TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands BoatyBall help

I am unable to even sign up on the website. It just spins when I enter the info and press enter. The "send us a message" link also didn't work. Headed to the BVI in a few days and thought Id give it a try. So far not impressed. Thanks.

Finally got it to work after several days of trying. Thx

We used the site several times last week to reserve balls in Anegada (2x) JVD and others. Make darn sure your CC will allow international transactions to avoid last minute scrambling.

Maybe your difficulty meant don’t bother. It’s not worth the effort.

What a load of Cr-p, Airlines are enough of a hassle why doesn’t everyone call their charter company and tell them to tell boaty ball to disappear.
Who needs this Petty aggravation?

BoatyBall uses a US based credit card processing company so there shouldn’t be too much of an issue with the credit card companies. Additionally, Firefox has some issues loading and running the “app” which is something we are working on but it’s worth noting when trying to sign up.

I love Boatyball. The app works flawlessly. The few times I had an issue the customer service was spot on helpful.

I have found the app to be less than flawless but would agree their customer service has been helpful...

Sheep

Congratulations on your job Alec. You always said that you did not work at BB. I guess “we are working on “ unless you meant “they” implies you work there.

By the way, I hear that it’s quiet up at Anegada. May not be any reason to use boatyball if lots of fcfs is available.

When we pass through I will report back.

We've been at Anegada for 6 nights - about 20 boats most nights, always some FCFS moorings available, plus plenty of inexpensive anchoring room.

Thank you very much Warren. Since I’m back from college for the summer I’ve been able to work for BoatyBall a little bit; it’s been a great learning experience so far. Cheers

I spoken to Moorings previously and relayed I dont think this is good for either boaters and businesses that choose to use BB.

The latter issue has to deal with the "boatyball hole" which mainly happens in the off season. As an example in Cane Garden right now at 5pm not one single boaty ball is reserved out of 10. Yet if you pull up the webcam you will see plenty of boats in the harbor presumably at FCFS balls. Why pay $10 more to be locked into times when you dont need to?

Taking this further lets assume I wanted to go to CGB today. I could just watch the app and see if anything was reserved and then go in whenever and if I cant find an FCFS ball hop on a boaty ball as 2nd choice. So BB owners lose to non BB owners. In fact I am sure someone could go in and "squat" on a BB mooring right now and not be bothered as the fare collectors will skip over the BB balls....

Mainly my issue with BB has been the deceptive and disingenuous way it has been portrayed from the start...at some point I imagine it will catch up with BB from the businesses and when that happens maybe there will be change.

Baaaaa

Bailout,
like you said in your last paragraph, these guys figured they could con the charterers like they con their parents into thinking they’re 100% and they’ve got it together and they felt they could fool the Belongers on top of it all and they did.

For now maybe...but I assume at some point our friends at Rhymers will figure out they just lost potentially $300 cash in just one day. Even worse they just helped their mooring ball competitors (assuming Rhymers doesn't own the whole field) at CGB by becoming a less attractive, less flexible, and more expensive option. I find the slope on the downside of a reputation to be much steeper than the upside so we will see how long it takes the "belongers" to figure this out.

"You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

I hope that you are well paid. Enjoy your summer break.

I have used Boaty Ball on several(about a dozen) occasions during my 8 weeks in BVI this season, especially when my plans were to not reach the anchorage until later in the day. This included most recent trip when I picked up part of my crew in RT after they arrived on Ferry at 5pm. I was happy knowing we would have a ball at Cooper Island as we arrived at 6:30. Also appreciate having Orange ball at Great Harbor, allowing us to loiter at White Bay longer than in the past.

Many days I could care less as my plans are flexible. I have had very few issues with BB. (Had to politely ask 2 boats to move on separate occasions in January, and they responded appropriately..

I have other friends (experienced boaters) who have used BB and enjoy the features. I have seen Scuba Doo on orange balls on many occasions. For the nay-sayers out there, try it on your next trip, especially more busy season than now.

Allowing me to remain on the water on MY schedule is worth the extra $10.

Wes, I'll just ask if you are representing 1830 hrs as a legit time for arrival in a mooring field for bareboats. Does that work for North Sound and Anegada ?

Is there an "App" for your phone or do you have to just log in on the web site and try and secure a ball from their web site? Thanks

The “app” term is a little misleading. The map interface is what our developers call a “progressive web based app” but it essentially means that the map interface is designed to be run off of a phone or mobile device. So in short there is no app in the App Store but you can save the interface to your home screen and it will function similarly to one.

So once again...the balls are owned by the local places on shore. There is nothing deceptive about it. Boatyball is simply facilitating reservation and payments for Anegada Reef Hotel, Leverick Bay, Rhymers, etc. I don't know why this can't be understood by so many. You are angry at the very establishments you want to patronize for setting up a mooring reservation system for it's guests.

I am not angry at the establishments. It’s the concept of reserving the balls that bothers many off us. To start with I often don’t know where I want to spend the night until lunchtime. I often overnight where there is no internet. I am also concerned people with a reservation having spent the money on a ball will not make prudent changes to their destination given the ever changing weather. There are other issues also. The balls at Cooper are to close to each other and with the current issues there can lead to boats coming together. The standard rule is last in first out. Is a reservation holder going to move over to a FCFS ball if he was last in and a conflict happens?
Right now the ability to get a boatyball at Cooper hinges on who has the fastest internet. Will we have start buying special boatyball internet packages to get the highest speed?
G

I think at this point most people understand how it works...and as I have previously stipulated from the very beginning both publicly and privately to the BB owners part of the deception was not just marketing BB as "simply facilitating reservations and payments" as you suggest. I am not angry at the establishments (or anyone else on this board)....more concerned that they are being taken advantage of.

The phone or mobile "app" runs just like the computer version and is fine....and I have tried BB numerous times over a few trips since implementation

It seems you don’t get it.
How about if they did the same with all the supermarkets you visit and you had to get up at 7:00am to purchase a parking reservation and then you decide to visit another market where you don’t have a reservation.

That's a very good point I had never considered and it makes total sense now. I think if I had to pay $30 to park my $1m car in Tortola but I had the option to pick my spot for $10 extra, I'd make a reservation. If was driving around in a super expensive car that I also lived and cooked in but couldn't afford the extra $10, I would probably start growing my own vegetables. Thanks.

Wes is arriving at 6:30 as the owner of the boat. Otherwise that time is normally too late for a charter boat operator.

We just arrived at Cooper Island. It’s 1pm. All boatyballs are reserved. Lots of fcfs balls available. Poor people spent 33% more on an boaty ball vs a fcfs ball. I feel bad about the pressure they are under to reserve a ball.

Does it really matter about the cost of the boat? not likely it’s about the nuisance of making more reservations without the ability to change it.

SO much nonsense. At least 15 different reasons why Boatyball is a completely S### idea completely worse than what existed before and apparently designed by children who just don't get it...which has been stated so many times already on this forum. No issue has ever brought so much controversy and anger!

...bring back BEYC and Saba mooring-fields and then hopefully they will vanish as quickly as they appeared.

Until then, I will be anchoring / FCFS.

For what it's worth, 4 weeks in the BVI in May/June this year and had no issues finding FCFS. Most nights there were FCFS free but all the Children's balls were full.

This has to be my favorite response on this topic so far.

If you are comfortable and happy with FCFS, then what's the beef? Oh yes, it reduces the overall pool of FCFS. Well then, it appears that most FCFS'ers are quite comfortable with anchoring, and also happy with the fact that anchoring is free. So what's the beef? Oh yes, some peeps might just want an alternative and perhaps the opportunity to stay on the water longer. Not cool, say the FCFS'ers! Oh, but what about the folks that will put vessels and passengers at harm in order to not lose out on that reservation fee? Feh - people have done stupid things before BoatyBall and will continue to do stupid things afterwards. BoatyBall doesn't encourage stupid anymore than it will fix it.

I remain a proponent of it and hope to use it in our upcoming Spring 2020 trip.

Update. At 5pm at least a half dozen fcfs balls available.

UPDATE 7pm.its getting dark here at Cooper.

I still see 2 free fcfs balls near us.

The childrens balls were all booked.

Most Charter contracts have agreement to be moored/anchored by a certain time. It is the responsibility of skipper to obey the agreement.

I was not restricted by any agreement.

Wes-

Random question for you...is Sea Tiger decked out with Clemson motif?

Yep. I see her quite often in Cane. My girlfriend has been waiting to see her under sail as she's a Clemson grad and is hoping to see the custom sail from our house some day!

If you go there sailing.com you can see some images. Or go to the sea tigervfacebook page for more.

Cool...we see that boat all the time down there and although not a grad of Clemson am still a fan which is tempered somewhat because my son is a Gamecock...:)

At the second to last paragraph you mention people people have done stupid things before and will continue to do stupid things afterward... Would you like to elaborate on it?

YES... My wife is a Clemson alum... also my son is recent grad. (I am not, but I am a Clemson fan). Happy Wife, Happy Life!

FB: Sea TigerBVI... Have a new video to post (Drone view)

We have taken Gamecocks with us... Sometimes we bring them back;-)

(South Carolina University Gamecocks are in state rivalry of Clemson University Tigers).

I have been on the plane with Gamecocks. They made a lot of noise and wanted out of the bag. In fact one guy was so proud of one he took it out of the bag and showed it to us.

Was that you?