New GoFundMe setup for Attorney and court filing fees. We appreciate any support we can get in this fight. 

https://gofund.me/1ef9699c4g

Petition to Protect Anchoring Rights in Florida Waters

We, the undersigned boaters, residents, and supporters of Florida’s maritime community, urge state and local officials to reverse new restrictions on anchoring and mooring.

These rules create severe hardship for ordinary Floridians:

Families who worked and saved for decades to afford a cruising-size vessel now face being forced out of the water under threat of fines or distress sales.
Non-waterfront families are effectively denied the chance to own and use a cruising-size boat, leaving the experience of coastal life to only the wealthy few with private docks.
Communities that have long relied on safe anchorages for visiting boats will lose out on the economic and cultural benefits they bring.
Local traditions and youth programs—such as the Palm Beach Sailing Club’s sailing and education opportunities—will be undermined, turning what should be an accessible, community-based activity into a privilege reserved only for those who can afford exclusive moorings or waterfront property.
Officials are arbitrarily destroying people’s lawful moorings with little to no notice, stripping away property without due process and leaving families without safe refuge for their boats.

The truth is, current laws already exist. Florida Statute §327.60 and §327.4107 already give officials the power to address derelict vessels and boats at risk of sinking, leaking, or breaking loose. What has been missing is enforcement—not new laws that punish responsible boaters alongside the bad actors.

As for environmental claims, anchoring has long been a part of Florida’s maritime culture. Boats swing with the wind and tide, dragging their anchors along the bottom until the anchor resets. In contrast properly installed moorings don’t move and infact become marine habitat un moored neglected derelicts not on moorings do far greater and more lasting damage to our waters. The real threats—derelict vessels leaking fuel, storm debris & unchecked shoreline development are orders of magnitude more damaging than properly moored and maintained vessels ever are.

Most importantly, federal law protects the right to navigate and anchor. Under the Rivers and Harbors Act and long-standing navigation rights recognized by U.S. courts, navigable waters must remain open to the public. Florida’s new restrictions conflict with this principle by effectively closing off access to ordinary families and reserving it for the privileged few.

We ask our elected officials to:

Suspend enforcement of the new anchoring restrictions.
Ensure affordable access to Florida’s waterways remains open to families without waterfront property.
Protect community sailing programs like Palm Beach Sailing Club that depend on fair access to local waters.
Enforce existing statutes—§327.60 and §327.4107—to deal with derelict and at-risk vessels, without punishing those who follow the rules.
End the practice of destroying personal moorings without notice or fair process.

Florida’s waters should not be gated off for the privileged. They belong to everyone.

Sign and share this petition to stand up for fairness, boating rights, and the future of affordable cruising.