By Michael Farrell
Staff writer
July 07, 2008 12:05 am Gloucester Harbor regulators may be right in looking to add 124 new moorings to the southeast portion of the harbor beyond the Paint Factory site, but some boaters say officials could get a better handle on the need if they better policed and followed up the status of present mooring slots. Speaking at a public hearing of the Gloucester Waterways Board, boat owner Jim Morris recalled that when he got on the Gloucester mooring waiting list, he was No. 625 in line. According to Morris, the list was shrinking at a rate of five moorings a year — meaning the wait period would last up to 125 years. "I don't expect to be around that long," he said. But Cate Banks, a Gloucester resident, said she believes that if harbor regulations were more adequately enforced, the city would be able to weed out a number of moorings that are not being used by their owners and reassign them to people on the wait list. Last week's meeting drew some 25 owners of both commercial and recreational boats, and a number noted that upon returning to their moorings after a day on the water, they noticed that moorings around theirs were empty. Some suggested that since moorings are so hard to come by, some boat owners hold on to them even after they, for whatever reason, stop boating out of Gloucester. At the core of the talks is a proposal to add the 124 new moorings with an eye toward easing the waiting list that still sits at 77, according to Waterways Board members. The board hosted the meeting to get feedback from the public regarding the mooring plan. Gloucester resident Mike McMann said the plan marks "a great first step." "I thank the board for considering it," he said. Waterways Committee Chairman Peter Bent said that looking into who is or isn't using moorings that are spoken for isn't an easy task. It's hard to tell if a mooring is empty because it is not being used, or if the owner is simply out on a cruise, he noted. Additionally, because boaters are only required to moor their boat for 60 days a year, the owner may not yet have put his or her boat in the water. According to Harbormaster Jim Caulkett, with this summer's high gas prices, many boaters have not put their boats in yet. Bent acknowledged, however, that there are boaters who take advantage of this ambiguity and that something needs to be done about it. One solution is to increase mooring fees to pay for more policing of the harbor. Currently, the mooring fee is $4 per foot for a resident and $6 a foot for a nonresident. Bent noted that one of the reasons the board is looking into adding new moorings in the harbor is the potential for additional revenue. When the board asked the city if it could increase fees, city officials suggested adding additional moorings instead. Bent emphasized that the new moorings — not regulatory enforcement — were the issue of the public hearing. Board member Jim Sawyer said the No. 1 issue was that the people wanted more moorings — a need that everyone in attendance appeared to support. One of the primary concerns raised by citizens was the minimum amount of space that should be required between moorings. According to research conducted by Caulkett, it was determined that 124 moorings can be placed in the southeastern harbor, a space between Wonson's Cove and the Dog Bar breakwater, at a distance of 150 feet from each other. Bent said early in the meeting that the extra space was necessary because lobstermen like to set traps near moorings because the moorings attract lobsters. This space provided the means for the lobstermen to move about the moored boats without hitting them. Some at the meeting, however, felt that 150 feet was too small a distance. But Bent noted that the 150-foot limit is not a fixed distance for every boat. When the harbormaster assigns moorings, he will determine the distance between the moorings based on the boat's size. Many at the meeting felt that new moorings could be placed all around the harbor. After the meeting, however, Caulkett explained the difficulty of placing moorings in the harbor. Because the western half of the harbor is a shipping lane, is more exposed to the elements, and is where the sewer drains out, it is unsuitable for moorings except for Freshwater Cove, which is already filled to capacity with 20 moorings. The Annisquam River is also a difficult area to place moorings, because federal regulations require the central channel of the river remain clear. Michael Farrell can be reached at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com
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