TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Savannah Bay

Is the entrance to Bay through the reef marked or is it simply a watcher on the bow? Is anchoring there redlined by charter companies? Finally, on a bigger Cat with no northerly swell, is it a protected (comfortable) overnight? I tried searching TTOL and very few posts other than a few years mostly positive comments. There must be a reason there are not more discussion....

Going down in a week!!

From Active Captain: (These are pretty old reports)

Entrance to Savannah Bay

Last Updated:1/22/2008
18°27'59.7" N, 64°25'33.4" W
Summary
Inlet
Savannah Bay is well protected by a nice reef system lying 700 feet or so off the shore. Stay well to the right when entering. You will feel like you are too close to the cliffs on your right. Put someone on the bow to watch for coral heads. Not really as sketchy as it might appear. Well worth the touchy entrance to enjoy the awesome anchorage.

Savannah Bay

Last Updated:9/18/2018
18°27'57.4" N, 64°25'12.4" W
Summary
Anchorage
Small to medium sized anchorage. Easily holds 6 boats. Good to moderate holding in sand. 15 feet of water typical. No mooring balls makes it a nice escape from the charter crowds. Good snorkeling within swimming distance of the boat. INCREDIBLE, deserted beaches. Probably a better anchorage during a summer weather pattern when the winds are out of the SE, good get rolly when out of the NE

I was there recently on a paddleboard and did not see any markers for a channel. There were 2 boats anchored inside.

There are no markers at Savannah. If you haven't been in there before it should be no problem entering in good light in light wind conditions with either a watcher on the bow, or looking at the depth sounder and the water colors while motoring in slowly. Once tucked between the reefs it truly is wonderful place to stay!

TMM has a fragment of their chart on this page:
https://sailtmm.com/sample-itineraries

It looks like they permit entering Savannah Bay. There are red areas marking the reef, but the rest of the bay is not colored red.

Dan

Hmm….I will check with TMM when we get back to base as I am pretty sure it is a no entry area. As an owner I would definitely hope it is.

Great - thank you

Talked to Barney Crook over at TMM - Savannah Bay is off limits for charterers.

Great news - thanks for confirming that Peter.

Most actually overnight at the far end..called Pond Bay. If a squall comes by, the wind can really whistle through there and get squirrelly. We have a place on Virgin Gorda and spend a lotta time at our favorite beach..Savannah Bay. Sometime around 2007 or 2008 a charter cat got blown on the reef and broken up…there were pieces of fiberglass hitting the beach for months.

We also had a boat withTMM for a good while. My wife and I were staying on VG and were at Savannah and I had been taking pictures and a boat similar to ours was coming toward Savannah Bay. It was heading straight for the center of the bay..not an approach. As it got closer I could tell it was indeed our boat. As it got even closer, I begin to worry because it kept coming straight in and not turning toward the LittleDix side of Savannah. As it got right to the outer reef, they made a u turn and left.

It was only after I put the photo card on the computer and enlarged the pics we saw that the couple were wearing their birthday best. I was happy not to watch my boat on a reef ..but I did spray down the seats when we took her out.

Like White Bay, most of the time you will be fine. See a ton of the sailing school boats in there in the summer, but it’s not foolproof. If it’s redlined by your charter co. You certainly don’t want that liability.