Traveltalkonline.com Forums


BVI Cruise Schedule TTOL Sponsors BVI Travel Calendar
Forum Statistics
Forums39
Topics39,413
Posts319,595
Members26,670
Most Online3,755
Sep 23rd, 2024
Top Posters(30 Days)
bdeeley 47
jazzgal 41
jomarc 39
fabila 32
RonDon 31
Todd 30
GaKaye 30
erb923 21
Member Spotlight
ChuckG
ChuckG
PA
Posts: 619
Joined: August 2000
Today's Birthdays
There are no members with birthdays on this day.
Who's Online Now
20 members (WWII, CanuckTravlr, CdnCouple, shieneehead, Lizanne, SXMScubaman, SXM Strong, Manpot, eightzerobits, wct49, Tom, ARC, nevar37, TRIM, bbeach, Kennys, kaba, jsbell, 2 invisible), 718 guests, and 82 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
#318437 04/22/2024 05:20 PM
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 180
Matt W Offline OP
Traveler
OP Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 180
A FCFS ball failed on me right after we tied onto it yesterday. Didn't back down on it. Aboard a Lagoon 51. Wind was blowing 18 knots. Rope looked very old and frayed. Didnt look like it had prop damage but I could be wrong. We went and recovered it in the dinghy to claim it as a prize after getting settled. Gave it back to the gentlemen that came to collect the fee. Ill post a picture once I get to some wifi.

BVI Sponsors
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 33
S
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
S
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 33
Glad you’re ok, and it seems to have worked out with nothing more than extra excitement,

Am I just reading about this more? Or is it becoming a thing that balls can’t be trusted as much as they used to? I’ve moved off of a ball that I don’t like the look of, and don’t take them as infallible, but are they becoming fully questionable?

Enjoy the rest of your trip!


-

There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 1
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 1
The balls in Anegada are on Sand screws. Did it pull the screw out or did the ground tackle fail. You might also give moor secure a call and let them know.

Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 180
Matt W Offline OP
Traveler
OP Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 180
Ground tackle failed. Does moor secure maintain those balls?

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 1
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 1
I am not sure. I believe they do but in the frenzy to cover the anchorage with balls they might not be under their umbrella. If so your ball failure might be the first of more to come if they are uninspected.

Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,190
M
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
M
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,190
Good intel. We will be anchoring next week if we head up (seas look crappy…)

Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,582
Likes: 1
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,582
Likes: 1
Looking at the weather and swell for next week, I'd consider keeping the North Sound and Diamond Cay at the top of your destination lists. Cane Garden Bay should be a "pass" this time around.


[Linked Image]
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 610
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 610
Thanks, Z. You think White Bay will be trouble?

Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 610
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 610
Also, what am I looking for when checking the wave forecast? PredictWind shows swells mostly out of the east for the next several days, which I thought was typically not an issue for most BVI anchorages?

I can’t even remember, is high period or low period bad?

Thanks again.

Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 887
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 887
We're at Diamond Cay now which is pretty choppy. I should have seen that coming with the ESE wind we still have today.

PredictWind is showing the wind waves, which are not the swell that Z is referring to. Those will be from the north and are the long rollers you see out in open water from distant weather.

The longer the period, the more energy these swells carry and expend when they reach the shore.

EDIT: and, yes, White Bay probably inadvisable in the coming days as well. Great Harbor is a good alternative and a short cab ride (or dinghy if conditions allow).

Last edited by MrEZgoin; 04/23/2024 04:24 PM. Reason: added info

M4000 "Lio Kai"
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 1
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 1
The swell is predicted straight out of the N at about 4.5 feet Monday-Wednesday. Really the only place I would skip would be CGB. White bay should be ok. It will wrap around a bit. Anegada will also be fine but the snorkeling there will not be great. Odd weather for this time of year but not a big swell.

Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 610
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 610
Thank you! Any suggestions for a good service for swell forecasts? (I once new this stuff, but it’s been 9-10 years now)

Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,582
Likes: 1
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,582
Likes: 1
The simplest site to use is: https://www.windguru.cz/58

You can see the swell direction, height and period in one easy-to-view image and can scroll down to get other models and often you get secondary swell data as well.

White bay will be inadvisable. CGB as well; one time I didn't check the weather and a north swell hit overnight while I was anchored there. I escaped without grounding but as I was motoring out the channel, I had surfers surfing in next to me at the same time. If the water is 15 feet deep and a swell of 6 feet builds up while hitting shallow water, your boat can suddenly have no more water underneath it! The best place is the Virgin Gorda North Sound and it also lets you explore a couple of anchorages while there, so you don't get bored.


[Linked Image]
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 116
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 116
It can be hard to predict what swell, wind, and wave action will do in various situations. Just because the action is not coming directly into an anchorage doesn’t mean the anchorage will not be affected. Having anchored up and down the U.S. East Coast, Bahamas, and the Caribbean from the DR to Grenada we have encountered untenable anchorages that “appeared” fine when looking at the various forecasts. Swell and waves can wrap around headlands, capes, etc. with amazing efficiency. Water depth, sea floor topography, and many unknowns will have an effect. In the BVI the good news is the local old salts have the experience to give great advice for virtually every situation.

My wife studies wind, swell, and waves very carefully and has become very adept at predicting the effects on a given anchorage. I defer to her on the subject. Charterers will seldom have the experience to make the appropriate predictions except in obvious situations. Our rule when trying to do the calculus required when we can’t obtain local knowledge is to avoid any anchorage if we find ourselves in a serious discussion about “do you think it will be OK?” PredictWind, windguru, and Navily are very helpful, especially when one cannot access local knowledge.

Last edited by OceanSong; 04/24/2024 08:28 AM.
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 1
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,179
Likes: 1
When I mentioned White Bay will be fine I meant as a day stop. White Bay is not a suitable overnight stop. It has zero protection from storms and no room to drag or react to issues. This includes the balls in the east end.

Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 180
Matt W Offline OP
Traveler
OP Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 180
Here are the photos of the ball that failed. You can see how old and frayed the rope is where it parted. Probably would have been easy to move on from this one had we the chance to inspect it.

Attached Images
failed-mooring-ball.jpg ball-floating-away.jpg
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 887
Traveler
Offline
Traveler
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 887
Scary stuff. Glad you were still aboard and able to react!


M4000 "Lio Kai"
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 180
Matt W Offline OP
Traveler
OP Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 180
We were fortunate to be well-positioned to respond. I was still at the helm with the engines on and the crew still up front. One mistake I made was having the crew clear the lines from the ball. We had really long mooring lines and this took some time while we drifted closer to the two boats moored behind us. I was maneuvering with one engine, which I didn't have a lot of practice with, but I got the hang of it real fast! All was fine once we were confident we weren't going to fowl the port prop. Next time I'll hold onto the ball and go find some safer space to get things sorted out.


Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5