Anchorage Restrictions

So this subject came up in another thread. So I thought I would create a thread dealing with this.

In different parts of the country, municipalities and States have restricted where you can throw the hook. Places like Florida that have multi-million dollar homes on shore and have restricted anchorage as it interferes with the home owners view.

There is also the legal question if the above has the authority to restrict "navigable" or navigation of Federal waters. I have seen places like Sausalito CA restrict anchorages by placing mooring buoys in an area that was full of live aboard.

What have you experienced with restricted anchorages?

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

So this subject came up in another thread. So I thought I would create a thread dealing with this.

In different parts of the country, municipalities and States have restricted where you can throw the hook. Places like Florida that have multi-million dollar homes on shore and have restricted anchorage as it interferes with the home owners view.

There is also the legal question if the above has the authority to restrict "navigable" or navigation of Federal waters. I have seen places like Sausalito CA restrict anchorages by placing mooring buoys in an area that was full of live aboard.

What have you experienced with restricted anchorages?

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Florida restrictions on anchoring seem to be vastly misinterpreted by those thousands of miles away. A few clarifications.

1-The USCG has given control of the coastal waters such as the ICW to the states. Technically, they've said the states own the land under the water.

2-So, the states can regulate anchoring.

3-There were cities in Florida wanting to do their own thing. The state stepped in and made a firm statement that it's controlled by the state. However, they then made exceptions for three areas in South Florida. Now, some of these restrictions are still in court battles, but overall there are very few places in Florida you can't anchor.

4-Of those places in South Florida with anchoring restrictions, while the homeowners are the impetus, the issue they pose is real and it's navigation into and away from their home. The anchoring in question was in a very tight area. Specifically, the reasoning was "These areas were selected because they are densely populated urban areas that have narrow state waterways, residential docking facilities, and significant boating traffic. Anchoring is still permitted during the day but is off-limits between 30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes before sunrise."

5-Florida does have anchoring restrictions on derelict vessels but no real plan for disposal or movement of such.

6-Florida also prohibits anchoring within 150 ft of marinas and ramps, within 300 ft of boatyards that work on boats over 120 ft long, and within 100 ft of a marked public mooring field.

7-Florida undertook a pilot mooring program and that resulted in several mooring fields. These were in cities wanting to restrict anchoring but instead mooring was added. These fields are well run, have pump out services, have access to docks. While the program ended the fields are still in service.

I don't know of any anchoring restrictions done simply because it affects an owners view. There have been some specific owners trying but for the most part they failed. Most of us who have waterfront property welcome those cruisers who anchor in our area. Within one mile of our home there are five marinas, two anchorages, one mooring field and other areas for anchoring. There is up the Middle River one small area where anchoring is prohibited. It is actually in an area which is designated for watersports and skiing and other activities. There are cases where one or two people decide to go after anchoring, often not even people who live on the water. They've failed to gain any real traction that would impact cruisers.

One area in Miami Beach that got huge publicity over anchoring restrictions you will find hundreds of boats anchored legally very nearby. The limitation is only between certain islands. The areas allowed to maintain anchoring restrictions are a few hundred feet in total out of thousands of miles of Florida anchoring.

Florida still, like most states, does not have an effective plan for dealing with derelict vessels. Washington perhaps has the best I've seen.

There is no state friendlier to cruisers or with more accommodation for them than Florida and it's unfortunate a widely publicized and failed attempt by a few has led many to believe otherwise. My wife and I stepped out on the balcony from our bedroom when we woke this morning, looked out on several beautiful sailboats anchored. 95% of those who live in our neighborhood are boaters and the other 5% likes watching boats as they pass. This statement, "Places like Florida that have multi-million dollar homes on shore and have restricted anchorage as it interferes with the home owners view." is just very mis-representative and not true as written.

Florida low is in section 327.41 on these pages.

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

Live-aboard is defined as:

”Live-aboard vessel” means: a) Any vessel used solely as a residence and not for navigation;
b) Any vessel represented as a place of business, or a professional or other commercial enterprise;
or c) Any vessel for which a declaration of domicile has been filed pursuant to s. 222.17.

So, cruisers are in no way impacted by any limitations placed on live aboards.

Separately, we did dock in Sausalito for several weeks. We were in no way bothered by the anchoring there at that time in 2014. However, we could see the reasons for concern by some as there were clearly boats there that never moved, probably couldn't move, and were in very bad, perhaps derelict condition.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

...What have you experienced with restricted anchorages?

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Seattle and Lake Washington in the PNW had and I believe still do, have restrictive anchoring, more so than anything I’ve experienced in Florida. Maybe because it’s old news in WA? The Seattle water cops were always good though. They only asked us to move when they had a land based complaint. Mercer Island police enforced the no anchoring ordinances.

We always knew ahead where and where we couldn’t anchor. I can’t say it’s much different in Florida in that regard.

The people who can write the checks get to write the laws. And, people with waterfront property can generally write those kinds of checks.

It’s not just Florida and California. It’s just the way things are done. You just have to hope for some occassional altruism.

We live in Florida but in the last two years have only been home for about 3 months. Currently there are two derelict boats anchored in front of our residence. There were four when we left last April. One of the boats I recognize, he’s a responsible mariner who used to live aboard in the marine stadium moorings. It’s a sailing boat with no mast and no propulsion. He tows it with a very loud two cycle Johnson when he needs to move it. He used to sleep on it but apparently stopped doing so last year. I have no idea what rules he might be subject to. The other vessel is a power boat also uninhabited. I suspect he may wind up in our pool next season if he doesn’t act responsibly when a “cane” happens. We pay insurance and take our chances but I doubt he does. Rather than fret over it we just leave. Fingers crossed.

BandB, no intent to bad mouth Florida.

So many cities in places like California are looking or have restricted anchorages.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

BandB, no intent to bad mouth Florida.

So many cities in places like California are looking or have restricted anchorages.

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Wasn't responding to it as bad mouthing, just misinformation. Now, Florida counties and municipalities can limit live-aboard anchoring but that is very limited as defined

”Live-aboard vessel” means: a) Any vessel used solely as a residence and not for navigation; b) Any vessel represented as a place of business, or a professional or other commercial enterprise; or c) Any vessel for which a declaration of domicile has been filed pursuant to s. 222.17.

I do object to finger pointing at home owners who for the most part have never objected and haven't caused the enactment of any significant restrictions. Saying we don't want anchored boats spoiling our view is just wrong. Cafe would prefer not to have any wash up on his land. The areas limited in Miami were very small areas packed wall to wall with boats of people living aboard, never moving, and not properly disposing of their waste.

As Cafe points out, it's extremely difficult to even get derelict vessels removed. I, personally, don't see a need for any additional anchoring regulations but would be very happy to see not just regulations on derelict boats, but actual procedures and responsibility for removing them.

There was a well publicized home owner in Miami who ended up with several boats in his yard after Irma. His anger wasn't over the boats being there but owners who were taking no responsibility toward them and toward the difficulty of doing anything himself. The one boat owner who did show up, probably the poorest of all, he befriended and even gave some work to in order to try to facilitate the man recovering his boat and getting it back in the water.

I don't think anyone who has been there will dispute that there are problems with derelict boats and livaboards who don't respect their neighbors or the environment in Florida.

The problem many people have is taking away good anchorages such that people legitimately engaged in "navigation" can't use them anymore. I don't care if you pass a law against anchoring, or just put out a bunch of overpriced moorings; you're still taking away a fundamental right to navigation, which in my book includes anchoring.

Florida has given the appearance of not wanting to deal with the real problem, instead just taking a swipe at the easiest targets - cruising boaters. One can only speculate as to whom those politicians are trying to appease.

I can't say if that's waterfront property owners or not. I can say that, in the areas I've seen of the Florida ICW, it's clear that the manatees have very good taste in real estate. The "Slow - Manatee Zone" signs are much more prevalent in areas of higher property values, than in areas where property appears much cheaper.

Just sayin'

CaptTom said:

The problem many people have is taking away good anchorages such that people legitimately engaged in "navigation" can't use them anymore. I don't care if you pass a law against anchoring, or just put out a bunch of overpriced moorings; you're still taking away a fundamental right to navigation, which in my book includes anchoring.

'

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That's the fallacy in saying they're taken away good anchorages, perhaps 1/100th or 1%? There's no law against anchoring. As to moorages they added in five areas and they don't make a dent in anchorages while providing some much needed moorages. Moorage in St. Augustine has been well received and the daily rates are $6 to $24 while the annual rates are $1200 to $4400. Now, as long as you're at least 100 feet from the moorings, you can anchor. For those who choose to anchor, there is no water tender service, dinghy dockage permits are $10 per day and pump out is $5. So, mooring is actually quite a good deal for cruisers. However, the choice is still there.

You're acting like hundreds of anchorages have been taken away in Florida and that's not at all the case.

And technically, anchoring is not part of navigation. In fact on clear passage and right to navigation that's been made clear over and over. You anchor in any country and you're expected to clear customs. By anchoring, you're entering. It's consistent with the CG's view that the water is theirs but the bottom is the state's.

CaptTom said:

Florida has given the appearance of not wanting to deal with the real problem, instead just taking a swipe at the easiest targets - cruising boaters. One can only speculate as to whom those politicians are trying to appease.

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What has FL done to give that appearance? The state refused to allow cities to set restrictions on anchoring. There are very limited areas in Broward and Dade and if you look closely at those areas and at what existed you can quickly understand the restrictions. They are the only restricted areas, a narrow canal between islands, a small lake area (and lake is overstating it's size) and a up river section next to a park and adjacent to the watersports area?

The problem seems to be there are too many boats, and too few affordable marinas.

BandB said:

What has FL done to give that appearance? The state refused to allow cities to set restrictions on anchoring. There are very limited areas in Broward and Dade and if you look closely at those areas and at what existed you can quickly understand the restrictions. They are the only restricted areas, a narrow canal between islands, a small lake area (and lake is overstating it's size) and a up river section next to a park and adjacent to the watersports area?

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No disrespect intended, but it can't be coincidental that ALL those special areas happen to be adjacent to high end real estate. The appearance that the most wealthy property owners have influenced the passage of legislation that regulates ONLY those specific areas-in a state with thousands of miles of shore line and affects only, as you pointed out, about 1% of the total anchorage available- is what gives that appearance. If it quacks like a duck....

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

What have you experienced with restricted anchorages?

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Maerin said:

No disrespect intended, but it can't be coincidental that ALL those special areas happen to be adjacent to high end real estate. The appearance that the most wealthy property owners have influenced the passage of legislation that regulates ONLY those specific areas-in a state with thousands of miles of shore line and affects only, as you pointed out, about 1% of the total anchorage available- is what gives that appearance. If it quacks like a duck....

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I said 1% but it's far less. It's really a few hundred yards out of thousands of miles. Admittedly those areas do have rather expensive homes. However, the leading proponent in the state legislature for Broward doesn't live on the water and the one in Dade doesn't live near there. There are far more expensive homes with no restrictions.

Here are the restricted areas and comments:

In Broward County the limitation area includes the section of Middle River between Northeast 21st Court and the Intracoastal Waterway. This is not one of the most expensive waterfront areas. Seven Isles and Las Olas Isles and Harbor Island are far more expensive and all have anchorages, marinas, and a mooring field adjacent. Middle River from the park to the ICW is a prime area for jet skis and water skiiing. There are six jet ski rentals either in the restricted area or within 1/2 mile.

The limitation areas in Miami-Dade County include Sunset Lake as well as sections of Biscayne Bay lying between: Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido Island; San Marino Island and San Marco Island; and San Marco Island and
Biscayne Island. Sunset Lake is the largest area as it's about 20 acres to my best estimate sandwiched between Miami Beach mainland and islands. The other areas are each nothing more than canals. The area between Rivo Alto and Di Lido is about 500' wide, has dozens of docks and a major causeway crossing. The area between San Marina and San Marco is about 4 acres of water with docks and with a causeway splitting it. The area between San Marco and Biscayne is two patches on each side of the causeway, each about 160' wide x 200' long with docks. The entire remainder of Biscayne Bay is available for anchoring, just not those small areas between the islands.

If in fact as you assert the regulations were going to prevent anchoring in front of wealthy homes there are far more expensive homes in both counties and in Palm Beach County, which got no exception and they all have plenty of permissible anchoring around them.

Had the opponents of anchoring won you wouldn't be able to anchor within 300' of docks or land. This was a minimal concession for specific areas. If that's what got a good bill passed preventing counties and cities from doing their own thing, then I'm all for it. These exceptions in no way create a shortage of anchorages in the area they are located.

As to this statement No disrespect intended, but it can't be coincidental that ALL those special areas happen to be adjacent to high end real estate. No, it's not coincidental as all waterfront property in Miami/Dade and Broward counties is high end real estate so anywhere these areas would have been excluded, that would have been the case.

The original question was have boaters experienced problems due to restrictions and I've not heard a single boater mention a problem in these areas. The ones anchoring in the Miami sections were not cruisers but were live-aboards, more derelict than not, and most never moved.

BandB said:

As Cafe points out, it's extremely difficult to even get derelict vessels removed. I, personally, don't see a need for any additional anchoring regulations but would be very happy to see not just regulations on derelict boats, but actual procedures and responsibility for removing them.

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I've often wondered if the State could pass laws to acquire title to derelict boats after some (debatable) period of time, and (mostly?) fund towing/disposal efforts through assessed owner fees (if the owner can be found, and if the owner can pay), plus a partnership of sorts with a commercial salvor, a commercial parts house and a commercial (whole-boat) liquidator.

-Chris

BandB,
There are problems for cruisers in Florida. We had a lot of them.
Lets take Fort Lauderdale for example, there's what, 50 miles of waterways there? The only place we could find to anchor on our way through was Lake Sylvan(Sylvia). Even on a weekday it was packed. There is no place to dingy at other than the SouthPort Raw Bar for $10 each time you park there. And yeah the anchorage itself is restricted to 4 days maximum.
Dockage for our 36' boat was more than $100 at any of the Marina's (2014 prices)

For all that, its a worthwhile stop and I wish we coulda spent more time there. I realize that there really isn't all that much water to be had and 99% of it is commercialized. But cruiser friendly? Nope nope nope.

Cruiser friendly is towns like Jacksonville that has a big city dock right downtown which is free to stay at for 3 days. It was awesome.

Non cruiser friendly is The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who's interactions with cruisers is just plain harasssment. (The extra s is for extra harassment). Seriously man, there was a near riot at Marathon that year because of the treatment of cruisers, complete with public protests at the Marathon city offices.

Non cruiser friendly is writing us a ticket for non Florida registration and forcing us to register our boat in Florida even when we weren't residents there. THAT cost some bucks!

Non cruiser friendly is that there isn't a single public dingy dock in all of Key West.

To address the OP's question, It seems that while anchoring restrictions are not addressable by municipalities, restricting dingy landing is the way to go.

Just my experience/rant. I'm sure that many people have had different ones. I even understand the reason for it, the local derelict boat issue had gotten out of hand and the cruisers got caught in the same net they were using to try and fix the problem. I just wish that South Florida would make an effort to have more open anchorages with dingy landing facilities for people wishing to visit. In 20k miles of cruising to 32 countries we never saw anything else like it.

WayneDana said:

Non cruiser friendly is writing us a ticket for non Florida registration and forcing us to register our boat in Florida even when we weren't residents there. THAT cost some bucks!

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Was that a surprise? Did you not know about the FL registration requirement in advance?

-Chris

WayneDana said:

I even understand the reason for it, the local derelict boat issue had gotten out of hand and the cruisers got caught in the same net they were using to try and fix the problem. I just wish that South Florida would make an effort to have more open anchorages with dingy landing facilities for people wishing to visit. In 20k miles of cruising to 32 countries we never saw anything else like it.

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We share the sentiment. In the past, we enjoyed visiting SoBe, anchoring in Biscayne Bay south of the islands. Lumpy, lots of derelicts, but still fun. Miami Beach passed an ordinance that prohibits landing or mooring any vessel to public property, effectively eliminating any way to go ashore. You can anchor, sure. Just no shore access- OK, just 20 minutes worth at one location. Or, you can get a transient slip for $4/ft. Cruiser friendly? Not so much! We haven't visited in 4 yrs. I'm guessing the derelicts remain.

Contrast that with Annapolis where every street that ends at the water is public access, many have floating dinghy docks. Lots of reasonably priced moorings. Granted, Annapolis doesn't have the population or the homeless/derelict problem, but cruiser friendly? Yep.

I understand, facilities are abused by the boat bums/liveaboards, so it's a difficult problem to address. Sadly, legitimate cruisers like ourselves are included in the same lot. The message in South Florida, however it's couched, is clear enough.

ranger42c said:

Was that a surprise? Did you not know about the FL registration requirement in advance?

-Chris

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Which is basically the same as nearly every other state.

Plus it seems the other primary complaint is that things aren't free. As to dinghy docks, I can point to at least four within a mile of Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale. They aren't all free however.

BandB said:

Which is basically the same as nearly every other state.

Plus it seems the other primary complaint is that things aren't free. As to dinghy docks, I can point to at least four within a mile of Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale. They aren't all free however.

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It pretty much is the same in every other state. And yeah, I was aware of the rule ahead of time. The difference is that the county tax assessors in Florida are actually walking the locked docks of the marinas looking for cruisers to nail. I was only there for a hurricane season, I was definitely stimulating the local economy (boat overhaul) and I was damned if I was going to pay Florida's astronomical (in my books) cost of registering my boat there for the privilege. Ended up having to do so anyways, plus a fine, but ask me if I'm going to choose Florida if I'm faced with the same decision again.

But that's the law right? True enough. I happen to be in Florida right now(without my boat) and I see literal thousands of out of state plates on cars around here. Including my own I might add. The difference is that they target the cruisers, not the snow birds.

And its not that I want everything to be free. Transient dockage actually IS free on the Columbia River which is home for me. The docks were payed for by the state and are maintained by the municipalities to stimulate their local economies.
But hey, Florida aint home right? No problem, I don't mind paying reasonable fees for facilities and services. I've done that all over the world without complaint. I just prefer to avoid cruising grounds where I'm not wanted or welcomed unless I'm in a super yacht.

OK, I am missing something from the comments about FL's requirement that boaters register their boats in FL.


How long can a visiting boater be in FL before he has to register it there?


If he registers it there, is he required to pay a sales or use tax?


Many more questions but probably a few simple factual answers will clear up my questions.

MurrayM said:

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Same here. but there have been occasions when I've had to share an anchorage with another boat.

AusCan said:

Same here. but there have been occasions when I've had to share an anchorage with another boat.

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Bliss is not seeing or hearing another boat for days, and having no ‘sky scars’ (contrails) overhead

Dockage for our 36' boat was more than $100 at any of the Marina's (2014 prices)

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Baloney. The municipal docks up the New River, or even the deluxe Marina Bay, are about half that today. Not to mention the greatness of Yachthaven, about a third of that.

Remember for a minute that urban SE Florida is a major metropolis. It's like expecting to get free parking in Manhattan.

GFC said:

OK, I am missing something from the comments about FL's requirement that boaters register their boats in FL.


How long can a visiting boater be in FL before he has to register it there?


If he registers it there, is he required to pay a sales or use tax?


Many more questions but probably a few simple factual answers will clear up my questions.

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90 days. No, not required to pay sales or use tax. And his astronomical registration fee for his 37' boat is $78.25

Except for Richardson Bay, there are few anchoring issues in the San Francisco Bay/Delta waters. Besides, there are many marina-based guest docks although there are some with access issues such as prepayment and reservations required and documented evidence of insurance. And in my marina (Vallejo Municipal) it's closed on the weekends.

BandB said:

90 days. No, not required to pay sales or use tax. And his astronomical registration fee for his 37' boat is $78.25

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Hmmmm, $78? I realize that's a bit of a bite but then compare that for most of the costs involved in boating and it's kind of like a fly landing on an elephant's back. Shoot, many of us spend that on a nice dinner out.

How does the state find out how many days a boater has been in the state, and is there a process to notify them if the 90-day drop dead date is approaching?

GFC said:

How does the state find out how many days a boater has been in the state, and is there a process to notify them if the 90-day drop dead date is approaching?

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Fairly easy at the marina just by knowing how long you've had the slip. Otherwise, just a few questions. They want to know the last time you docked or fueled out of state.

Note that checking how long boats have been where is a fairly regular task in Florida as you're also checking on foreign boats and their cruising permits. Overstaying those gets very expensive. A lot of boats in South Florida avoid issues with trips to the Bahamas. In NE Florida there are many who go back and forth between Georgia and Florida, trying to avoid both. Seems like a lot to avoid a little but they are numbered elsewhere and don't want the trouble of removing and replacing numbers. I knew one boat that found itself over a 12 month period registered in four different states. Fortunately, it was documented so no numbers to deal with.

I think this is one more situation where the concept of states brings us trouble. When formed, they were very distant and people didn't travel to as many.

OK, B, this brings to mind another question. To avoid paying some taxes it is possible to take delivery of a boat in international waters. This can be done with an attorney present, video taping the plotter showing the Lat/Long to verify being out of the country.


Could a boat go beyond the 12 mile limit and video taping the GPS without going all the way to the Bahamas?

Good conversation so far. Back to restricted moorage ares. So we do know some places are restricted to anchor. Florida has been the topic, but what about California, Bay area and south? The Channel Islands?