LIKE VANDWELLERS STEALTH CAMPING IN CITIES, dozens of boat dwellers anchor full time in San Francisco Bay. Their various reasons match ours. Freedom, economic pressures, distain for conventional society… And, like us, they’re surrounded by hostility. And laws. 

After decades of officials looking the other way, the regulations are being enforced due to pressure from environmentalists and wealthy (and therefore influential) waterfront homeowners. Boats are being confiscated and demolished, creating more homeless people.

The video below tells their story. It’s one we know well. One difference, though, is that we have way more places we can legally live our nonconforming lives. For the anchor-outs, there are only so many bays and harbors. And so little tolerance.