TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Boaty Ball

I know there are VERY differing opinions about Boaty Ball and I will probably have some longtime BVI cruiser friends pissed off at me but I have to give my experience with the system.

While there this November we used the Boaty Ball system for times that we didn't want to stress about getting a "spot" at our designated anchorage. To give you some background we had good friends aboard for the first part of the trip who we were trying to show our favorite spots to and for the 2nd part we had our kids aboard who hadn't been back to the BVI since 2019 and wanted to go to their favorite spots to show their friends/significant others. We relied on Boaty Ball for Cooper Island since you really aren't supposed to anchor there and if you do the holding can be iffy. We also relied on Boaty Ball when we knew we would be arriving later in the day (Great Harbor and Anegada). Lastly, we relied on it for Saba Rock because we wanted to fill up the tanks (halfway through our trip) and get a bag of ice. Right now this is included in the mooring ball fee.

The system worked flawlessly for this. I am up early anyway, taking the dog ashore for his morning duties, and so can easily get on the phone and book a ball. Not once was someone on our ball when we arrived. I was bummed to sometimes see a Boaty Ball that was reserved online, not be used. That brings me to the next part of my Boaty Ball story...

I had some internet glitches in the morning after Thanksgiving and didn't get on Boaty Ball until 7:10. All balls in Great Harbor were taken. There was a pretty good North Swell so Cane Garden and White Bay weren't an option. We were coming from Anegada so although arriving a bit later in the afternoon we decided to try Great Harbor anyway. There are some anchoring spots and they do have white balls available as well. Long story short, we saw a boat leaving Great Harbor that we knew had a Boaty Ball reserved for the night. They were 2 boats traveling together and so in passing we asked if they were going to use their ball tonight. They yelled back that they were going to Diamond Cay because there weren't any balls available. We assumed that it was because both boats needed a ball. We yelled back asking if we could have their ball to which they replied there aren't any balls available. We had seen this boat multiple times on the trip and they were definitely newbies so we figured they just didn't totally understand what we were asking. Of course they didn't answer their radio. So...first I sent an email to Boaty Ball asking them if it was ok for us to take over their ball. I then called the phone number of the ball owner, John Chinnery, to see what he thought. He called back right away and said he would contact the other boat to make sure they didn't plan on coming back for the ball. In the meantime I also got an email back from Ty with Boaty Ball. In my opinion, excellent customer service!

So, I know there is a lot of controversy about Boaty Ball and people think it is taking away from the local mooring owners but I disagree. First off, has anyone who is against Boaty Ball asked the local mooring ball owners what they think? I like Boaty Ball because they provide a product that helps you plan in advance. The mooring fee (minus their cut) goes to the original mooring owner (in our case in Great Harbor, John Chinnery) and the balls are serviced and maintained properly. We still dove on our balls but every Boaty Ball we dove on was in top shape. Not to mention you can pay by credit card so don't need to have cash in hand.

I do have to say, though, that I do not agree with their $479 extra upgrade to be able to reserve balls 24hrs in advance instead of at 7:00am the morning before.

excellent timing, I was just opening the popcorn

& just for info I'm a BoatyBall fan too, it's nice to be able to enjoy a good sail in the knowledge there'll be somewhere to moor on arrival.

Great info Carribeangirl13, thank you.

Caribbeangirl - I agree 100%. We used it last week on charter. Loved the freedom it gave us to stop and snorkel along the way, visit the bubbly pool, etc without rushing from point A to point B.

I've never used Boatyball, but I can see both sides. I tried to lay out some of the arguments in a post on my website.

https://yachtwarriors.com/what-is-boatyball/

If boatyball made one change I could get more onboard with the concept. Make all boatyballs first come first serve until 3PM. That way the balls would go back to being free for day stops to fill tanks or grab lunch. After 3 the reservation kicks in. I had a squatter on a ball in Diamond key last week. They said they had no idea what boatyball was and were there first.

Trying to see if I understand what you are saying. I think you are saying that instead of the reservation that you make at 7:00am being available starting at noon, you think it should not be available until 3pm which would allow day users to use it from the time the boat from the night before leaves until 3pm when the new boat gets to come on. Is that right?

Don't see the value in going down this road yet another time outside of entertainment...that is what Facebook is for

If OP is really interested you can just search the topic here

That’s correct. Anyone can use a empty boatyball until 3 PM. Even 2PM would be a improvement. That at least returns a portion of the free day use policy we had before. There should also be a easy method to show you won’t be using a boatyball if plans change. I am seeing empty boatyballs in otherwise full spots.

I'm not asking to "go down this road," I was giving our experience and actually correcting some myths that some had posted in other Boaty Ball threads. George, I really like your idea and I am going to email them this suggestion.

We can agree to disagree but I and others on this board had plenty of conversations with Ty, his partner, and their son on improvements they could do to include George's. Good luck.

I did end up contacting Boaty Ball about the improvement that George suggested and after hearing their response I understand why they have chosen to stick with a noon check out/check in to their balls. Basically they said that when they first launched Boaty Ball the check in time was 2 pm because they felt the same way George does and wanted to allow use for lunch visits. However, what happened in reality is that some boats that came for lunch often times decided to stay after going to the bar. By the time they needed to leave the ball at 2, all the first come first serve moorings were taken and they did not want to move. When they moved check in and check out to noon this problem was significantly reduced. Also, many people who reserve moorings like to show up before 2. I know we do. Our standard operating procedure when we are down there is to get up early and off to our next destination to enjoy our day.

They are working on trying to find a method for being able to cancel a ball if you aren't going to use it. They did bring to my attention that although I might see an empty ball in a bay, it might not have been a reservable ball as they take the balls off the reservation system if there is any issues that need to be addressed with the ball, ground tackle, etc. This actually made me feel better about the quality of the Boaty Balls.

This information is by no means put here to incite a Boaty Ball debate. I said I would follow up and I did so wanted to share the information.