TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Same question again: buoy reservation

We will go sailing in the bvi for the first time next week from 03/28 to 04/06 and plan to go to the bight, Peter Island, Great Harbour JVD, Marina Cay, Anegada and BEYC. At some of these spots it's possible to make a reservation for a buoy at boatyball. Will this really be necessary everywhere? When should we be there if we don't have a reservation and look for a FCFS buoy?
Thanks

Look on Boaty ball where they have coverage or not.

Where they have coverage, you have to be logged in before 07:00 and then select your ball asap at 07:00. For Cooper Island and Great Harbour JVD they will be all gone by 07:02. If you don’t pay within 4 min, you have to do it again. So if you miss out, keep retrying around 07:04 and 07:08 and you may get lucky.

The Bight has lots of moorings. We got there at 15:00 and 16:30 in the last couple of weeks and you will get a ball. But we were near Willy T - it was not disturbing as everyone probably expects.

BEYC has plenty balls so you should not need to rush there.

Anegada, Boaty ball (can get booked up) but there as FCFS. I doubt you will have a problem.

Great Harbour Peter Island has quite a few balls, I doubt it gets full.

Marina Cay should not be a problem.

As others will point out, there are anchoring options at most of these too. In Great Harbour last week people were managing to anchor mid afternoon but those turning up at 16:00 were turning away

When we were there 3 weeks ago, the only place we needed a reserved ball was Cooper. On Jost, we by passed Great Harbor for Little Harbor and took a cab arranged by Strawwberry at Sidney’s Peace and Love where we also ate dinner that night. I will note that Marina Cay got full as did Scrub the night of the full moon party in Trellis (we were staying at the hotel for a few days post cruise).

I agree with the post above about all other Harbors.

Something I noted as different this time is that there are about 10 mooring balls at Guana. Last time we were there in 2020 there were about 4. No food on shore and you can’t go beyond the beach but a great sunset if you want to cook on board. Shared it with 2 mega yachts when we were there.

Beware of the balls in Great Harbour Peter Island - not well maintained. Also - holding in Great Harbour JVD can be iffy - do not recommend anchoring there - head to Little Harbour annd get a ball there instead.

At BEYC, you can reach out to the marina and request a reserved ball ahead of time - we did it a few days out. Their reserved balls are closer in.

Be forewarned - the balls closer in have a tendency for backwinding. We are there often and tie directly to the ball.

Thank you all for your answers!

We will be there on 3/29. Sailing Keopard 45, Stargazer. What boat will you be on? We’ll look for you.