TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Alternatives to Boaty Balls

I have a question on boaty balls. From their map it looks like they’ve converted all of the best-located balls to boaty balls. Are there other non-reservable balls still around at each anchorage? We’ve done 15 previous trips but this looks like the first one where the boaty balls may be a major factor (annoyance).
Are we stuck with them or are there still other options around?

Great Harbor, JVD has 5 FCFS balls left. Cooper has about 20 FCFS balls. These are the only places you may need a BB because of high demand and limited options for Anchoring.

The Bight has a ton of FCFS balls.

It's always worth talking about the current zit on BVI chartering.

A great alternative to BB is calling it a day and getting a FCFS ball before 3 in the afternoon. Late enough for the lunch stops to be done, and before the HH troops descend.

As said, Great Harbor, Jost, and Cooper are the hot spots, but at Jost there are more balls and more choices in Little Harbor, and many would bypass Cooper for either Peter or Norman, depending on which direction going or coming.

Remember the business model of BB. Shoreside businesses still own the mooring spots, BB is just a middle man. BB makes it's money off the difference between the reserved cost and the FCFS fee, and also relieves the BVI business of CC fees. Whose money goes in BB's pocket ? YOURS. for what ?? A Marketing contrivance that makes money solely for BB.

If you want/need the comfort of a reservation at one specific place on one specific day-- you can have that.

If you don't need it, have a great day !

BB is not necessary at Anegada? I have not been to the BVI since the advent of Boaty Balls, but just assumed Anegada would be a place you would want a reservation given the limited size of the mooring field, the fact that most everyone going to Anegada tends to leave from NS first thing in the morning and arrive early, and the fact that you certainly don't want to sail all the way to Anegada and not be able to find a ball or spot to anchor. Also, I personally tend to prefer on my vacation to tie up to a ball at Anegada and not have to worry if I see a pop up storm while limin on the other side of the island.

It would be great to hear it's not needed there. We very much enjoy Leverick and NS, so we have always jumped off from there to Anegada and don't mind heading that way at first light.

There's a rather large anchoring area inside at Anegada with 10 feet of water and sand; that's preferable to using a mooring ball whose maintenance state and history is unknown. The free anchoring area is larger than the mooring field.

Last week, when we were in Anegada, ALL boaty balls were taken. One of 12 "white balls" were taken, two boats at anchor. We stayed for two days, just moved off the BB to a white ball. we pulled down HARD to test the ball as diving the ball is hard in the murky water.
Agreed Zanshin!

Thanks!

Better views of the sunset from there as well...

This is crazy. I'm amazed that people continue to use to Boaty Ball after the first night or two of watching all the FCFS balls sit empty.

Question - if the Boaty Balls have to be reserved by noon each day, are you allowed to use a BB ball as a FCFS ball (and pay the FCFS rate) if it's not in use, or do the rules require that they sit idle if not booked?

You can book a BoatyBall at any time that it is showing available. It doesn’t have to be booked by noon - you have the ball you booked from noon to noon.

What is your definition of hard? More tension than the boat would encounter in the expected winds?

head up slack, HARD reverse...1800RPM

That’s a lot of reverse if the wind is also blowing. If it’s a big boat you might be exceeding the mooring rating. I was once told 1500 RPM is about the same as a 40 knot wind. I set my anchor at 1000 RPM for day stops and 1200 for overnights. 1500 if I expect a blow. I don’t back down on moorings. I figure if it’s a sand screw type I am just pulling it out and it might come all the way out at 2am.

Thanks!

Completely agree George. I see this frequently and it makes me wonder about the damage being done. We anchor whenever possible.

The moorings are designed for a specific size (determines how far apart they are set) and boat weight. This theoretical maximum weight is computed with the expected forces during a storm to calculate the type of mooring, and how big and deep it is set. The force generate by backing down with 1500RPM for a short time is going to be far less than the maximum expected mooring capacity. FAR less. Backing down doesn't check the mooring base, it checks to see if the lines are still solid; often in the BVI I've seen 2 out of 3 strands of a mooring line chewed away by the props of some other boat.

Reference: Principles of Yacht Design

Im testing the linkage, not the rock. Have been in 40kts gusts, have you?. im being nice to the rock, not the rhode. Never had I pulled/snapped with this test.

Thanks for the book reference Arnd. It looks like it covers an amazing range of subjects. If I pick up a copy, I wonder how much of it I'll actually get around to reading.

Dan

@DanS - I thought the same when I bought it. But i read front front to end; skimming over the actual formulae - but remembering why they are needed. And if I want to know the forces on my stays, or on the anchor, or on the keel bolts I have a source and the contents are well-indexed. The book goes a long way towards answering typical boater's questions like "Why the H**** did the boat manufacturer do that?"