Anchoring -blind eye?

Seven Spades

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My boat is on the hard but I am interested to know if the authorities are turning a blind eye to anchoring overnight, or are people being warned away etc?
 

bedouin

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Where were you thinking of anchoring? In many places there are no authorities who can take any interest, not many police forces have a boat to send out investigating anchored vessels. With a harbour etc that has a harbour authority each will have its own rules that you will need to stick to.
 

Solent sailer

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We have been told we are ok for day trips but not over night, staying out wouldn't be a problem but they might not be keen on letting us back in the next day!
 

dom

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Solent had lots of anchored last night. Border Force floating around but seemed to take little interest.

Be aware however that local harbour regulations may apply within their perimeters and designated anchorages.
 

laika

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You could try flying the "Perfectly good reason to be here" flag

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Yellow Ballad

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I have a friend who's anchored in Osborne Bay tonight, they had a night last week in Priory Bay. They are however liveaboards and have stayed on board, they do have a marina berth for a few more weeks but after that it's the hook. Luckily they've recently had 700w of solar and 140lph watermaker installed, rebuilt their genny and enough toilet roll for a year...

He's said they've had no issues with authorities and there's a lot of boats without AIS anchoring.
 

DJE

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We have been told we are ok for day trips but not over night, staying out wouldn't be a problem but they might not be keen on letting us back in the next day!
As far as I know you are not legally obliged to answer questions from a harbour master. The fact that the boat was away from her mooring overnight does not prove that you were away from home overnight.
 

chriss999

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I haven’t seen anything in the guidelines allowing overnight stays. Everyone will make their own judgements but I personally am not going to ‘Cummings’ the rules until it is a bit clearer that infection rates are staying down.
My respect for rules of grammar are rather more lax.
 

Yealm

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A friend suggested sailing 12 miles offshore into international waters and then heaving-to for the night :)
 

bedouin

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I haven’t seen anything in the guidelines allowing overnight stays. Everyone will make their own judgements but I personally am not going to ‘Cummings’ the rules until it is a bit clearer that infection rates are staying down.
My respect for rules of grammar are rather more lax.
You don't need to - they are lawful unless you can see something in the regulations (not the guidelines) that explicitly prohibits them and that doesn't exist.

Apparently it was going to be put into the latest revision but was left out eventually because it is acknowledged that legitimate outdoor activities can extend overnight.
 

chriss999

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You don't need to - they are lawful unless you can see something in the regulations (not the guidelines) that explicitly prohibits them and that doesn't exist.

Apparently it was going to be put into the latest revision but was left out eventually because it is acknowledged that legitimate outdoor activities can extend overnight.

Thank you for the steer on this.
Nowadays I try not read regulations because I want to follow the spirit of the rules, along with the 99.9% of my fellow citizens who do the same. I’ll leave overnighting until it becomes clearly permitted.
 

bedouin

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Thank you for the steer on this.
Nowadays I try not read regulations because I want to follow the spirit of the rules, along with the 99.9% of my fellow citizens who do the same. I’ll leave overnighting until it becomes clearly permitted.
Ah the "spirit of the rules" very useful as that isn't written down and so no one can argue with your interpretation. Makes life so much easier than dealing with reality (i.e. what we are and are not allowed to do).

That is a position that seems popular with the likes of Stephen Kinnock, Ian Blackford, journalists and all the others who seem to think that they don't need to follow the letter because they are following the spirit :) Actually I don't entirely disagree with that but what is hypocritical is to criticise others who take a different view
 

chriss999

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Ah the "spirit of the rules" very useful as that isn't written down and so no one can argue with your interpretation. Makes life so much easier than dealing with reality (i.e. what we are and are not allowed to do).

That is a position that seems popular with the likes of Stephen Kinnock, Ian Blackford, journalists and all the others who seem to think that they don't need to follow the letter because they are following the spirit :) Actually I don't entirely disagree with that but what is hypocritical is to criticise others who take a different view

bedouin, thank you for your reply.
I follow the government’s published guidance and leave the barrack room lawyers, SPADs and other such riff-raff to pick through the statutory instruments looking for loopholes.
 

bedouin

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bedouin, thank you for your reply.
I follow the government’s published guidance and leave the barrack room lawyers, SPADs and other such riff-raff to pick through the statutory instruments looking for loopholes.
As far as I know there is no published guidance that mentions overnight stays on boats.

There is no need to look for loopholes in the SIs as there is nothing in there that can reasonably be interpreted as prohibiting staying on the boat.
 

chriss999

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As far as I know there is no published guidance that mentions overnight stays on boats.

There is no need to look for loopholes in the SIs as there is nothing in there that can reasonably be interpreted as prohibiting staying on the boat.

As far as I know there is no published guidance permitting staying on board boats, or caravans, or tents. these are not mentioned in guidance I've seen. In fact it still requires us to minimise time spent away from home, with work, medical issues and exercise as specific exceptions. It specifically prevents us staying in other homes and holiday homes.
More below.

But as a favour to me, could you show me the part of the guidance or regulations that makes you think that we can't stay in holiday homes, and must minimise time outside the home, but can stay in boats, caravans, tents etc?


1.1 What can I do that I couldn’t do before?
There are a limited number of things you can now do that you could not do before:

  • spend time outdoors – for example sitting and enjoying the fresh air, picnicking, or sunbathing
  • meet one other person from a different household outdoors - following social distancing guidelines
  • exercise outdoors as often as you wish - following social distancing guidelines
  • use outdoor sports courts or facilities, such as a tennis or basketball court, or golf course – with members of your household, or one other person while staying 2 metres apart
  • go to a garden centre
At all times, you should continue to observe social distancing guidelines when you are outside your home, including ensuring you are 2 metres away from anyone outside your household. As with before, you cannot:

  • visit friends and family in their homes
  • exercise in an indoor sports court, gym or leisure centre, or go swimming in a public pool
  • use an outdoor gym or playground
  • visit a private or ticketed attraction
  • gather in a group of more than two (excluding members of your own household), except for a few specific exceptions set out in law (for work, funerals, house moves, supporting the vulnerable, in emergencies and to fulfil legal obligations)
If you are showing coronavirus symptoms, or if you or any of your household are self-isolating, you should stay at home - this is critical to staying safe and saving lives.

1.2 I don’t have to stay at home anymore?
You should stay at home as much as possible. The reasons you may leave home include:

  • for work, where you cannot work from home
  • going to shops that are permitted to be open - to get things like food and medicine
  • to exercise or spend time outdoors
  • any medical need, including to donate blood, avoid injury or illness, escape risk of harm, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person
These reasons are exceptions and a fuller list is set out in the regulations. Even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent away from the home and ensuring that you are two metres apart from anyone outside of your household.

Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can't do
 
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