 1, 2014.  The Pilot Program would then expire on July 1, 2014 (unless reenacted by the Legislature). It is much more likely that prior to its expiration, more Pilot Program sites would be in the works.

Sarasota, Marco Island, Miami Beach... ring a bell?

The thin disguise of a need for the EPA and FWC to form a commission to create and oversee a "Pilot Program" for environmental study with regard to mooring fields is now clearly seen for what is really is: A pet project by those who not only want to own Florida's coastline, but want to own all the waters along its coastline as well.  Maritime Law and the rights of a boat in navigation to anchor stops them. Thus the "Pilot Program" to get around Maritime Law and Florida s. 327.60.

Do not be misled.  Some say, "Well, if Florida doesn't want my boating dollars I'll go somewhere else."  If this ridiculous ruse is given the green light, our entire Nation's coastline waters are in jeopardy of becoming strictly pay-to-play.

Pilot Programs have a way of becoming National Policy. They are the easiest legislative changes to get passed because they are experimental, done within a time frame, and usually have some environmental or human impact study as its basis.  Even if the basis is bogus.

Let your voice against this travesty be heard by contacting your State Representative:

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx

Please act NOW!

From www.myfwc.com: Draft 7 language Anchoring and Mooring (Vessel Management) will be presented for consideration for the 2009 Florida Legislative Session. To review Draft 7 language click here.


- September 2006 (from the NMMA)

New Law Prevents Florida Cities from Restricting Anchorage

Most captains cruising throughout Florida now have a new law on their side to prevent local cities and counties from forcing them to weigh anchor after a limited number of days. However, the law will do little good if local governments are not aware of the change.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) has asked that SSCA members [as well as members of the broader Southeastern USA cruising community] help them to identify which Florida cities are currently enforcing anchorage bans so that it can bring the new law to the attention of local officials.

As of 01 July, the state law now forbids local governmental authorities from regulating the anchoring of a private sailboat, yacht, or motorboat outside of a mooring field unless that vessel is the operator’s residence or place of business.

The state defines a live-aboard vessel as: a) any vessel used solely as a residence; or (b) any vessel represented as a place of business, a professional or other commercial enterprise, or a legal residence. By this definition, most cruising boats are not live-aboard vessels.

The statute formerly required non-live-aboard vessels to be “engaged in the exercise of rights of navigation” in order to fall outside of a local government’s right to regulate its anchoring. The new amendment, however, strictly prohibits a local government from enacting or enforcing an anchoring ordinance against a non-live-aboard vessel outside of a mooring field. NMMA sought the help of legislators after Miami Beach restricted anchorage to seven days in 2005.

“In truth, local officials ignored the previous law that protected those vessels that are in navigation, so the boating community needs to do more to force local officials to comply with state law,” said David Dickerson, NMMA’s director of state government relations. “NMMA will be glad to begin the process of alerting officials of the new law, but needs to know which cities are actively enforcing anchorage restrictions....”


~ What to Do If Asked to "Move On" ~

If you have been asked to "move on" or informed there are anchoring restrictions, anywhere in Florida, please report it, in detail, to Major Paul Ouellette, Boating and Waterways Section, Division of Law Enforcement, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 620 South Meridian Street, Tallahassee, Florida  32399-1600. Email: paul.ouellette@myfwc.com  Also, write your State Representative to inform and protest about what is happening illegally all over this great Nation of ours. Since posting my "Anchoring Rights in Jeopardy - Florida's Pilot Program" article, I have received reports again and again from cruisers in transit while in waters as far north as New York who have been told to move on.  Yes! Illegally.  It's not just Florida, my cruising brothers and sisters.  We must add now to preserve our rights to navigation.

Let the offending authority know you are fully aware that the State of Florida does not allow anchoring ordinances against non-liveaboard vessels pursuant to Florida Legislative § 327.60. In your particular State, find the pertinent statutes that protect your rights and make copies to give to offending officers.

Letter to Give Offending Authorities

I would highly suggest copies of the letter (available at link below) prepared by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) in notifying offending counties, cities and municipalities of their infraction.  Keep copies aboard your vessel at all times.  When an authority anywhere in Florida tells you there are ordinances against you anchoring in their locale, hand them a copy of the letter.  The NMMA, Boat U.S., and the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA), have all been successful in leading the fight to ensure tour rights as boaters are upheld. 

The letter illustrates to the officer that you are fully aware of your rights to anchor while in Florida's waters. Hand the officer the letter.  You needn't say a word.

Let freedom ring!  

NMMA Legal Notice Letter to Offending Authorities (Read/Copy/Printable)


~ March 3rd, 2009 ~

Announcing September Sea's

Living Aboard / Sailing / Cruising & Current Issues

Message Board

September Sea's Forum is up and running.  Feel free to click the Forum icon above to register and enter ~ free of charge ~ no spam and no advertisements.

I will get it outlined in the days to come, but wanted it up as soon as possible for your convenience.  Questions and Discussions will be on many topics, like: Sailing, Living Aboard, Power Needs & Solutions, Anchoring in Friendly Places, Hostile Boater Environments & Firsthand Accounts of Anchoring Harassment, Current Rules/Regulations and Legislation, Great Anchorages and the Ones to Avoid, Advice, Tips & Tricks, etc.  You can select to have threads you start or in which you participate notify you via email when a new post is added.  Lots of enhanced features for your Forum enjoyment and ease of use (profiles, avatars [your picture, boat or icon], instant messaging, chat, etc.).  Free speech welcome! 

Come join me on the ground floor as we begin to build together what I'm sure will become one of the best Forums of its kind on the internet.  Tell your sailing. cruising, and living aboard friends...this is where it's happening!  Woooo Hoooo!!

In the future I'll schedule live chats so we can all gather and gab at the same time.  Should be a partay across the globe with all kinds of folks.  Sounds wonderful.  Of course, we'll also offer chats on current issues and question & answer sessions as well.  Sounds like a plan and sounds like a lot of good fun!

Hugs, Charmaine


September Sea's Forum is   

 

~ Features: New Posts & Replies via Email, Receive only the threads you want, Profiles, Avatars, Instant Messaging, Chat, Questions & Answers, Current Issues, Discussions & Debates ~

 

Capt. Fed Uptohere tires of petty 'no-info but no-no' forums.

Come join us at September Sea's Forum, Captain!

Message Board

~ The September Sea Forum is the creation of owner and moderator, Charmaine Smith Ladd. ~


Charmaine Smith Ladd's

"The Low Down from Down Low"

January 23rd, 2009

It pleases me to announce my affiliation with well-known cruising guide author Claiborne Young and his team, Winston Fowler and "Hard Aground" Eddie Jones, at the Salty Southeast Cruisers' Net (SSECN).

Among other things, I am officially SSECN's very first Regional Reporter.  Covering the Florida Keys, you know I will strive to keep you all well informed of local knowledge and issues, changes in rules and regulations, reports and reviews of accommodations and amenities, as well as improvements, closures, general changes of interest.  In short, you'll get from me: "The Low Down from Down Low."

If you are not familiar with the SSECN website, I assure you that you will enjoy perusing the enormous amount of free information there.  Including, but in no stretch of the imagination limited to: insight regarding marinas, anchorages, mooring fields, tide tables, bridge openings, etc. etc. etc.

Urgent news and information is also covered by the SSE Cruiser's Net. The ALERT NEWSLETTER is the venue that keeps cruisers up-to-date with valuable and timely information regarding changes along the Inter-Coastal Waterway (ICW) and other hot topics of interest to cruisers.  You will definitely see me mentioned in the ALERTS from time to time... so don't wait... get signed up now so you won't miss a single word!

The alert newsletter is free of charge and a valuable asset to any cruiser's informational resources.  To receive the Alert Newsletter via email, simply go to the SSE Cruiser's Net website: www.cruisersnet.net and enter your email address at the prompt on the main page.  It's that simple and a secure site! 

I also invite you over to my pal Captain Greg Absten's Boot Key Harbor website: www.BootKeyHarbor.com. His message board there is wonderful for connecting people coming down with those they find otherwise hard to contact.  It keeps you in the loop when you go back up north and want to know what's happening down here.  His website content is a real treat and very informative. I'll be over there often too to see ya!

Big Hugs, Charmaine


Comments or questions?

Any cruiser news or items of any genre of interest you'd like to share?

Send to Charmaine: