Sunday, January 24, 2016

Under Attack! Again & I didn't win the lottery!

The latest round of attacks on boat anchoring rights is up for grabs on Tuesday this week.

Wealthy waterside home owners must be pumping big money into our politicians in an attempt to introduce legislation via Florida House Bill HB1051 - That Bill (and in my language, Bills are normally expensive) would set the stage for anyone to request implementation of anchoring restrictions in their neighborhood by quoting the HB1501 as a precedent.

In Short - If HB1501 is passed, boaters will be unable to anchor anywhere in Florida within just a few years. That means a lot of boaters will avoid Florida as they won't be allowed to anchor overnight.

And... you can bet that once they have the option to ban overnight anchoring, then daytime anchoring will follow quickly.

Please read Wally Moran's post about this Bill on Anchoring Restrictions in Florida, I have put a link to his article at the bottom of this post.




Here's the link to the Florida State Legislators. 
If you are a Floridian, then email the members of the subcommittee and then PHONE them on Monday. Put a mark in your Calendar!

Here's the email that I sent to Katie Edwards (D) 

Paul Alcock

01/24/16 8:04 AM

To the Honorable Katie A. Edwards;

Hi Katie,
I appreciate that you allow us to reach you by email and I do so today because of my opposition to HB1051.

My wife & I own a 34' Sailboat on which, this past year, has cost us approximately $60,000, all of that spent at local businesses, private marinas, city marinas, and taxes.

As a home owner and Florida voter and am writing to express my opposition to HB1051 Recreational Boating Zones.

This bill will restrict overnight anchoring in five areas that have historically been used by Florida cruisers and visitors from out of state.

The bills interfere with our maritime rights to navigation which include anchoring. Anchoring restrictions impact many Florida recreational boaters who regularly cruise the waters and rivers of the state by limiting places to safely stop for the night, reprovision and get out of severe weather. Four of the proposed areas are in Southeast Florida where thousands of boaters transit yearly. Many marinas in Florida do not allow transient docking or in many cases are full and unable to accept additional boats

I urge you to vote against this bill.

Please be aware of the basis of this Bill: There is no safety concern, no government financial benefit, and no purpose to the Bill other than to remove the rights of us Citizens to be able to anchor our boats overnight on the public waters around Florida.

Once again, I urge you to vote against this bill.

Thank you.

Paul & Peggy Alcock
Florida Democratic Voter, Broward Resident, American Citizen.


Here's the link to Wally Moran's Article

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