More Opinions on Florida’s SB 1548
Here are a number of well worded essays from Florida residents, some opposing SB 1548, a Florida Senate bill restricting anchoring, from newspress.com and some explaining the need for such restrictions.
Insane bill proposes to strangle Florida cruising
W. DeHaven Porter 2:48 p.m. EDT March 29, 2015
Oh, the ignominy of it! Me, a lifelong Republican, about to take up pen and castigate a sitting member of the Florida Republican Party.
The subject of my discontent? It is Florida SB1548, a proposed draconian bill that would absolutely destroy the reputation of my home state as a cruising mecca for thousands of boaters who relish the freedom to anchor their vessels in a wide choice of beautiful and convenient anchorages. The unintended byproduct of which, I am sure, will be their departure to more welcoming cruising destinations such as the Bahamas or, if opened, the crystal clear waters of Cuba. Loss of their patronage at Florida businesses and marine facilities will certainly exacerbate already tough times and result in layoffs and countless job losses in Florida’s multimillion-dollar marine industries.
State Sen. Charles S. Dean’s spiteful bill would remove thousands of Florida’s finest anchorages from cruisers’ itineraries. He obviously means to placate self-absorbed coastal residents who get upset when they awake to see a boat anchored anywhere within their range of vision. Indeed, the bill restricts boaters from anchoring overnight within 200 feet of developed waterfront property (single family, multifamily, townhouse or condo.) 200 feet! Good grief, when did God reserve enjoyment rights for thousands of miles of Florida coastline for fat cats living in waterfront gated communities?
Ah, but you say surely if cruisers are denied anchorages, they will flock to the marinas and thus inflate the pocketbooks of marina operators and local businesses. Not so my friend.
It may be so in the landlocked brain of the Republican Dean, a career politician who hails from landlocked Inverness. But most cruisers will simply go elsewhere. It is Sen. Dean who has launched this monstrosity of a bill. Of course, he lives too far inland to smell salt air, so perhaps he should be excused for his ignorance of the thousands upon thousands of U.S. and Canadian boaters who annually enjoy the coastal waterways of our gorgeous state. Anyone who lives near a coast is well aware of cruisers’ presence and the millions they contribute to local economies.
Having been among their numbers for over seven years of cruising life, I hasten to point out that most cruisers not only patronize Florida marinas, but also alternate between renting a slip and hanging overnight on the hook (anchoring for you landlubbers). Indeed, my fondest memories are of many enjoyable anchorages and other congenial boaters enjoying a quiet spot in space and time. Empirical evidence indicates that most cruisers do the same.
Local water Nazis will ticket offenders. The miscreants are then ordered to physically report to the county court for fining (up to $250). When? Put yourself in the position of a cruiser who must put off your well-planned cruising expectations, rent a car and find the county courthouse at some future specified date, not to mention finding a marina slip in which to leave your vessel. Of course you could just pick up the hook and depart, but that would mean a second-degree misdemeanor charge and a fine of $500. Government out of control? You bet.
Sen. Dean’s misguided bill is filed under the heading of water safety. It has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with stroking wealthy campaign contributors who think their purchase of waterfront property has granted them exclusive rights to the enjoyment of water views and sunsets.
Write, email or call your Florida senator and demand equal rights for boaters by defeating SB 1548. I am.
W. DeHaven Porter lives in Fort Myers.
From AGLCA’s Forum:
In the interest of trying to present both sides of an argument, let me try to explain why the Florida anchoring ban surfaced again in this year’s Florida legislature. First of all let me begin by saying I am a jet skier that has completed over half the great loop. As a member of both the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the U S Power Squadron, I have been teaching boating safety over 30 years. In my boating safety classes I always say “There is no such thing as a bad jet ski. . . . There are only bad Jet skiers”. You know, the jet skiers who don’t take a boating safety course, don’t obey the rules of the road and leave wakes everywhere they go.
As a current owner of three waterfront properties and former owner of two others, I definitely see the land owner’s desire to restrict the area adjacent and directly behind their waterfront property. Public waters are
held in the public trust but, unfortunately, there are a few (only a few) “bad” boaters who anchor out, play loud music, throw trash into the water and party hardy into the wee hours and abuse their public trust. You are
welcome to come by my dock any Saturday night and spend the night. I will let you listen and experience what it is like to live on waterfront property with a live band and bar that plays loud music 1/2 mile away. It is because of these “few” bad boaters (or bad bar owners) that waterfront property owners want them banned after normal quiet time hours. Not banned all the time just after “reasonable” quiet hours.
Several members in this forum believe this is a “rich land baron” issue. This is not a “have” verses the “have nots” clash. This is about restoring peace and quiet to public waters after the sun goes down. Just like most
marinas have “quiet” hours, land owners are asking for similar civil rules.
I hope responsible boaters like the members of AGLCA will find a way to help the waterfront owners restore civil behavior and tranquility to the public waters we all love and respect.
Douglas Townes
Atlanta, GA
I can certainly understand your frustrations. HOWEVER, there are laws and ordinances already in affect that that address ALL of these issues. As a homeowner, why are you not outraged that local law enforcement is not doing
their job to enforce these regulations? Instead of taking a negative statewide stand against all boaters. If cars speed up and down the street in front of your house, will you push for a law forbidding cars from using your street? I doubt it, yet you advocate the same treatment for boaters.
The obvious answer would be for the police to enforce the speed limit. And there in lies the problem with both these regulations and the “excuses” used to push them forward.
Chuck Baier and Susan Landry
AGLCA Forum
April 13, 2015
First, as a member of the MTOA which doesn’t seem to want to get in the fight over FL anchoring, I applaud and thank you for picking up the slack. I am already a member of BoatUS and will be joining AGLCA shortly.
Second, I have made my donation to help you in this cause. I’d like it to be more, but as you know a boat is an expensive hobby, lifestyle.
Third, I don’t know if SSCA is a membership organization and if so I have looked all over your site for the ability to join and couldn’t find anywhere to do so. Please advise.
Thanks again and keep up the fight.
Charles Williamson
April 14
I am pleased to say the MTOA has sent their letter to the politicos voicing the power of MTOA membership (5000+) and it’s opposition to the anchoring debacle in FL.
Charles Williamson
Editor’s Note: You may join Seven Seas Cruising Association by going to their Homepage and scrolling down the left hand column to SSCA MEMBERSHIP JOIN TODAY
Comments from Cruisers (12)
The 200 foot rule from shore makes sense, anchoring closer than 200 feet just plain lacks manners. I see people dumping human waste in the 200 foot range and because some people just give old junk boats away they have become far too common for bums to use with Antique registrations it is like a free place to stay and most are non boaters. I have no problem with boaters that moor at a safe yet respectable distance from shore.
I’ve been fighting anchoring and live aboard laws for over 40 yrs, For every complaint there is another solution other than banning anchoring. But let’s be honest: who anchors overnight within 200′ ?
Mr. Townes, if noise is the problem, why not a tightened up noise regulation instead? Frankly, in 35 years of cruising up and down the coast I can’t ever recall being disturbed by a noisy group of sailors, so why not simply outlaw powerboats? Of course that is absurd, but I am just trying to point out how the remedy proposed here is absurd too. Regulate the offensive activity. Don’t ban all boaters because a very few make too much noise and party all night. In fact, there are already laws on the books that regulate pollution, excess noise, boats in unsafe conditions, etc. It is not a lack of laws but a lack of commonsense enforcement. A bill requiring better education and training for marine law enforcement would make a lot more sense and would actually do something useful, while still leaving the public waters of the state available to all responsible boaters.
After our discussion captured in a recent AGLCA podcast Kim was kind enough to invite me to participate in this forum.
Seven Seas Cruising Association, a small volunteer-driven organization, is leading the charge against restrictions on the rights of cruisers to anchor in Florida. We have been working on this issue for many years. We work closely with BoatUS and NMMA and now with AGLCA to carry the voice of boaters to Tallahassee (as we have on similar issues in Maryland, Connecticut, and California).
SSCA publishes updates on the evolving situation on our website, our own Forum, and on our Facebook page. I’ll do my best to keep the AGLCA up to date through this forum as well, although Kim may be faster than I – she is
now on our distribution list. It was great for our team on the ground in Tallahassee for Kim to join us at the Senate hearing on Tuesday this week.
regards, dave
Dave Skolnick S/V Auspicious
SSCA Immediate Past President
SSCA Concerned Cruisers’ Committee
I am wholly against the proposed regulations and think the cruising public should be more emphatic in our response. My family and I have been cruising Florida for more than 30 years and avoid shoreline residences wherever possible feeling that they are the ones who are degraded our enjoyment of anchoring in quiet coves surrounded by nature. One of the comments to the FWC survey was “If they want to share my view, let them pay for it”. Since many of us started cruising before the mansions were built, perhaps we should consider seeking compensation from them for the damage they have wrought. We were there first!!!
The proposal that anchoring be prohibited near docks is even more absurd. Many mega-mansions somehow (I wonder how?) convinced regulators to permit the construction of docks extending hundreds of feet from the shore to deeper water for their boats and now want us to stay 200′ from those docks. Perhaps actions should be taken against agencies for their lax enforcement of environmental regulations and allowing the destruction of ecosystems they are charged with protecting
The Florida legislature should be embarrassed to be wasting tax payers time on such an absurd bill. How many of those shorline residents really support more government regulations? Any Tea Party members among them?
Re: Protect Boating Access to Florida Waters ‑ Reject SB 1548
Dear Elected official:
Sir or Madam,
The boating public heaves yet another collective sigh as our protective government ponders yet another theft of the public trust. You seldom hear the boating public cry out in anguish as low vertical clearance bridges close off navigable waters to commerce except for the smallest craft, nor do they protest when private property owners fill in Florida wetlands and destroy the native habitat so that they can have a private view of what was previously enjoyed by the boating public only.
Private property owners are allowed to build permanent structures out over navigable public trust waters so that they can have private access to the waterway and then some will insist that they also purchased the water under their dock and the view above the water as well.
If private property owners do not want to have the public anchoring a boat near their private property, do not buy waterfront property.
I am a waterfront property owner in Florida with private access to the public’s navigable waterway and reject the idea that most of the public’s safe anchorages are being considered off limits to boaters because the shoreline has been polluted by turning wetlands into private property and I expect my views to be represented by my elected officials who will reject SB 1548.
Sincerely,
David Burnham
s/v Morning Star…Synergy…Sweet Life
In addition: banning boaters because of a few noisy after hours problems in your back yard will not bring you peace. Move to the mountains…there you will find peace.
I attended a town council meeting a few years back, the meeting was in reference to anchoring rights adjacent to the town, Gulfport, FL. One of the property owners stood up to say, “I pay thousands in taxes every year, so when I wake up in the morning, fix my cup of coffee, and sit down to relax on my back porch, I don’t want to look out over the water and see boats.”
Evidently this is the crux of this entire issue. Sen. Charles Dean, has crony’d up to please his donors, who believe that where ever they plant their fat bottoms, they’re entitled to control the entire line of sight. They want to make the world their masterpiece, at the expense of everyone else.
Not one consideration was paid to those that have enjoyed Florida waters for generations. Not one consideration was given to the boating public. Not one consideration was given to Florida tradition and the huge marine industry that keeps Florida, afloat, so to speak.
Isn’t it so predictable? As soon as someone takes the helm of their own little patch, they are eager and ready to control everything else to force-fit their own little vision.
Frankly, I am sick and tired of government mandating every-single-matter of life. And it does so by taking things away from anyone it wants to, only to please a cherished few.
And, frankly, I am a born native of Florida, and you’re taking away my State!
Forgot to note. I am in full support of HB 7123. At least someone in government is actually thinking clear about the subject.
Mr. Townes might just as well be annoyed by bad neighbors, or bad people using the street in front of his house. WIll he ask for a 200 foot buffer zone around all sides of his property, not just the waterfront side?
It is clear that Mr. Townes point about inconsiderate boaters is valid. There are some inconsiderate boaters. It is equally clear that confiscation of public trust waters is not a proportional corrective action. Most communities have noise ordinances; certainly that’s true in Florida. Local landowners barraged by nose can call local authorities and expect a remedy in local justice courts. A statewide ban on anchoring is simply not an appropriate remedy.
Mr. Townes – You are clearly unaware that, in Florida and particularly in Miami Beach, we are faced with opponents who willingly and deliberately lie to the police to get their way.
The majority – I would say all – of the problems could be solved with selective code enforcement. For example, in Miami Beach, your music or other noise is illegal if heard more than, I believe it’s 20 feet, outside your property.
Just ask Miami Beach complainer Frederick Karlton, who has a couple of noise violations for loud music – which he was playing very loudly to drive away anchored boaters.
That I am aware of, there are no complaints nor violations by boaters at that address. Just the landowner.
The fact is – there ARE people who do not want boats of any kind in their view, and as much as you choose not to believe it’s an ‘us vs them’ issue – it is. They want what they want, and that is the view, even if it’s not theirs to have.
Perhaps you should hop on my boat here in FL and I’ll get you an education on these people.
I think Douglas Townes misses the point. If the problem is noise, ban noise. If he can hear the bar half a mile away, it is obvious that keeping loud boats 200 feet from his dock won’t help him. We who anchor out don’t like the noise any more than he does.
This anchoring rights issue matters to us. Right now we are deciding whether to spend another winter in Florida, or to ship our boat back to the Caribbean where we have spent 13 winters. Anchoring rights are just one factor in our decision, but we have spent a lot of money on Florida marinas, marine services and restaurants this year. If we go, we would be a good example of lost business for the state.
Donna Holton
m/v Freedom