Sailor Keddy goes to City Hall
The concept of trying to control the waters off of certain areas of desirable coastline is nothing new. Sarasota is no exception. Before 2009, the local municipalities could make ordinances to limit the amount of time a boat could spend anchored in the limits of their fine city. That all changed when the Florida legislature deemed those ordinances unconstitutional. They also changed the definition of a liveaboard to one who uses a vessel strictly for a home, and a cruiser as someone who may reside on their boat, but also navigates. The difference being that a cruisers boat can move under its own power where a liveaboard can't. Under the current laws, it is legal to cruise and illegal to liveaboard. This is fine by me, it keeps boats that shouldn't be inhabited out of the water. There is also a law on the books that allows cities to create and maintain mooring fields. Again, no problems there.
What I do have an issue with, and what there was a meeting about tonight at the Sarasota City Hall, is the creation of ordinances that regulate a boater's right to anchor outside of those designated mooring areas. We, as sailors, have a right to navigate on any of the waters in the United States. And, anchoring is part of that navigation. The general consensus of the meeting was that there does not need to be any more regulation than is already on the books. The city commissioners are talking of making a time limit and/or "buffer zones" around the mooring field (one proposal by a local marine corporation, Marina Jack, calls for 5 miles and a time limit of 1 hour). You'll also notice on that link that they are charging $270 to $345 per month for a mooring ball! I was assured by the project manager for the construction of the mooring field that there is "no profit associated with the mooring field. It was grant money form the EPA and as part of the grant's stipulations, any excess revenue has to go directly back into the mooring field program." So Marina Jack is doing this without keeping any profits for themselves? How wonderful! Yeah, I don't think so either. What I spoke on record and proposed, with a lot of other people saying just about the same thing, was that what Sarasota needs is a harbormaster. I outlined a system similar to Newport, where there are designated mooring fields and a designated anchorage as well. All of this is regulated and enforced by a harbormaster who takes down your information, including a cell phone contact number, when you entered the anchorage and calls you if there is an issue. What Sarasota is trying to do is create a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I've been in many anchorages and seen many derelict boats, sailboats without masts and blue tarps over cabin tops to keep the rain out, and Sarasota has none of these.
They will propose an ordinance in December and have public comments on it in January. We'll see how this ends up.
What I do have an issue with, and what there was a meeting about tonight at the Sarasota City Hall, is the creation of ordinances that regulate a boater's right to anchor outside of those designated mooring areas. We, as sailors, have a right to navigate on any of the waters in the United States. And, anchoring is part of that navigation. The general consensus of the meeting was that there does not need to be any more regulation than is already on the books. The city commissioners are talking of making a time limit and/or "buffer zones" around the mooring field (one proposal by a local marine corporation, Marina Jack, calls for 5 miles and a time limit of 1 hour). You'll also notice on that link that they are charging $270 to $345 per month for a mooring ball! I was assured by the project manager for the construction of the mooring field that there is "no profit associated with the mooring field. It was grant money form the EPA and as part of the grant's stipulations, any excess revenue has to go directly back into the mooring field program." So Marina Jack is doing this without keeping any profits for themselves? How wonderful! Yeah, I don't think so either. What I spoke on record and proposed, with a lot of other people saying just about the same thing, was that what Sarasota needs is a harbormaster. I outlined a system similar to Newport, where there are designated mooring fields and a designated anchorage as well. All of this is regulated and enforced by a harbormaster who takes down your information, including a cell phone contact number, when you entered the anchorage and calls you if there is an issue. What Sarasota is trying to do is create a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I've been in many anchorages and seen many derelict boats, sailboats without masts and blue tarps over cabin tops to keep the rain out, and Sarasota has none of these.
They will propose an ordinance in December and have public comments on it in January. We'll see how this ends up.
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