Ellen MacArthur wrote:
"katy" wrote
| Who cares which one is right? If you're anchored, show an anchor light
| for Pete's sake, no matter where you are...getting hit in the middle of
| the night by some yumyum not paying attention isn't a place anyone would
| want to be...all this quibbling about the interpretations just leads to
| overthinking the common sense application for what we a
| cruiser/racers...yes, it is important if you are out in commercial
| waters to know what needs to ve known, but what you're addressing here
| is pure semantic haggling....

Sorry, but I should've explained things better. This isn't about being
aboard a boat anchored out. It's about a 17 foot sailboat with no motor
anchored on a mooring. In a harbor away from traffic. It's used only for
day sailing. Nobody lives in it. It doesn't have a battery. It's never had
an anchor light. All of a sudden the authorities say it must have an anchor
light. I don't think they even know why. I'd like to know why.
Do all the boats in harbors on anchors under 7 meters in your area have
anchor lights? I think the 7 meter rule was made just for such little boats.
How can you expect a little boat with no battery and nobody home to turn
on an anchor light every night? It's not even reasonable.

Cheers,
Ellen




If it's on a mooring then it doesn't need a light. oftentimes local
authorities have no idea what marine law is about and some sheriff's
deputy is the one doing harbor patrol. Go to the main office with your
documentation and definitions and show them what's what...in a nice way,
od course.