Power Boat Discrimination at a Municipal Harbor

So I'm heading to Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts for Memorial Day weekend. Was looking for a mooring in Menemsha harbor. The moorings inside the harbor / breakwater are only for sailboats. Those outside the breakwater are available to both. This isn't a size or tonnage restriction. The inner moorings are rated for up to 55' and will raft up to 3 sailboats on each mooring.

This isn't a whining thread as another town (Vineyard Haven) has moorings available for powerboats within their breakwater. I'm just curious if other TF members have seen this kind of discrimination.

Ted

O C Diver said:

So I'm heading to Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts for Memorial Day weekend. Was looking for a mooring in Menemsha harbor. The moorings inside the harbor / breakwater are only for sailboats. Those outside the breakwater are available to both. This isn't a size or tonnage restriction. The inner moorings are rated for up to 55' and will raft up to 3 sailboats on each mooring.

This isn't a whining thread as another town (Vineyard Haven) has moorings available for powerboats within their breakwater. I'm just curious if other TF members have seen this kind of discrimination.

Ted

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Have you inquired as to why it is that way?
Damn rag baggers dont like watching power boaters watching tv on their big screens in air conditioned comfort or is it all the clinking of the drinks with unlimited ice that has them miffed?
HOLLYWOOD

To minimize halyard slapping complaints.

Greetings,
Mr. OC. Put up your steadying sail.

I haven't inquired why the policy exists, found it easier to patronize another town. I doubt this has to do with generator noise as there are probably few 50' cruising sailboats without a generator. Really doubt there's much difference between cruisers in 50' power versus sailboats with regard to their consumption lifestyles.

Ted

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. OC. Put up your steadying sail.

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Or mount a bed sheet.

Ted I cruise rather heavily in the area and this is the first place I’ve heard of that has that sort of restriction.

Ken

I think you answered your own question.

So they can raft up to three sailboats on a single mooring and get three times the mooring fee. That might not be as easy to accomplish with beamy powerboats in that little harbor.

Porgy said:

I think you answered your own question.

So they can raft up to three sailboats on a single mooring and get three times the mooring fee. That might not be as easy to accomplish with beamy powerboats in that little harbor.

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That makes sense to me having visited that harbor. When the winds are favorable, you can anchor off the beach and dinghy into the harbor, which we once did. Memensha is a cool place, a nice respite from the craziness of northwest MV. Be interesting to see how busy it is this year.

Are sailing catamarans permitted: few boats have as wide a beam. And are powercats prohibited, if so that would be clearly favoritism, since many are built on the same hull as the sail versions. There was a 30’-something sloop in George Town this year with a 4’ stub of a mast, I wonder if they would be allowed in?

I don't go looking for trouble, normally. I think I would motor in and moor wherever I felt like.

You then have two options.
One would be to have them write up the citation and make you leave. Then it is your option to take it to the next level, like a lawyer or Civil Liberties Union or such. Merely threatening this action may change the rules.
Second option would be for you to simply claim "Safe Harbor". Every harbor in the U.S.A. is required by law to allow any boat claiming "safe harbor" overnight accommodations. This includes private harbors, military installations, commercial/industrial areas and harbors. It might get a bit "hairy" if you are claiming safe harbor because you are afraid of the dark but that could be construed to mean you are unprepared for night cruising or even that you have an electrical problem on board which does not allow you to turn on your navigation lights. (can't remember where the switch is) or maybe a burned out bulb.

Or you could just motor on to the next harbor where you will be welcomed.

pete

Porgy said:

I think you answered your own question.

So they can raft up to three sailboats on a single mooring and get three times the mooring fee. That might not be as easy to accomplish with beamy powerboats in that little harbor.

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I've been going to MV all my life. Have probably been there around 150 times from infant through my parents retirement there. They are liberal and tree huggy, and I think their motives are based on that. In any case, forcing a transient power boat to take an unprotected mooring when a protected one is available, in the off season, just doesn't make me want to stop there. Sad part is that I'm a landowner in the town where Menemsha is located.

Ted

Gulfport Florida put in a Municipal mooring ball field last year that is sailboat only. Why? Who knows.

For one thing, sailboats tend to be sleeker, with much less windage, than power boats, and for the same length, lighter. So less stress on the moorings. And as someone else mentioned, you can then raft more of them. As far as Menemsha goes, especially since you are a landowner, why don't you just go ask the Harbormaster?

Yep, lawyers and the ACLU will be fighting for a case of “powerboat discrimination” over a $20 mooring.

Good advice. Next time, when the blue lights come after me on my way in to Norfolk Naval Base, I just proclaim “Safe Harbor!” and they’ll turn and leave? Cool.
��

caltexflanc said:

As far as Menemsha goes, especially since you are a landowner, why don't you just go ask the Harbormaster?

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Not worth the effort. My sister's retirement summer home is their. Everybody knows everybody and suffers from small town syndrome. My parents home will hopefully be sold soon and trips there will be few. Not about to stir the pot my sister lives in.

Ted

Pete Meisinger said:

Second option would be for you to simply claim "Safe Harbor". Every harbor in the U.S.A. is required by law to allow any boat claiming "safe harbor" overnight accommodations.

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FWIW, my west coast harbor permits free dockage at the municipal dock only when there is a small craft advisory. And one time, during a small craft advisory, I took my boat out fishing. When I returned, a group of deadbeats had taken my slip. I told them they needed to leave and they said "safe harbor" and that they were legally entitled to take an open slip. Then they went to town. I called the sheriff, who promptly impounded their boat. (They needed to pay a big fine to get it out.)

Sailboats do tend to all face the same way with wind and tide at work. That would allow for denser packing.

Hmmm, maybe I should rename and re-document "Safe Harbor". Think that would go over big? LOL

O C Diver said:

Not worth the effort. My sister's retirement summer home is their. Everybody knows everybody and suffers from small town syndrome. My parents home will hopefully be sold soon and trips there will be few. Not about to stir the pot my sister lives in.

Ted

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Simply asking a question "stirs the pot"? Ann's very large family is from that part of the country, and we've spent a lot of time up there and that doesn't sound right. "I'm curious why" questions usually trigger long good natured expositions. Is Chilmark somehow different? Would it be better if I called them?

caltexflanc said:

Simply asking a question "stirs the pot"? Ann's very large family is from that part of the country, and we've spent a lot of time up there and that doesn't sound right. "I'm curious why" questions usually trigger long good natured expositions. Is Chilmark somehow different? Would it be better if I called them?

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A lot of the homes in Chilmark are summer homes. There are locals and then there are off islanders. My sister has spent 25 years working her way into the local fabric. This is an inconvenience for me, nothing more. If I were there in person, I might stick my toe in. Doing it over the phone, you have no idea how people take it or where it goes. If it was important, I would ask her to do it.

Thanks for asking though.

Ted

Just a thought, there are some slips at the marina. Perhaps the slip water depth at MLW is such that it is not practical for the rag baggers. So the moorings are for them. I’m sure they charge more for a slip than they do for a mooring, so they want to force you into a slip, if possible.

If it's your first time there, I recommend that you skip mooring in Vinyard Haven and Menemsha and get a mooring in Oak Bluffs or Edgartown. Vinyard Haven harbor can be pretty rolly and the town is kinda dull. Menemsha is nice, but you can see the whole town on foot in about 10 minutes. Oak Bluffs and Edgartown are the most interesting places to visit, IMO. The local bus service is cheap and excellent, BTW.


Oak Bluffs cottages

The Aquatic Park harbor in San Francisco, close to Fisherman's Wharf, also prohibits engine powered vessels. I was told it is because of the exhaust pollution that motor vessels emit. But I see sailboats motor in all of the time and some use their outboard powered dinghies to go ashore. What gives??

I have no idea why Menemsha doesn't take powerboat reservations for their moorings. I can tell you, having sailed that area for 30 years and never having gone into the harbor for a mooring, that the mooring space is extremely limited. I didn't even know they had rentals. There are a few moorings right outside the harbor jetty entrance but it is a bit rolly. There is good anchorage to the west of the jetty with fair protection from the southwest (and none from the north) which is where I typically anchor in calm weather. In general, I would suggest that Menemsha is a nice lunch spot but not a great overnight anchorage. Better to head for Tarpaulin Cove on Naushon about 3-4 miles to the northeast of Menemsha. Tarpaulin is much better in any northerly breeze and even in a moderate southwest breeze. Tuck in behind the lighthouse and as close to the beach as you dare. Tarpaulin Cove was famous as a harbor of refuge in sailing days for schooners. Cuttyhunk is another nearby possibility.

IslandTractor said:

I have no idea why Menemsha doesn't take powerboat reservations for their moorings. I can tell you, having sailed that area for 30 years and never having gone into the harbor for a mooring, that the mooring space is extremely limited. I didn't even know they had rentals. There are a few moorings right outside the harbor jetty entrance but it is a bit rolly. There is good anchorage to the west of the jetty with fair protection from the southwest (and none from the north) which is where I typically anchor in calm weather. In general, I would suggest that Menemsha is a nice lunch spot but not a great overnight anchorage. Better to head for Tarpaulin Cove on Naushon about 3-4 miles to the northeast of Menemsha. Tarpaulin is much better in any northerly breeze and even in a moderate southwest breeze. Tuck in behind the lighthouse and as close to the beach as you dare. Tarpaulin Cove was famous as a harbor of refuge in sailing days for schooners. Cuttyhunk is another nearby possibility.

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Kind of a long dinghy ride to visit my family in Chilmark Martha's Vineyard.

Ted

O C Diver said:

Kind of a long dinghy ride to visit my family in Chilmark Martha's Vineyard.

Ted

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I didn't catch that you were visiting MV rather than just cruising. I'm sure you probably know that Vineyard Haven is the next big harbor. However, while I wouldn't recommend the moorings outside Menemsha for a peaceful night's sleep, they are decent safe moorings and I'd trust leaving a boat there while visiting on shore. I'd use my own mooring lines though, last time I was there they were pretty scuzzy. And, don't try to dinghy against the tide coming out of Menemsha Pond. Pretty fast current unless you have a planing dinghy.