TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Anegada anchorages

Hi, I did a search and looked back at comments regarding the Pomato Point anchorage. Those that have been in there, did you approach it directly from the SW per Navionics, or did you cruise through the Setting Point mooring field? Thanks!

You enter it from directly form the southwest - not through the Anegada channel or Setting Point mooring field. There is a good bit of reef extending to the southwest from Pomato Point that you must stay clear of. See my chart below.

Thanks Duck.

as fyi that 1st red marker just NW of Two Sisters was not there last week...

Yes, I've anchored at Pomato Point (my boat has too much draft for anywhere else) and I approached it approximately from the "approach waypoint" above, then NNE until the water got deeper again, then straight in the middle. In good light the visibility is excellent, and the holding was good. I had to anchor further out, and it isn't as sheltered as I'd like.

Any input on anchoring off Setting Point SE of the pier? I always thought it would be a good spot but charter co said don't

With my last boat (a Jeanneau 49 with a 6 foot shallow draft), I've anchored off Setting Point and it was always great. Last time, upon diving the chain, I did see that I had less than a foot under the keel as it does get shallow (even though it is only sand). Holding was fantastic. I think that this is an image taken from there:

I anchored a boat that drew 5’9” n the main anchorage a dozen times. It will carry 7’ but only the balls toward shore. It drops a shallow as 5 feet further out in some spots.

We anchored off Pomato years ago, approaching from the SW. We were on a Hunter monohull and had to move out further from the beach when ground swells moved in overnight, causing our keel to hit bottom.

Here is a post I made in 2016 regarding Anegada:

Several years ago we sailed a 43� Hunter to Anegada from North Sound arriving later in the day than I would normally have liked. There was a kite boarding event going on at Pomato Point and much to my dismay the anchorage in front of the Anegada Reefs Hotel appeared full. We motored around the anchorage to see if we might spot someone getting ready to leave when I noticed an empty mooring ball in the far NW corner of the field. Wanting to make my approach to the ball upwind I made a wide swing around the outside edge of the anchorage. I felt I had enough headway that even if I did brush the bottom I could get around fast enough to not get hung up. Man plans, God laughs! And He must have gotten a good one this time for I ran hard aground. Or should I say hard �a-muck�. The bottom of the anchorage is a soupy almost mud like sand that brought us to a very abrupt and definite halt once our keel sunk into its grip. I reversed the engine in an effort to back out, but we didn�t move an inch. By now we were beam to the wind and getting pushed ever deeper into the muck. We had also become the main event of the happy hour entertainment. Frankly I much prefer being in the audience for these shows and not on stage - but I digress. Luckily one of the spectators took pity on us and came over in his dinghy to offer assistance. He suggested putting up the main in hopes of heeling ourselves over far enough to free the keel from its muddy trap. To say the least, I was not comfortable with the thought of being under full sail in the back of a crowded anchorage but neither was I comfortable with being aground, so I complied with his suggestion. I had read once where this was a doable solution but had never tried it. With much nervousness I hoisted the main and pulled her in. No dice. We moved not an inch. Next, still under full main, we passed our friend the auxiliary halyard allowing him to pull the top of our mast over even further. It seemed like all the shrouds and stays were creaking and cracking to their respective breaking points as he pulled ever harder and I revved the engine. I expected at any moment something (or everything) would snap. Luckily nothing did, but neither did we come free or for that matter even move. Our last hope seemed to be approaching from our bow in the form of a center console tender with a 50 or 60 horse outboard. This fine gentleman took our bow line and with full sail, full throttle, full port heel and 60 horses pulling on our bow, we finally started to inch forward and ultimately came loose! That happy moment was soon forgotten as it was followed by the moments of chaos that so often times interrupt those long periods of quiet blissful sailing. With only 2 of us on board we had to get everyone untied, get the main down and try not to run into anyone in the process - oh yes, don't forget to close the throttle. By we had attracted a much larger audience, many of whom I am sure were hoping to capture a YouTube video that would go viral and make them famous. Sorry to disappoint but fortunately for us and our immediate neighbors, things went fairly smoothly after that. Everything came together and we eventually tied to the mooring ball. Needless to say I was buying beers for my new friends at the bar that evening.

Footnote: Never allow draught/draft to exceed water depth

Boats anchor there very often. It's a good anchorage (about 8 feet of water), but it can be a wet dinghy ride back out there from shore if there is breeze.

I can picture it now. Thanks for posting

Mike..know that you joined a not very exclusive club..I'll let Garvey chime in here ,if he feels OK about it, as I dont want to tell tales out of school!!

Like the song goes, "If you ain't been aground, you ain't been around."

Great story! My very first sail in 2007 with my friend piloting his Hunter 29 we ran aground on the sand bar coming out of Alameda, CA. We pulled out the main and got free. How does the saying go? There are two kinds of sailors, those that have run aground and those that won’t admit to it.