It’s Official: Cruising Is Unfashionable in Florida – Peter Swanson
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There was a subsequent correction published to this post:
New Anchoring Law Does Not Automatically Limit You to 30 Days.
Thanks to keen-eyed reader Sean Welsh, we’ve corrected a factual error in today’s Florida anchoring law story. The story was corrected to reflect that anchoring is not limited to 30 days automatically in Florida’s biggest four counties. The law gives the counties power to enact limits affecting anyone who has been anchored in the jurisdiction for 30 days. Depending on the will of local authorities it could very well be that you must leave after the 30-day limit, however.
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When all else fails, try journalism.
It’s Official: Cruising Is Unfashionable in Florida
Anchoring Restricted Because, Yes, Sailboats Are Unsightly and Bad for Safety and the Environment
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“Time to move along, old-timer. Your 30 days are up.”
The state of Florida has officially taken sides. Cruisers are out of favor and need stricter regulations. Center-console people have become the cool kids and deserving of “freedom.”
On Tuesday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law House Bill 481 which expands an anchoring ban to even more of the waters at Miami Beach waters and limits anchoring to 30 days in a six-month period in Florida’s four most populous counties. This law was directed at liveaboard sailors in particular because their vessels are deemed most likely to eventually become derelict.
The law also increases from 100 feet to 300 feet the distance from the marked boundary of a public mooring field where boats cannot anchor.
Boating coalitions argued that local authorities could use existing Florida laws to prevent vessels from becoming derelict instead of passing new restrictions on anchoring. Proponents—including bill sponsor Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez—shrewdly framed the issue in terms of safety and environmental protection.
“Current legislation leaves gaps that threaten the well-being of boaters and the health of our marine ecosystem,” Lopez said. By boaters, Lopez may be referring to the folks that own center-consoles, which they keep on a dock in front of their waterfront homes. These elite property owners have been the driving force behind a perpetual bid against anchoring in Florida.
On Monday, the governor signed the “Boater Freedom Act,” which forbids Florida police from pulling over and boarding recreational vessels without probable cause that a violation has occurred. Sure, this change applies to sailboats and trawlers, too, but in practice the vast majority of boaters being pulled over for safety checks were operating…you know it…center-consoles. That’s because there are so many more of them.
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Florida center-console people often recreate in celebratory herds during events such as Boater Skip Day, sandbar rallies and boat parades for Donald Trump. On these occasions, it is also all-hands-on-deck for the water cops. Alas, they will now have to witness real-time idiocy before they can motor over close enough to catch a whiff of alcohol.
Meanwhile, in Miami-Dade, Broward (Ft. Lauderdale), Hillsborough (Tampa) and Palm Beach counties, the message will be, “Time to move along, old-timer. Your 30 days are up.”
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