Loading

ooring Buoys and Anchoring on the B.C. Coast

The Rules and Regulations

mooring buoy

Over the last few summers my boating friends and I have had some conversations about the growing number of mooring buoys appearing in some of our favourite anchorages and the challenge they can present when you want to drop the hook. We have also had conversations about sharing the cost of installing mooring buoys in multiple spots so that we can guarantee a spot -- and decided not to because of concern about adding to the congestion in favourite anchorages. This has led to further discussion about what is legal and what isn’t and under whose jurisdiction anchoring regulations and mooring buoy installations fall.

As I researched this article I found lots of heated debate. Many boaters and landowners are choked about derelict boats and mooring buoys. Of course derelict boats and mooring buoys that present a hazard to navigation (or anchoring) are an issue for boaters. It is easy to understand this concern. It is less easy to understand landowners who buy waterfront property and then resent boaters anchoring in nearby waters. Landowners who do not have a foreshore lease and have legal rights when it comes to boats anchoring in nearby waters. I am a landowner with a waterfront view and boats are part of the view! It would be a very sterile outlook without them.

The other side to the mooring buoy argument is the lack of available moorage and the rising cost of it. At the time of this writing, I looked up moorage for sale in Vancouver’s False Creek and found two listings: moorage for a 60 foot boat priced at 698,000 plus monthly strata fees and parking and a second for 596,000 for a 50 foot boat. No this does not include a condo!

anchored

Given the escalation in land prices in the last decade, a marina with a mortgage is an expensive proposition. This makes for fewer marinas, less marina space and a tendency for marinas to want to upgrade and charge whatever the market will bear. This can lead to a sad scenario where locals are no longer part of the scene -- as is the case in certain Vancouver neighborhoods -- Coal Harbour in Vancouver for example, where many of the condos there are owned by people who do not live in them. Local business hurts when this happens.

Yes there is a problem with the growing number of mooring buoys and with derelict boats, floats and buoys. But we need to think about creative solutions rather than just dropping down another mooring buoy or pointing fingers at the derelict ones. I just spent two days in Cowichan tied up to the dock run by the Cowichan Bay Fishermans Wharf Association. This was the government dock that was taken over by the Association. In 2009 they received federal grant money to help them expand and build new docks. So when you are lobbying government, make sure you consider positive actions as well as the dollars required for ripping out mooring buoys that pose a hazard to navigation.

Leaving the pros and cons of installing a mooring bouy aside, and the arguments for and against from all parties, I decided to research the rules and regulations around anchoring and mooring. I wrote Transport Canada and corresponded with a very helpful manager there who sent me the most recent and relevant governing documents.

Anchoring Regulations

at anchor

In general, you can anchor anywhere as long as you are not impeding traffic and you are anchored for a reasonable length of time.

However there are some restrictions on anchoring -- restrictions on anchoring are regulated pursuant to the Canada Shipping Act 2001. An example of a restriction are the rules regulating anchorage in False Creek, in Vancouver. To deal with concerns on volume of boat traffic and length of time boats were anchoring in False Creek, the City of Vancouver requested that the Canadian Coast Guard pursue a boating restriction regulation under the Canada Shipping Act to restrict the length of time that boats can anchor in False Creek. The request was carried out and since 2006, boaters who want to anchor in False Creek must pick up a permit which is administered by the City of Vancouver and are restricted to 14 day stays during the summer season. Additional restrictions may apply in Ports regulated by the Canada Marine Act such as Vancouver Port, Nanaimo, and Prince Rupert.

Some government-designated parks also restrict access. For example, you can only stay for 14 days in Tod Inlet (near Brentwood Bay in the Saanich Inlet). No permits are required but B.C. Parks Board Staff will hand out notices if you stay longer than the specified limit.

Mooring Buoy Regulations

The installation of private mooring buoys is regulated through the Private Buoys Regulations which are part of the Canada Shipping Act 2001. Transport Canada has supplemented the Regulations a policy document which I have summarized below:

If you only want to install a single mooring buoy, you do not need to apply for permission to the Navigable Waters Protection Program of Transport Canada as long as you meet the following criteria:

  1. The buoy is secured by a single anchor line.
  2. The mooring buoy including swing area is:
    placed no less than 20m from any existing structure located within the limits of the waterway;
    placed at least 50m from any public launch ramp, marina, known navigation channel, and;
    if a free swinging mooring is installed, it must allow for a clear circular radius equal to three times the length of the vessel.
  3. Moored vessels must comply with the Collision Regulations of the Canada Shipping Act 2001 (which have to do with having an anchor light)
  4. The buoy is marked as per the Private Buoy Regulations, summarized below: The part of the buoy that shows above the surface of the water must be at least 15.25 cm wide and at least 30.5cm high.
  5. The buoy displays, on opposite sides, the capital letters “PRIV” . The letters must be as large as what is practical for the size of the buoy. The letters must be white when the background colour is red, green or black. The letters must be black when the background colour is white or yellow.
  6. The buoy complies with the requirements set out in Canadian Aids to Navigation (TP 968) published by the Canadian Coast Guard in 1995, as amended from time to time. (The Coast Guard has published a document which includes these requirements as well as some very helpful information on how to construct and install a mooring buoy.)
  7. The buoy displays, in a conspicuous location and in a permanent and legible manner, the name, address and telephone number of its owner. This information must be accurate at all times.
  8. The buoy is constructed and maintained in a manner and with materials that ensure that it remains in position and retains the characteristics specified above.
  9. The buoy’s anchor is constructed and maintained in a manner and with materials that ensure that it remains in position.

Anyone wanting to install a mooring buoy that meets one or all of the following criteria must submit an application for review under the provisions of the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA):

  • The placement of more than two mooring buoys by one proponent
  • A mooring buoy intended for a vessel exceeding 20m in length
  • The placement of a mooring buoy in a waterway that is less than 100m wide

Transport Canada is authorized to remove mooring buoys that do not comply with the Private Buoy Regulations. Given that there are many buoys that do not comply, Transport Canada must focus on buoys that constitute a significant obstruction to navigation. If you see a buoy that is a significant obstruction to navigation, report it to PacNWP-PENPac@tc.gc.ca

mooring buoy

Helpful Links

 

Written by Susan O'Rourke
Photos by Ian Cook

Comment on this article