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Old 01-15-2009, 02:18 AM   #1
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http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2...11/424252.html



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SARASOTA COUNTY - Boaters who moor their vessels in Sarasota Bay will no longer be able to do so for free.

The City Council voted this week to create a mooring field where many sailors currently drop their anchors and live. The mooring field will cost about $650,000 and will be run by Marina Jack's. City leaders will soon begin charging boaters about $250 a month to moor in Sarasota By.

The new ruling affects boaters like Lorrinda Vail, who along with her husband and son, has called Sarasota Bay home for eight years.

"We're not going to be able to stay, which means I have to take my son out of the school that he loves," she said.

Sailors like Vail who are unable or unwilling to pay the mooring fee can pull up their anchors and move somewhere else. A likely stop for many of them is Bradenton Beach.

"We welcome cruising and recreational boaters," said Bradenton Beach spokeswoman Lisa Marie Phillips. "We absolutely do and we know that we have live-aboards and that we co-exist with very well."

However, people who live aboard their boats will only be welcome in Bradenton Beach for a short period of time, as they too are in the process of putting a mooring field in place.

Cities in Pinellas County are also embracing this trend. Currently the city of Gulfport allows free mooring, but it is currently in the permitting process to create a regulated mooring field, which they expect will be in place within six to eight months.

While officials said they hope to cut down on the number of broken-down boats in Sarasota Bay, environmental concerns also play a big role in the new regulations for boaters

"It's a known fact that a number of these boats just dump their effluent," said Sarasota resident Ronald Ward. "The reason we know that is they live on their boats and they don't bother coming in to the dock."

Ward said he is glad to see the new regulations put into place.

However, for law-abiding boaters like Vail and her family, the change in the law means a change in her way of life.

"I think what they're doing is wrong," she said "I think they're taking Sarasota and trying to turn it into a profitable business for the marina."
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Old 01-15-2009, 10:08 PM   #2
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Yep,

One word sums it up really. GREED. The governments want to get every penny they can out of anything they can. If it looks like the rich do it tax it is their favorite view. Rationalization is how they present it to the public. Reminds me of the old saying... First they came for the Jews....

Good luck folks hope those their can fight it and win as there is some question about "public" property or common property of the State being used for private gain or to generate private income. You have to hit them we it hurts and that is paint them as evil as possible and make it stick. Good luck and it really sucks.

Michael
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Old 01-15-2009, 11:55 PM   #3
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So, Seafarer,

What are YOUR thoughts about this article? I see that you've previously posted interest in buying and living aboard a boat in free anchorage. Did you do this? Are you now aboard and in one of these anchorages?

Florida has been fighting local jurisdictions for the rights of those undertaking a voyage --cruisers--to use anchorages that local jurisdictions are trying to put time limits and restrictions on. I occasionally see information about this in the Boat US publications. If you are concerned, you should take action in any way that you can--writing to your state and federal legislators (some of the anchorages do have federal designations...but don't know about the ones of interest to you) as well as attend township or other local meetings to represent your views. Joining a boater advocacy group is also a good idea--are you a Boat US member? Have you attended any meetings regarding the closing of anchorages or installing moorings near you?

I am always disturbed when I see boaters pushed about by local governments. But, there are two sides to every issue...

I also am quite disturbed by the number of liveaboards I've met here in California and in the Florida Keys who are just about destitute and living in broken down, unsafe boats which are sometimes a danger to other boats nearby. The cost of living in California is high, the cost of floating (but not cruise-able) vessels is low (like $1000 to $3000) and thus living aboard is seen as a cheap option for some folks who just don't want to be sleeping in the streets. This bad combination makes for bad boating neighbors. If you care to get involved in your area, you should seriously look at who these boaters are--how many of them are in unsafe boats that can't go anywhere and would break loose from anchorage in a storm...drifting right into YOUR boat? One of the nice things about a well managed mooring field is that your boat is less likely to be harmed by another.

Fair winds,

Brenda
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Old 02-01-2009, 05:46 PM   #4
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In 2000, I bought a Tartan 37 and became a full time cruiser with my boat being my only home. I spent a few months fitting out, then did the thorny path to the Eastern Caribbean. By 2005, after doing the Archipelago and Venezuela I had settled in at St Croix, where I decided to stay. No work opportunities presented themselves and I came to Florida at the end of 2007 to find work as a sound engineer. I had been told by many that it was difficult to find a place to long term anchor south of Palm beach on the east coast without being chased out by the local marine cops. I spent almost a year in Lake Worth Lagoon, where I was once boarded by fish and wildlife to check my MSD - drop in a dye tab - no outflow - thanks - bye. No problem (would have been a $250 fine).

Not a lot of work in the Palm Beach area and Miami was more promising, but I was concerned about being hassled by the local cops and needed a place to park a car and land a dinghy...finally called up a state park where there was a good anchorage, but no marina or even a launch ramp. I asked if there was a place where I could park and land the dink and he said no, then offered to allow me to park for a $3/ day fee. I have 24 hour access with a gate code and it is a good situation. I was asked not to use the park's resourses for water or garbage. I have been bagging waste and using dumpsters ashore as I have a quite limited holding tank and do not want to pollute this pristine area. I am guessing that some of the transients are dumping waste.

There is one guy in the anchorage on a small boat that I think hasn't moved in a while (2007 registration), and there are some craft left unattended for long term storage anchoring here.

My situation is subject to termination if anyone complains, say the park manager. It is not official policy to allow the shore access that I have, but it seems that anchoring here is unrestricted. It is also a treat to see nothing but trees in the nearby shoreline at the north end of Biscayne Bay.
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Old 02-01-2009, 07:03 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by babylonlarry View Post
My situation is subject to termination if anyone complains, say the park manager. It is not official policy to allow the shore access that I have, but it seems that anchoring here is unrestricted. It is also a treat to see nothing but trees in the nearby shoreline at the north end of Biscayne Bay.
Its great that you are in a situation that works for both you and the park. It sounds like you are being thoughtful about your impact on the local environment and this should allow you to stay there Hopefully, the other boats don't end up being a problem that bleeds over to you in terms of having to move sometime in the future.

Fair winds,

Brenda
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Old 02-03-2009, 10:57 PM   #6
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The only comment I have for the original post has to do with Vail's comment about taking her son out of the school he loves. I wonder if it's a public school and if so, she feels any responsibility to pay for it. As a tax payer on two homes, I don't personally feel I need to pay for non-taxpayer education's.
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Old 02-03-2009, 11:19 PM   #7
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The only comment I have for the original post has to do with Vail's comment about taking her son out of the school he loves. I wonder if it's a public school and if so, she feels any responsibility to pay for it. As a tax payer on two homes, I don't personally feel I need to pay for non-taxpayer education's.
Ouch!

You've treaded on a subject near and dear to my heart. I've heard one too many complaints from "homeowners who pay for public schools" and not wanting the children of homeless people, transient people, boat people, renters...you name it...benefiting from the homeowners' tax dollars. I tire of hearing this and it reflects poorly on anyone who says it.

First, I don't have children and I've been a home owner paying a good deal of property taxes for many years of my life. Having had some pretty valuable real estate, I can safely say that I've probably paid more in property taxes than most homeowner families with children will ever pay. However, I've never begrudged those tax dollars to educate our nation's children. Those children are national assets. They are our future--whether or not they're my own children I want the best for them. We cannot have a functioning democracy without an educated electorate. Surely you've heard the civic cry for this very thing? That is why we have public schools to start with.

I live in an America of generous and civic-minded people--and I hope it stays that way.
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Old 02-04-2009, 05:41 AM   #8
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Well said Redbopeep!

I could not agree more

Aye // Stephen
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Old 04-10-2009, 01:12 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by redbopeep View Post
Ouch!

...

I live in an America of generous and civic-minded people--and I hope it stays that way.
Redbopeep,

As a new member to this forum I've been lurking about and getting a good education from many members; your post was the first to cause me to register to post a comment of my own.

Thank you for your sharing your thoughtful perspective on being American, and investing in a future of growth and contribution that everyone deserves.

I look forward to being a part of cruiserlog, and eventually being a part of a cruiser community that lives to this ideal, wherever they call home.
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Old 04-13-2009, 11:41 PM   #10
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I look forward to being a part of cruiserlog, and eventually being a part of a cruiser community that lives to this ideal, wherever they call home.
Paul, Thanks for posting. Please join the other discussions here on Cruiser Log, too. Where are you and what are your cruising plans?

Fair winds
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