Boaters organize to fight city hall
The Sarasota (Fla.) Harbor Community Association is the boaters' answer to years of grumbling by officials about the free anchorage in Sarasota Bay.
The city has tried a more restrictive approach, spending more than half a million dollars on a mooring field that would cost boaters at least $250 a month.
But the moorings did not hold in the bay bottom and while city officials mull their next move, the boaters hope to prove that they can govern themselves.
"Our attitude is, if we can self-police and self-manage, it's a win-win for the boaters and the city and everyone involved," says Randy Morningstar, a retired computer network engineer, sailor and, now, the boaters' association first president.
