Patent ID: 7201624

Claim:
A mooring system for mooring a vessel to a floor portion of a body of water, said system comprising: a substantially rigid, elongate support member having a connecting point adjacent an upper end thereof to which a vessel can be connected, and being coupled adjacent a lower end thereof to an anchor on said floor portion; a displacement buoy slidably received on said support member such that the displacement buoy is capable of moving up and down said support member with wave movement; and an elongate resilient member operatively associated with the buoy such that upwards movement of the displacement buoy causes said resilient member to stretch, wherein, during use, the support member extends in a substantially vertical orientation in a body of water and, when the support member is urged to move off vertical, the buoy is urged by the surrounding water to slide up the support member and cause said resilient member to stretch, said resilient member thereby producing a self-centering force which acts to bias the support member to return to the substantially vertical orientation in the body of water, wherein said resilient member includes a first end coupled to the displacement buoy and a second opposite end coupled to the support member adjacent said lower end.