We have stayed for longer than the limit time at Brunswick Landing Marina,
and count BLM - the marina (not their boat yard) - to be one of the
favorite places we have stayed at.  But the law saying you cannot be a live
aboard may be unique.
No state is perfect!


On Fri, Nov 23, 2012 at 2:00 PM, Jim Lynch <[email protected]> wrote:

>  Sorry but I have to defend my little state of Georgia.  I live here.
> It's not utopia, but it's not bad. What Ben said is correct, the law was
> passed to remove a bunch of trashy shanty-towns on the state waterways.
> It's also true the extended the limit to 90 days.  What's not generally
> known is that Georgia, being a "good old boy" run state takes laws as ways
> to control undesirables, not as fact.  If you aren't bothering anyone or
> making a pest of yourself, the law here will leave you alone.  It's just a
> different system of justice from it's northern counterparts.
>
> There are hundreds, maybe thousands of live-aboards in Georgia waters and
> have been forever.  The politicians on the coast recognize they spend
> money, vote and are less of a problem than urban crackheads so don't bother
> them.  When some do-gooder (usually a northern transplant) complains, they
> post warning signs around the marinas outlining the law.  Eventually the
> signs fade away and I guess the do-gooders go away or get convinced of the
> error of their ways.  I've been hanging around the marinas and live-aboards
> in Brunswick for over 10 years and never have heard of anyone in authority
> hassling them.
>
> There really is a different mentality to law enforcement in the state of
> Georgia.  For instance, how many states would allow a car to be driven
> daily with expired (5+ years ago) NJ plates?  There was one in the parking
> lot at work every day for years.
>
> Back 50 years ago or so, Georgia was the king of speed traps.  One
> Governor was so pissed about the bad publicity that he got the legislature
> to pass the most reasonable laws I've ever seen.  To quote:
>
>
>    - Georgia has a speed trap law that applies to all police agencies
>    except State Patrol. Some of the regulations regarding Speed Measuring
>    Device (SMD) use include: (1) cannot issue tickets for less than 10 mph
>    over posted speed limit, (2) cannot use SMD on downhill road with more than
>    a 7% downgrade, (3) cannot use SMD closer than 500 feet inside a changed
>    speed limit zone (4) police vehicle using SMD must be seen by all
>    approaching vehicles at least 500 feet or more, and (5) any municipality
>    using SMD must have warning signs on major road at city or county limits
>    stating so.
>
> Note that the State Patrol has the authority to issue tickets at any
> excessive speed but follows the >10 mph guidelines unless there are
> extenuating circumstances.  Also the above restrictions don't apply to some
> special zones, such as hospital, school and construction.
>
> Prior to the law a Governor (don't know if it's the same one) had
> billboards erected around towns with know speed traps warning motorists.
> One Sherrif kept burning them down as fast as they went up until the Gov.
> placed guards on them.
>
> Georgia isn't quite the police state some of you seem to think it is.  It
> just works differently from what you might be used to.  Except for FL I've
> never lived in any other southern state but I wouldn't be surprised the
> same attitudes exist in other southern states.
>
> Oh and by the way, please continue to avoid the ICW through GA.  I'd hate
> to have all that beautiful water cluttered up with boats.  It's so pleasant
> to wander up through the marsh and find a deep creek absolutely devoid of
> any sign of civilization and teeming with wildlife.  And remember there are
> some 4' deep areas of the ICW which need to be avoided at all costs, but do
> forget we have 9' spring tides here that make planning your route through
> shallow water necessary.  :-)
>
> Marsh view http://windangel.org/images/P9290805.JPG
> Jim.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 11/22/2012 07:48 PM, Ben Okopnik wrote:
>
> On Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 09:55:43AM -0500, Norm wrote:
>
>
> When I first arrived in north Florida the locals told me the St Johns river
> flows north because Georgia sucks.  I thought it had something to do with
> college football until I found it was more personal than that.
>
>  Just in the interests of maintaining current information (NOT defending
> the place - there's no love lost between me and Georgia; in fact, I
> wouldn't extinguish a state-threatening fire there even if my bladder
> was full), GA appears to have a) passed this law to specifically chase
> away the live-aboard "house barges" (i.e., floating shanty-towns)
> proliferating in the lakes around Atlanta and the Altamaha River, and b)
> has recently passed a bill through the state senate extending the period
> to 90 days.
> http://coastalgadnr.org/msp/ap/Liveab
>
> But yeah, Georgia could suck-start a Harley. Or suck a baseball through
> a mile of garden hose. Scientifically proven fact; I'm pretty sure I saw
> an article in JAMA or something...
>
>
> Ben
>
>
>
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-- 
Ed Kelly
sailing vessel ANGEL LOUISE - Catalac 12m

Skype to AttyEdKelly or Skype-in phone:  202-657-6357
[email protected]
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