It’s hard to believe Florida boaters need to fight for the right to use state waterways, something we’ve taken for granted since time immemorial. But with anti-boating and animal-rights groups chiseling away at marina construction, speed zones and boat ramps, it’s definitely time to make a statement.

You can do just that at a statewide rally March 12—basically an informal gathering of boaters on any and all waters of the state. Save Family Boating and Citizen’s for Florida’s Waterways groups urge you to call newspapers and other media sources for coverage, the goal being to show a unified front to the Florida Legislature, which convenes next week.

”We want boaters across Florida to take to the waters to tell the Legislature: Save family boating,” said one CFFW spokesman. “With the recent changes in the law and the fact that this is a non-election year there is a good chance we may get some real relief from the draconian rules inflicted on the boaters by this fake manatee ‘crisis’.”

Some examples of boaters’ problems:
Cocoa: privatization of the last public access marina.

Cocoa Beach: long travel times and a loss of watersports because the entire city and its waterways are now idle speed.

Lee County: federal emergency rules that mock a judge's verdict.

Broward County:  Manatee Protection Plan destroys years of work developing a true Marine Master Plan.

Duval County:  building restrictions almost deflated the Super Bowl.

Tampa Bay:  an effective ban on new marinas.

“In Brevard, we've conducted two in-water rallies, both widely publicized,” said spokesman Robin Turner. “Now is the time to take it statewide. We had hundreds of boats at both rallies and got a tremendous amount of publicity from each one. It's one thing to fill up a meeting room. It's another to fill up the water. Call your local TV and radio stations and newspapers and let them know. Make sure your rally is somewhere with high visibility like a causeway or next to a major highway.”

Contact Robin Turner at robin@savefamilyboating.org or Steve Webster at vp@cffw.org.