The 14-day rule: what counts as staying in one place?

The 14-day limit is the most concrete rule a continuous cruiser deals with, and the one most easily miscounted.

The clock runs from arrival

This sounds obvious and still catches people out. The 14 days count from when the boat arrived at the place, not from the last time you thought about it, moved a few feet, or noted your position.

It is why any log worth keeping has to distinguish between arriving somewhere and simply recording that you are still there. A record that resets whenever you make an entry will tell you that you are fine on the day you are not, which is worse than keeping no record at all.

Shuffling is not moving

Moving to the far side of a bridge, or a few hundred yards along the same visitor mooring, is generally treated as remaining in the same place. The expectation is a move to a different neighbourhood.

When you can stay longer

Genuine reasons exist — a breakdown, illness, or waiting on a stoppage that blocks your route. The Trust expects to be told rather than to work it out from a sighting record, and a contemporaneous note of why you stayed is worth having later.

Shorter limits also apply in some places. Plenty of visitor moorings are signed for 48 hours or seven days, and those override the general 14-day maximum.

Where signage sets a shorter limit than 14 days, the sign wins. Always read the mooring.