The fall boat show season is heating up. Shows of interest to shoppers on the east coast include:

Sept. 10-13 Atlantic City In-Water Power Boat Show, Farley State Marina, Atlantic City, NJ

Sept. 11-13 Tampa Boat Show, Tampa Covention Center

Sept. 11-13 Central New York Boat Show, New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY

Sept. 17-20 Newport Intl. Boat Show, Newport Yachting Center, Newport, RI

Sept. 18-20 Jersey Shore Boat Sale & Expo, Energy Park, Lakewood, NJ

Sept. 24-27 Norwalk Int. In-Water Boat Show, Norwalk Cove Marina, Norwalk, Conn.

Oct. 1-4 Boston Fall Boat Show, Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA

Oct. 2-4 Trawler Fest, Calvert Marina, Solomons MD

Oct. 8-12 U.S. Sailboat Show, Annapolis, MD

Oct. 15-18 U.S. Powerboat Show, Annapolis, MD

Oct. 29-Nov. 2 - Ft. Lauderdale Intl. Boat Show, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Dec. 4-7 - St. Petersburg Boat Show - Bayfront Center/Mahaffey Theatre, St. Petersburg, FL

Whiteaker Yacht Sales is proud to welcome Bob Underwood to their staff of brokers. Bob will concentrate on serving boaters in the area between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.

Anchoring Your Boat in Florida Waters

We can all applaud the passage of HB 1423 by the Florida House. Before this bill, boaters sometimes had as little as 24 hours before being told by law enforcement that they had to move or risk a written citation. In the past several local cities or counties could restrict the length of time that a boat could anchor in a particular spot.

With the passage of this important bill local restrictions on where and how long a boat can anchor do not apply. Now boat owners will no longer have to worry about being forced to move because they have overstayed their visit. This new legislation makes it clear that local municipalities cannot override state authority on regulating recreational boat anchoring. They can however regulate anchoring within the marked boundaries of certain mooring fields if they are properly permitted. The details of the new law can be confusing. Some changes went into effect on July 1 while others will become effective on October 1, 2009.

For clarification BoatUS has created a new, easily downloadable 2-page reference document titled "Anchoring Information for Florida Cruisers".  It can be found on their website. As often happens many local personnel may be confused or unaware of the new laws. As a result boaters are continuing to be restricted in certain areas unfairly. It would be advisable for all boaters to keep a copy of the new law onboard in case law enforcement is not up to date on the newly passed law.

Debbie Whiteaker

Whiteaker Yacht Sales

www.whiteakeryachtsales.com