On the fence about Charleston Race Week or the Melges 24 Gold Cup? Are you attending and want to know what to expect and how to stay safe? Join Charleston Race Week and Quantum Sails Monday for a webinar with Regatta Organizer Randy Draftz and Quantum Pro Scott Nixon to get the lowdown and ask your questions. Race Week is April 8-11, 2021, see link below.
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Click here for Charleston Race Week
A growing population and inadequate waste management infrastructure have left Guatemala’s waterways polluted with plastic of all kinds, which can leach potentially hazardous chemicals into the environment, as well as untreated wastewater and toxic, acidic substances, abrasives, and metals such as chromium and aluminum.
Plastic pollution has a human impact
Zebra mussels might cause devastating impacts to Florida’s ecology and economy, and has recently been discovered in a Florida pet store and stores in other parts of the country.
FWC asks public to help stop the spread of invasive zebra mussels
Invasive mussels found in product sold at aquarium and pet supply stores confirmed in S.C.
A dead arapaima recently washed ashore along Florida’s Caloosahatchee River. The monster river fish is native to the Amazon and can grow up to 10ft.
National Zoo
For photos, go to https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/arapaima
Anchoring restrictions imposed by Florida’s legislators have been increasing for years with legislators pressured by wealthy landowners to remove all visiting vessels. See AGLCA Confronts More Anchor Restrictions in Florida. Our thanks to frequent contributor, Jim Healy, for this information as posted on AGLCA’s Forum.
There are two new bills in Florida that have the potential to become common practice up and down the East Coast. (That’s one reason our coalition has struggled over the years to get this “right,” whatever “right” is.) One is a bill that limits the amount of time a boat can anchor in any one place to 30 consecutive days in any calendar year. After 30-days, the boat has to move at least one mile from where it was. I would like to have seen that a larger distance, but one mile is enough. This involves “Anchoring Restricted Areas.” ARAs can be defined bu local municipalities, with narrow waterways crowded with private and commercial docks and lots of traffic. The amount of territory they can occupy is also limited, so it can’t be the entire available water course.
The other bill creates a new category of “nuisance boat.” If a boat gets flagged for conditions that the law states lead to becoming derelict 3 times in 18 months, it can be declared a “nuisance” and can be seized by the authorities. This, to “prevent it” from becoming derelict. I am personally convinced that the water police in various municipalities know the problem vessels and their owners, so again, I think this is a positive step forward.
Both of these bills are in response to the growing awareness that boats that are long term stored on the water tend to deteriorate and devolve towards becoming derelict. That probably isn’t what the owner originally wanted, but we see that on land, too, with rusting old cars in back lots that the owner once though would get around to “fixing’ up again.”
Making boats move is good because it means that owners will have to inspect ground tackle and make the engines run at least once a month. Or, will have to move that long-term stored boat to a mooring field and comply with the regulations of the field operator. And the waterfront property owners will see that movement occurring. And yes, municipalities that have whined long and loud about long-term anchored boats will have to step up with enforcement. None of that affects the AGLCA/MTOA/SSCA/DeFevers Cruisers population of member/cruisers, so it is good for us. Why? It will lead to keeping anchorages open and anchoring available to our members as they cruise, visit points-of-interest, and move on. And, it seems likely that it will open some anchorages that are currently clogged up with long-term stored boats.
Stay alert, though. There are things happening that may not be as favorable…
Jim
Monk 36 Hull #132
This sounds like a good collection of regulations.
Thanks for the update Jim!
To begin with I am a liveaboard in S Fl who was born and raised here and have been boating my whole life (so has my mom, and grandparents). I’ve lived aboard/cruised for the past 4 years now.
I’m down for the derelict classification and anything that makes remove all easier, in fact I’ve rushed it three times this past year to remove boats from the anchorage I am in. It is already relatively easy to remove them with the derelict/at risk vessel reclassification laws that passed 2 years ago, you just call FWC and they do an inspection. They will literally be there within 48hrs at most. The problem is people in FL don’t want to pay taxes and already this year S FL has used up their allocated budget to remove derelict boats. If they want the derelict boats gone it is simply a matter of money allocation.
Now the concept of making a boat move after 30 days is ridiculous.
Just because I don’t want to move my boat every 30 days does not mean it is derelict. Often I work on boats that have more than 30 days worth of project work and this would make it unfeasible to work in them and get them in working shape.
If I am doing extensive work on my boat having to franchise every 30 days is a huge nuisance.
What if I own and permitted my own mooring ball? Which yes you can actually do. What happens then?
Also many anchorages don’t have more than a mile away to move to so this effectively blocks people from using the same anchorage that they were initially in.
Access to things like fresh water, and dinghy docks can be limited to a certain area and moving a mile further will make it quite difficult for many sailors who can’t afford dinghies with a 30hp on the back.
This is awful legislation.
Boating shouldn’t be just for the rich.. The minimum dock space in WPB is about $1500 a month for a 37’ which means the average working individual would need to make $25 an hour min to make that work, in a state where minimum wage is $7.25 and most workers make less than $15 an hour.
It costs over $500 a month just for a mooring ball in dinner key which is just outrageous (it’s also incredibly uncomfortable as it’s wide open to prevailing winds and you’ll for sure have things stolen from your dinghy)
Again boating shouldn’t be only for the rich and that is where this legislation is ultimately heading.
I can certainly live with this. Anything that gets the derelicts off the water, yet allows those of us who cruise responsibly in well maintained boats, is good.
Jim has it absolutely right – these bills are a good answer to the problems caused by "derelict" boats. I have never understood why it is such a problem to identify abandoned boats and take the into custody before they become hazards to navigation and to the environment. Track down the owner while the boat is still afloat if it appears to have been abandoned. There are many such boats still floating here in Brevard County Florida in the Banana River and Indian River Lagoon. Go get 'em.
So many different crustaceans and shellfish can be found in North Carolina waters, but some species, including bay scallops and some lobsters, are lower in abundance.
Coastal Review Online
Get to the Bottom With Crustaceans, Shellfish
Coastal Review Online
St. Marys, Georgia originally began as a town established by the British in 1787. After St. Augustine, Florida, St. Marys is the second-oldest continually inhabited city in the U.S.
Exploring St. Marys, Georgia’s Historic Seaside Community
Forbes
“Small actions can make a big difference for wildlife,” said FWC Florida Shorebird Alliance Coordinator, Shea Armstrong. “By taking a few steps to limit disturbance to nesting waterbirds, we can help ensure they have a successful nesting season and that they will be around for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.”
FWC: You can help Florida’s nesting waterbirds.
Shortly after restarting operations on the third cut through the hull of the wrecked roll-on/roll-off carrier Golden Ray, salvors have been forced to stop work again and shift to the next section due to another broken chain link. See Golden Ray Removal.
Fuel oil spill cleanup inside of the environmental protection barrier, February 25 (St. Simons Sound Incident Response)
Cutting Chain Failure Forces Golden Ray Salvors to Shift Efforts
Maritime Executive
Researchers in New Zealand have discovered three new shark species that glow in the dark, with the kitefin shark now the largest-known luminous underwater creature.
| Scientists discover giant luminous predator in the deep sea: Sharks that glow in the dark |
NBC News
Of the hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic waste we produce each year, it’s estimated that around ten million tonnes enters the ocean.
Image courtesy The Ocean Cleanup
Where Does Plastic Go When it Enters the Ocean?
Maritime Executive
The Explorer Team has been hard at work on their newly designed website with new content and updated information for you, the Bahamas cruiser. The new platform means that you’ll need to sign up to continue access to their free Bahamas Chatter Forum. We invite you to visit and join for free!
Click here for invitation to join! Come on over to the new Explorer Bahamas Chatter Forum!
The Atlantic Ocean circulation that underpins the Gulf Stream, the weather system that brings warm and mild weather to Europe, is at its weakest in more than a millennium.
Atlantic Ocean circulation at weakest in a millennium, say scientists
The Guardian
A Major Ocean Current Could Be on The Verge of a Devastating ‘Tipping Point’
Newsbreak.com
This article from National Ocean Service describes four unusual water phenomena which are definitely not among our everyday occurrences.
Tidal bore, Morecambe Bay, UK (Arnold Price / CC BY SA 2.0)
Four Rarely-Heard Ocean Terms
Maritime Executive
Oceans around the world face a litany of threats, from climate change to overfishing to pollution and more.
See also: What to See and Do in Dry Tortugas National Park
Our thanks to America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association Director Kim Russo for bringing this legislation to our attention. If you have not done so, please donate to AGLCA’s Advocacy Fund. The work of AGLCA’s lobbyists benefits all boaters.
As anticipated, additional municipalities in Florida have gotten their representatives to file a bill adding anchorages to the list of waterways where overnight anchoring is prohibited. The bill (attached) would add the following anchorages to the three previously closed to overnight stays:
With the assistance of our lobbyist in Tallahassee, we have successfully challenged efforts in the past to add more anchorages to this section of the Florida statutes. We will work hard to do so once again. Please stay tuned for action alerts.
You may tired of hearing this, but THIS is why we pay a lobbyist in Florida. We do not yet have enough in our Advocacy Fund to cover his contract for 2021. If you have not contributed, please consider doing so now. Contribute here.
Kim Russo
Director
America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association
843.879.5030
— Attachment(s) —
Florida_1652.pdf (125.4 KB)
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And this from Ted Arisaka of Save South Carolina’s Anchorages:
https://www.flsenate.gov/
1. Between Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido Island. 22 2. Between San Marino Island and San Marco Island. 23 3. Between San Marco Island and Biscayne Island. 24 4. Surfside, south of 88th Street/Biscaya Drive and north 25 of Stillwater in Miami Beach. 26 5. Biscaya Lake in Surfside. 27 6. Indian Creek Lake between Indian Creek and Bay Harbor 28 Islands. 29 (d) North and South Lake areas of Hollywood in Broward 30 County. 31 (e) Lake Sylvia in Broward County. 32 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
All those gutted, rotting-out old sailboats, yachts and other defunct dream boats — and the fuel and sewage they leak — have got to go, Florida lawmakers say, to keep afloat the watery reasons so many chose to live and play here. See a similar proposal in South Carolina.
Proposed Florida legislation eases derelict boat removal
Florida Today
State Rep. Tyler Sirois press conference concerning derelict vessels in Florida.
Florida Today
The Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center is located adjacent to the Dismal Swamp State Park, offering trails, exhibits and ongoing programs in Camden County, NC. Docks are provided by the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR and a NC DOT Rest Area facility. See also National Heritage.
Andrew Woods
Great Dismal Swamp an irreplaceable hub of Black and Indigenous history
The Wilderness Society
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