I think the reason many people do not cruise is because it takes so
dang long they run outa time. They need to leave their boats
somewhere for a month till they can get back to sail on further. This
is very difficult because almost all marinas are geared toward long
term slip agreements.
What I envision is a series of mooring buoys spaced roughly 50 miles
apart on the Gulf coast to be used for no more than a month. Marina
operators may not like this but they mostly have enough business
anyway. These might have to be on state property (most bottoms are
state property). Fees would be by the night, by the week or by one
month max. payable at a drop box ashore or by CC online. The operator
of the system would pay fees to the state and community. Any boat
that exceeded the 1 month limit would be towed by commercial service
to a local marina.
Cruisers who would use such buoys, do not mind spending money at local
restaurants and stores so it would help local businesses.
Thoughts?

"Frogwatch" wrote in message
...
I think the reason many people do not cruise is because it takes so
dang long they run outa time. They need to leave their boats
somewhere for a month till they can get back to sail on further. This
is very difficult because almost all marinas are geared toward long
term slip agreements.
What I envision is a series of mooring buoys spaced roughly 50 miles
apart on the Gulf coast to be used for no more than a month. Marina
operators may not like this but they mostly have enough business
anyway. These might have to be on state property (most bottoms are
state property). Fees would be by the night, by the week or by one
month max. payable at a drop box ashore or by CC online. The operator
of the system would pay fees to the state and community. Any boat
that exceeded the 1 month limit would be towed by commercial service
to a local marina.
Cruisers who would use such buoys, do not mind spending money at local
restaurants and stores so it would help local businesses.
Thoughts?

The West of Scotland has many such groups of mooring buoys, mainly owned,
laid and maintained by various Local Authorities. The main problem is that
in the high season you have to arrive before lunchtime otherwise the
moorings are all taken.

Another problem is policing the moorings, since casual leisure sailors tend
to ignore local rules and can hog the moorings for hours without paying. It
is not unusual to arrive in the early evening and find a couple of tiny
pleasure craft with families out for a day trip using the buoys to turn
their small craft into a dive platform.

The local authorities who do maintain a close watch on their moorings have
to pay for so doing, and this translates into higher fees per overnight
stay, often making the price difference between mooring fees and marina fees
not worth considering.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying such moorings are a waste of time, but
some form of advance booking and local control would be desirable if no
other facilities were available in the area, and all this takes money.

A few years ago the Irish Republic laid many large moorings in it's harbours
for the use of visiting yachtsmen. These were immediately siezed by local
fishing vessels who were paying mooring fees whilst tied up alongside the
quay. In response to complaints from some of my fellow-yotties, I wrote to
the Irish Government to complain about this. After nine months I received a
reply to the effect that it was the responsibility of the Local Authority to
stop such practices, but as most Local Authorities were cash-strapped, there
was nothing the Government could do about it.

The idea is a good one, but in practise the complications of running the
scheme make it impracticable. That said, it is always a wonderful experience
to arrive at a local anchorage and find a vacant mooring in the West of
Scotland, whether free or not!

N.B. - we always carry a substantial anchor!


Dennis.

"Frogwatch" wrote in message
...
I think the reason many people do not cruise is because it takes so
dang long they run outa time. They need to leave their boats
somewhere for a month till they can get back to sail on further. This
is very difficult because almost all marinas are geared toward long
term slip agreements.
What I envision is a series of mooring buoys spaced roughly 50 miles
apart on the Gulf coast to be used for no more than a month. Marina
operators may not like this but they mostly have enough business
anyway. These might have to be on state property (most bottoms are
state property). Fees would be by the night, by the week or by one
month max. payable at a drop box ashore or by CC online. The operator
of the system would pay fees to the state and community. Any boat
that exceeded the 1 month limit would be towed by commercial service
to a local marina.
Cruisers who would use such buoys, do not mind spending money at local
restaurants and stores so it would help local businesses.
Thoughts?

I do not like this sort of scheme for several reasons.
Firstly, if the anchorages are small snug spots in amongst the rocks as they
are around Oslofjord where I sail they will plonk their buoys right in the
best anchoring spots in the dead centre and leave anyone who wants to anchor
to find sufficient swinging room on the periphery. In other words the best
anchoring spots are forever given over to the sort of people who always want
to tie up somewhere rather than anchor.
This raises the second point which is that nice quiet spots which are
normally known to 'proper' cruising people who know how to anchor and like
to do so will be filled with the other sort of people who arrive in a huge
powerboat , tie up to a buoy and proceed to create just the sort of mayhem
that the rest of us go there to avoid. Loud music, kids zooming round in
outboard dinghies, noisy little generators running to keep their ice cubes
from melting. etc. etc.
I say let the blighters find a marina and use the guest berths and leave the
unspoiled places for the rest of us.

On Fri, 3 Apr 2009 21:27:49 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

I think the reason many people do not cruise is because it takes so
dang long they run outa time. They need to leave their boats
somewhere for a month till they can get back to sail on further. This
is very difficult because almost all marinas are geared toward long
term slip agreements.
What I envision is a series of mooring buoys spaced roughly 50 miles
apart on the Gulf coast to be used for no more than a month. Marina
operators may not like this but they mostly have enough business
anyway. These might have to be on state property (most bottoms are
state property). Fees would be by the night, by the week or by one
month max. payable at a drop box ashore or by CC online. The operator
of the system would pay fees to the state and community. Any boat
that exceeded the 1 month limit would be towed by commercial service
to a local marina.
Cruisers who would use such buoys, do not mind spending money at local
restaurants and stores so it would help local businesses.
Thoughts?

It's already happening in some places like Ft Myers Beach and Boot Key
Harbor. They usually expect someone to be on the boat however. In
my experience you are better off at a dock if leaving the boat for
more than a day or two. If for no other reason, you can keep the
battery charger plugged in to ensure that the bilge pumps will stay
working. Security is usually better at a marina also.

There is another issue with moorings. You need a way to get to shore
and back and there are very few places in Florida with launch service,
or a place to dock a dinghy long term. You may also need a place to
park your car if you are shuttling back and forth to the boat on
weekends.

Frogwatch wrote:
I think the reason many people do not cruise is because it takes so
dang long they run outa time. They need to leave their boats
somewhere for a month till they can get back to sail on further. This
is very difficult because almost all marinas are geared toward long
term slip agreements.
What I envision is a series of mooring buoys spaced roughly 50 miles
apart on the Gulf coast to be used for no more than a month. Marina
operators may not like this but they mostly have enough business
anyway. These might have to be on state property (most bottoms are
state property). Fees would be by the night, by the week or by one
month max. payable at a drop box ashore or by CC online. The operator
of the system would pay fees to the state and community. Any boat
that exceeded the 1 month limit would be towed by commercial service
to a local marina.
Cruisers who would use such buoys, do not mind spending money at local
restaurants and stores so it would help local businesses.
Thoughts?

Moorings fields are common in New England, and are the norm outside of
larger towns. We've spent almost every summer for 20 years cruising
cruising Massachusetts and Maine, and have hardly ever rented a slip.
By contrast, when we traveled south we found ourselves marina hopping,
even though we would have preferred moorings.

Some mooring fields have a robust launch service (Scituate and Salem
come to mind), most others you're on your own. However, we've managed
to hold out and get by with a rowing dinghy, rather than deal with an
outboard. Some places have week/month rates, others have "shoulder
season" rates that apply before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. The
best time to cruise Martha's Vineyard is September, as long as you don't
mind being on hurricane watch.

One interesting thing in the last few years is a "semi-profit" group
that rents moorings around Boston Harbor, so that day sailors and
overnighters can have a secure place to hang out. We've used them
frequently, either for a few hours, or for the first or last night of a
trip. However, they are not available for longer storage.

This year we're getting by without a "home marina" so we're committed to
living off the transient system. We'll need to leave the boat briefly a
few times, so we're looking forward to finding out how that will work
out. Our big problem is that we travel with a dog and cats, and
normally have a full fridge and freezer, so the solution may involve
have a car "pre-positioned" at some strategic point so we can unload and
haul everything home for a few days. Or, as we've done in the past, I
can stay on the boat while my wife rents a car to deal with real life.

One more thought: I've considered Roger's idea of cruising
Newfoundland, and I have friends who loved it so much they even wintered
over there. I've toyed with the idea of sailing up to Nova Scotia one
summer and leaving the boat there. Then over to Newfoundland the next
summer, and on the third summer up the St Lawrence and down through Lake
Champlain. (The admiral, however, is not not enthusiastic - she likes
beaches!)

On Apr 3, 10:27*pm, Frogwatch wrote:

What I envision is a series of mooring buoys spaced roughly 50 miles
apart on the Gulf coast to be used for no more than a month. *

Thoughts?



May I suggest the rabbit patch. Its a fine little place just west of
the hole - in - the- wall.

bob

On Fri, 3 Apr 2009 21:27:49 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

I think the reason many people do not cruise is because it takes so
dang long they run outa time. They need to leave their boats
somewhere for a month till they can get back to sail on further. This
is very difficult because almost all marinas are geared toward long
term slip agreements.
What I envision is a series of mooring buoys spaced roughly 50 miles
apart on the Gulf coast to be used for no more than a month. Marina
operators may not like this but they mostly have enough business
anyway. These might have to be on state property (most bottoms are
state property). Fees would be by the night, by the week or by one
month max. payable at a drop box ashore or by CC online. The operator
of the system would pay fees to the state and community. Any boat
that exceeded the 1 month limit would be towed by commercial service
to a local marina.
Cruisers who would use such buoys, do not mind spending money at local
restaurants and stores so it would help local businesses.
Thoughts?


The Thai Harbor Authority has moorings in most commonly used
anchorages. A cruise from Phuket to Langkawi, Malaysia, can be made
with free moorings used every night.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Dave wrote:
On Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:51:40 -0400, jeff said:

Some mooring fields have a robust launch service (Scituate and Salem
come to mind), most others you're on your own. However, we've managed
to hold out and get by with a rowing dinghy, rather than deal with an
outboard.

What do you do at Menemsha, leave the dinghy on the beach outside the harbor
entrance?

We haven't gone ashore at Menemsha in a while but you can tie up at the
marina there, assuming you can handle the current. Outside, you could
leave the dink NE of the jetty, but probably not on the public beach
right there. They run two moorings inside, and about a dozen outside,
first come, first serve. I was inside several time years ago, but only
used an outside mooring for a easy layover in recent years. Outside is
not highly recomended - its rather rolly for most boats.

We normally stay in Vineyard Haven, which has become our "home away from
home" and take a bus to Menemsha.

"Frogwatch" wrote in message
...
I think the reason many people do not cruise is because it takes so
dang long they run outa time. They need to leave their boats
somewhere for a month till they can get back to sail on further. This
is very difficult because almost all marinas are geared toward long
term slip agreements.
What I envision is a series of mooring buoys spaced roughly 50 miles
apart on the Gulf coast to be used for no more than a month. Marina
operators may not like this but they mostly have enough business
anyway. These might have to be on state property (most bottoms are
state property). Fees would be by the night, by the week or by one
month max. payable at a drop box ashore or by CC online. The operator
of the system would pay fees to the state and community. Any boat
that exceeded the 1 month limit would be towed by commercial service
to a local marina.
Cruisers who would use such buoys, do not mind spending money at local
restaurants and stores so it would help local businesses.
Thoughts?


There also may be a liability issue, requiring insurance for the person or
entitity that places the buoys. This stuff can get expensive.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Dave wrote:
On Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:35:42 -0400, jeff said:

What do you do at Menemsha, leave the dinghy on the beach outside the harbor
entrance?
We haven't gone ashore at Menemsha in a while but you can tie up at the
marina there, assuming you can handle the current.

That is, of course, the issue. I like to spend a night at each of the main
ports on the Vineyard when we go there, but there's no way anyone could row
in from the outside moorings when that current is in the wrong direction.
You either motor, or leave the dinghy outside. (Or plan on spending enough
time ashore for the current to have turned). A stopover there was enough to
persuade me to get a motor. We had previously stayed inside, and it didn't
occur to me that that big pond at the back of the harbor could create quite
an obstacle at the entrance with the tide rising or falling.

So your desire to go inside at Menemsha is worth the price of a engine
(plus the associated hassles like registration and maintenance)?
Mooring at VH and renting a car would have been about 90% cheaper!
Sounds to me like there's just a little rationalization here.