TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Late departure for Anegada

Due to a late morning business call, we cannot leave Leverick Bay until after noon. Would moorings/ anchorage at Anegada be all taken before we arrived (3:30-4:00?).

Would hate to get there and have to return ( possibly after dark).

We always anchor at Anegada. The holding is very good in front of the commercial dock. It is marked in the cruising guide. I would plan on that as a back up.

Great holding at Anegada. I prefer to anchor rather then use a Mooring. I sleep better on the hook after a couple of bad Mooring ball experiences.
G

Can you please expand on your bad Mooring ball experiences? Hoping to learn potential problems to look for...

Thanks!

This yacht woke up aground on Anegada after the mooring ball pendant failed.

I believe that BEYC moorings are not maintained by Moor Secure as most other mooring fields. The cost is more per night and historically they have been questionable,

That is correct. The ground tackle was in terrible shape. I checked and BEYC maintains their own balls and does not use moor secure. Their maintenance seemed to consist of replacing the moorings that failed.

I'll take a 40lb Delta anchor, 3/8' BBB, and 75' of chain in 15' of water any day over a mooring ball

You guys are making me feel better about planning 6 of 10 nights on the hook in June. I had no idea there were this many failures. Do any of you set an anchor alarm when you are on a ball?

Not all spots have the holding and protection of Anegada. It is outstanding. If chartering keep in mind if a mooring "busts" you likely have no responsibility . If you anchor in Great Harbor or Cooper and end up on the rocks, not so much. Pick your spots to drop the hook carefully unless you are familiar.

Steve ... I use an anchor alarm even when on a mooring with any weather predicted because of the stories above. Yes, I occasionally get awakened without any real threat, but I consider it part of my responsibility as Captain. The app I use is "DragQueen" ... I'm sure there are many good ones, but I just think the name is hysterical and it has proven accurate. Have a great trip! - Mark

To keep it in perspective I should mention this was over probably 100 weeks afloat in the BVI.

This is not correct. The Mooring companies do not have any relationship with the charter companies. If a ball fails and your boat is damaged you are liable up to the deductible on the boat. I suppose you could try to sue whoever owned the failed ball to recover what you pay the charter company however given the standard Mooring agreements and the BVI courts plus travel expenses I doubt it's worth the effort.
G

In the places that give a mooring ball receipt, the receipt states specifically that you are using the mooring at your own risk and that the mooring ball operator has no liability for any damage that may occur due to a failure of the mooring.

Many of the balls on Anegada are installed, owned and operated by local individuals. Use of them is definitely at your own risk!

Indeed you are both correct legally. I recall reading on some of those reciepts that if the wind was over 40 kts you were to get off their ball. Yeah right. . I was mainly responding to the poster who planned to anchor most nights. He may be like the fellow I talked to last month anchored off Marina cay on a charter who runs a week long excursion boat in Alaska in the summer. Obviously anchoring in the BVi is child's play for him.
But many chartering have little experience anchoring overnight on a vessel the size of the charter boat. Indeed when we had a boat in charter I got to buy a couple windlass. Some believe it's there to "reel" the boat to the anchor. I saw a cat that spent the night in pond bay a few years ago totally splintered on the reef. I've had a boat drag in Great Harbor, from the same exact location, same scope and anchor that worked probably 30 times. I've listened to skippers drag chain against the bottom of hull not knowing where the anchor was or having a spotter signaling.
I've seen a cat drop anchor in coral off Guana. Witnessed a chase to catch a boat that drug from Sandy Cay. Seen people anchoring in mooring fields or so close to outer balls they interfere. So for the average charterer I think a ball or slip is safer for his crew and the boat and the seabed.

Dang, didn't realize this was such an issue. My last bareboat trip was before the BVI mooring ball era. Trying to get a sense for how often it's an issue - ie, in a typical season with thousands of boats on balls, how many times do they let go? A couple times, one a week, etc?

Backing down on a mooring ball or anchor to 2000-2500 rpms for 15-20 seconds helps ease my mind a bit. While that is probably standard practice for most on this board, I see many charterers pull up to a ball, slip their lines through the pendant, tie off, and then immediately jump in the dinghy and head to shore. I do see more people backing down while anchoring, but it is kind of inherent in the anchoring process and I think that most novice charterers go to extreme measures to avoid anchoring - at least in the BVIs. Backing down doesn't offer any guarantees, but at least it is a proactive step to make sure there isn't an impending failure with the ball or your anchor set.

++ As a novice sailor with one successful charter in the BVI's and only a couple of experience rungs above a credit card captain - I agree with this statement!

I would rather trust a ball than my own anchoring skill at this stage in my sailing life. That's not to say that I carelessly trust the mooring balls, lines and tackle. First night of our charter last year at coopers, snagged the last mooring ball available at the time. looking at the line, there was no steel eye and the line was evidently frayed and looked like a strong breeze from breaking. Told the crew that I didn't like the mooring line and if we could't find another ball we would need to head to Great Harbour Peter island. Luckily another mooring ball opened up and we quickly snagged that. My caution wasn't replicated by the big power cat that took the compromised mooring ball that I left, however. Luckily for him (and the rest of the mooring field!) he was still attached in the morning.

If you do not think that your anchoring skills are sufficient for the size of vessel that you are on, then you have no business being the skipper of that vessel.

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Maybe I am too humble for my own good. I did not mean to suggest that I do not know how to anchor just that I feel more comfortable using a mooring ball. There may be a time when I have years more sailing experience and charters under my belt when this will be the case. But at this time, I am confident in my skills (and my sailing training) but not too arrogant to think I know everything and not know my limits. I will sail within them and learn as I go. This is why I have chosen to sail in the BVIs, to continue to learn in a sailing ground from which to build on my existing sailing skills and knowledge to become a better sailer.

Anegada is one place that I feel far more secure on my own anchor than on a mooring. I highly recommend anchoring here to build your experience and confidence setting and tending an anchor.

Uncle luff, if you decide to anchor don't try it in front of Neptunes Treasure where after a few feet of sand it's a rock hard or coral bottom and the anchor can drag in a squall.

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> I will definitely consider this. thanks for the suggestion. I will have an opportunity to practice this June! if all goes well. cheers!