> > > I neither wrote nor implied it was. The Law of the Sea is rather > complicated but included therein is the right, if I remember correctly, > of innocent passage that allows transit within defined borders to > friendly vessels. There is no law I’m aware of that grants the right > *to live where one is not wanted*.
There IS an international treaty and laws that follow that say a boat "in navigation" also has the right to anchor. > 1. The US Code of Federal Regulations, Corpus Juris Segunchun states that the > common right of the > public to use navigable water for navigation is superior to other rights in > the water, and it not confined to the > main channel, but extends over the entire surface of the water, from shore to > shore, subject only to natural. > obstructions and lawful artificial obstructions and that the public may > exercise tea right of navigation in a > reasonable manner for either business or pleasure and in either large or > small watercraft. It includes the > incidental rights of anchorage and mooring. > > 2. Federal Maritime Law, Chapter IX. entitled, The Sea and Jurisdiction > over Federal waters Section > 141, entitled, "The Sea, the Primary Maritime Local, Navigational Waters" pg > 9-11, states that Navigable inland > rivers and lakes susceptible of use as highways of interstate and > international commerce are within the > admiralty and maritime jurisdiction.” Federal waters are defined as: "All > tidal waters including the rivers, > canals and lakes that interconnect,” which include the inland waters that are > accesisble to the Sea. > > 3. US Code Annotated states that riparian owner having qualified title > to submerged soil is entiltled > to no preference over the public generally with respect to use of navigable > waters, whether for navigation, > business, or pleasure. > > 4 The U.S. Constitution, Article VI. reads: This Constitution and the > Laws of the U.S. which shall be > made in pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shalt he made > under the Authority of the U.S. > shall be the supreme law of the land; and the Judges in every State shall be > bound thereby, any Thing In the > Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. > Article IV, (Bill Of Rights, July 21 1868) states that No state shall > make or enforce any law which > shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S. And then from a "Cruising World" Magazine special report; > In December 2001, the city of Tampa decided to clean up an > area known as Davis Islands Seaplane Basin. Andy Bartley, > who > runs a one-man landscaping company in the city, found a > letter > on his boat informing him that he had 60 days to remove his > boat or it would be impounded by the city. The letter > asserted > that his boat and others were anchored there without a > permit, > yet when he called to obtain a permit, he was told that > permits didn't exist. > > "You're telling me that I'm here illegally without a > permit, > but there are no permits," he said. "It was a Catch-22." > > > Bulldozer Politics > The city of Tampa then said that the boats must be moved > because the owners were dumping sewage into the water, > which > is already prohibited by state law. "Governments don't > remove > splinters with tweezers," Bartley said. "They use a > bulldozer." > > Bartley and some other boat owners decided to conduct a > little > research. After doing a title search, they found that the > city > didn't own or lease the submerged land in question. He > convinced about 20 owners to chip in $6,000, and hiring > land-use attorneys, they were able to defeat the city in > court. Even though Bartley wound up buying a boat that had > a > slip in a marina, he said he has no regrets. "I'm just real > proud of our group because we stood up for our rights and > showed the city that we weren't going to let them walk all > over us," he said. > > According to Ankersen, the main question is this: How long > does a boat have to be anchored before its owners are no > longer exercising the rights of navigation? "Any timeline > you > put on that is arbitrary," he said. "While the 'exercise of > the rights of navigation' hasn't been defined judicially or > statutorily, the Florida attorney general has stated that > the > right of navigation includes the right to anchor and moor. > However, the attorney general noted that such a right > doesn't > include the right to anchor indefinitely." > > Invariably, when a boat owner is defending his right to > anchor, whether it be to a city council, a policeman, or a > harbormaster, he or she will argue that anchoring is > included > within the right to navigate, which is protected by federal > maritime law. Ankersen's report examined several such cases > and concluded, "Local regulation is not pre-empted by > federal > law." But he does believe that cruisers stand a chance of > overturning a city's anchoring ordinance because of the > wording of Florida Statute 327.6. Since the only cases > testing > the validity of cities' anchoring ordinances have been in > county courts, there's not a clear standard for cities or > owners to measure themselves against. "Until a case like > this > is challenged in an appeals court, we won't have a legal > precedent for how long the right to navigate lasts," he > said. Melborn does not own the water regardless of what they or others think. If such policies stand it is the proverbial camel's nose, except we've gone far past that now. > > > > I have every intention of moving aboard and living overseas. I like to cruise and see many different countries, however, the US is MY country and I hate to see our freedoms dwindle. And they are. -Ken _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
