Over the past hundred years, cruising on a boat as a lifestyle has blossomed, even as knowledge of our nautical heritage has diminished amongst our ever more urban population. As a result, the cruising lifestyle is often under threat from organizations that do not understand what we do, why we do it, and what is involved in doing it.

Cruisers often find themselves at odds with local waterfront landowners who don’t want them anchored near their properties and all too often, the local authorities side with those homeowners without a second thought. At times they even create local ordinances that make anchoring, or even going ashore, difficult if not impossible, and sometimes even illegal.  In the past few years, we see this happening most frequently in the warmer coastal states, such as Florida. Unfortunately, we are now seeing other states such as Georgia, North Carolina and even farther up the eastern seaboard, starting to have or in process of passing local ordinances that create difficulties for those wishing to explore those waters.

The Cruisers Rights Network of North America (CRNNA) is an organization specifically set up to protect the rights of cruising boaters of all types. To that end, we get involved in outreach and negotiations with the various local or state authorities, from state legislatures to municipal councils, to help broker workable solutions for both sides of this equation.