TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Saba Rock, BoatyBalls, etc...

So it looks like lately we're on an every-three-years schedule. About to head down on Aug 1 for 7 nights out, and haven't been to the BVI since before the storm. A few questions:

1) I saw some posts that imply that mooring balls at Saba/BEYC may not be in operation, is that true? What about the handful of balls at the Sand Bar?

2) I tripped over this neat new thing called BoatyBall and came here to ask questions, and wasn't surprised to see all of the posts! What I couldn't find is information on how many BBs are currently at various anchorages vs. # of "regular" balls. If I go to the BB site, it looks like there are 15 (!) BB balls at Cooper, for instance. Is that true? If so, how many FCFS balls are left? Is there a definitive reference that shows current # of BB and FCFS balls at various locs?

3) Are there still overnight balls at White Bay JvD? Any of them BB?

4) Is the WIllie T currently in Great Harbour PI, or is it headed back to The Bight?

-dan

1) I believe they are not in operation but some folks are still using them.
2) I don't know a source for the number of FCFS balls in each location. In CGB there are about 30.
3) Yes. No.
4) It's back in the Bight

Hi Dan. I was down there about a month ago and this is what I noticed.

1) the mooring balls at Saba Rock and BEYC are still in place, but they haven’t been maintained since Irma. I think the BEYC is working on getting theirs fixed though, but I’m not sure when they’ll have them finished.

2) off the top of my head the number of BB and FCFS breaks down like this:
Cooper Island: 15BB, 25 FCFS (15 are owned by cooper island beach club and 10 by another family)
Anegada: 10BB and +\- 20 FCFS
CGB: 10 BB and +\- 30 FCFS
Leverick Bay: 10 BB and 20 FCFS
JVD: 5 BB at great Harbour and 5 at Diamond Key. About 20 FCFS balls at both

3) I think there are 5 FCFS moorings at White Bay and no BB

4) Willy T is back in the Bight. Plenty of FCFS moorings there too btw.

Check bvimariner.com It has good information on the number of fcfs and boaty balls. Great information about all the anchorages around the islands. Enjoy

Anegada has 20 brand new FCFS balls owned by the Wonky Dog.

You should have no problem finding fcfs balls everywhere you go.

The only caveat is Cooper. Get there early and spend the money you save on food and drinks.

Anegada had far more fcfs balls than Alec indicates.

Alec should declare that he works for boatyball and would be biased towards their use.

His opinion would not be impartial.

Hi Alec you are miles off on Anegada 10 boatyball but 40+ fcfs moorings

Good to know. Thanks for the correction

And if there were only 20fcfs balls, that would increase the desire / or need to use boaty ball.

JVD white bay....4 to east and 5 to west all fcfs

JVD white bay....4 to east and 5 to west all fcfs

Let's hope It stays that way

It’s obvious FCFS will be eliminated. It wouldn’t be cost efficient to have them

The Setting Point, Anegada page on BVI Mariner has been updated to reflect 20 new FCFS mooring balls as reported by The Wonky Dog ... as has the overall Anchorages map (see HERE).

As a reminder, BVI Mariner was established to provide up-to-date information (not opinions) about BVI anchorages, marinas, etc. in an effort to assist mariners in planning their charter/visit. The concept is for mariners to post their Observations when visiting a specific anchorage (e.g. number of available mooring balls, available amenities ashore, etc.) to the BVI Mariner site as a way to keep the data accurate and useful for all.

Thanks! - Mark