The Harbor Column:

While you are reading my column, I am cruising the Caribbean aboard Princess Cruises’ ship the Sea Princess, but today, I will be saying goodbye to my lounge chair on the ship’s Lido deck. The ship will be stopping in Barbados, where we will be staying at the Hilton for a few days. My goal is to find a comparable lounge chair on the white sandy beaches surrounding this five-star resort situated on a lush tropical peninsula known as Needham’s Point.

I will give you the highlights of my travels in next week’s column.

Tip of the week is for boaters and anglers to contact their members of Congress to co-sponsor and support House Resolution 2548, the Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act of 2009. Waterfront properties are being developed into condos, and the developments push out marine businesses from the only location where they can do business.

Now there is a bill in Congress that would provide federal funding to coastal and Great Lakes states to help preserve and protect working waterfronts. Introduced in May by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and cosponsored by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), the legislation would allow local governments to use federal grant funds to purchase a threatened marina outright, or a nonprofit group could obtain a grant to buy development rights, rather than see the property sold for residential development.

“Water-dependent, coastal-related, businesses are economically and culturally important places to many coastal communities, and working waterfronts are quickly disappearing under the tremendous pressures from incompatible uses,” Pingree said.

The passage of HR 2548 would be particularly timely in that it would amend the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, now up for congressional reauthorization. States have to develop a working waterfront plan and appoint an advisory committee to be eligible for $25 million, $50 million or $75 million over three successive years.

Any grants must provide for expansion or improvement of public access to coastal waters, and there is a funding match requirement of 25% by nonfederal funds. “That would put decision making where it should be, closer to the people and the businesses that depend on the waterfront in a given state,” said Ryck Lydecker, boat U.S. assistant vice president of government affairs.

You can read the bill and obtain sample letters to send to Congress at www.BoatUS.com/workingwaterfronts.

MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating columnist. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to [email protected] or go to www.boathousetv.com .