TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Boatyball

What is frustrating to me is that if you were at Anegada a year ago at this time it would have all been a non-event. You would have gotten up early, went to Anegada, and got what was available. Nobody to blame....what's there is there. It's just not adding up for me. Getting online at 7am but 7:01am is too late? LOL. I typically regard BVI as the land of loose schedules.....this seems counter to that.

Then don't use the boatyball system. There are still first come first serve balls available

It’s almost to the point where people can’t live without schedules

The problem with this is I suspect you will see current balls converted to the reservation system. So far the problem with taking a reserved ball seems 100% crewed boats or local skippers.
G

Next will be dynamic pricing like the hot lanes in DC...

For some reason Cooper, Leverick and Anegada are more packed than I have ever seen. It was a race from North Sound to Anegada with 15 boats underway at 10am. Boatyball is not the problem it’s too many boats in general in the available anchorages. The Bight was empty last night.

Well, if the Willie T were back at the bight, and Saba and bitter end open, occupancy would be better balanced.

Agreed. We were at Cooper before noon on Sunday and every ball except the reserved ones were taken. As we approached we saw two boats passing through the mooring field looking for a ball and coming up empty. As you said, Boatyball is not the problem... it is the crowds, a significant loss of balls in NS, and Norman being under utilized.

Your 100% correct, to many boats.
Now that the economy is starting to soar the sails of boats are on the rise..
The hurricanes have given us a look into the future where there will be just to many boats to anchor

Boatyball

Can ypu please clarify if you talking about 20 tons of weight/displacement or registered tonnage, which is a measure of volume?

Thanks

Carlos
s/v La Morocha

Received this email from the BoatyBall folks this morning. Anyone know what the "new" fee is?

"We wanted to thank you for being an early adopter of BoatyBall. We have taken your feedback and made a number of changes to improve the overall experience. During this 6 week pilot phase we have had over 900 boater accounts and over 900 reservations. Our number one request is to be able to reserve in advance and the biggest issue is boaters squatting. We are currently working on giving boaters the ability to make future reservations. We will also be introducing a number of changes that we believe will help with enforcement. One is giving boaters the ability to make their boat name visible in the app. This will allow other boaters the ability to see what boats have reserved moorings. In addition, we will also be increasing the BoatyBall service fee starting 2/1/2019 to help support enforcement in the bays. The initial adoption of BoatyBall has been very encouraging and has allowed us to continue to develop the app. We appreciate your willingness to try this new service and we look forward to continuing to update and improve the app. Cheers, from the BoatyBall Team"

It is $40 up from $35.

I am curious how they will increase enforcement.

I also wonder how elastic demand is.

Nothing wrong with using the hook on the bow, it’s free.

I know that there is no space at cooper to anchor, but there is at north sound and elsewhere.

This is all good. One issue was remote anchorages dealing with cash (there is no bank on Virgin Gorda); BoatyBall solves that. Enforcement costs money, in the form of staff on hand; extra revenue helps there. Boaters had to plan their day around arriving early at anchorages; now they can reserve. Yes, fees will go up during peak periods, but that’s due to a shortage of good spots for moorings. As Warren posits, maybe they will decrease during slack times.

Some of the pressure on Anegada is about people wanting that old BVI experience, without cruise ship hordes. The Tortola anchorages - Sopers, Trellis, CGB - don’t seem as popular anymore. Maybe some of that will change as they get cleaned up and rebuilt. Another factor may be that boats are so much larger: twenty 60’ cats take up more space than twenty 30’ monos. In my opinion, space is the real issue here, and there’s nothing BoatyBall can do about that, except make more remote bays viable as paid anchorages.

It still doesn't address the fact that most of the squatters are private crewed boats who don't even know about Boatyball, or don't care. The increased fee can't help support something that doesn't exist.

Another idea: charge more for bigger boats, on the basis that fewer of them fit in a given area.

A mooring field is a mooring field. If there are 40 balls, it should be able to fit 40 boats, regardless of their size.

Next will be dynamic pricing...higher pricing in busy season or at busy times.

Glad they pointed out "enforcement" as now they are clearly on the hook for enforcement

To be fair when the moorings were installed the primary charter boats in the BVI were 50’ monohulls. The moorings were designed to provide adequate sway with boats up to 60’ but with the added tonnage and beam of most modern cruising cats, there isn’t as much clearance as there was before.

Actually they were monohulls a lot smaller than 50’.

In any case, I would be surprised if the position of the hardware is the same as it was back then.

The moorings, chains, etc. have all been updated but in most cases the actual sea floor screws haven’t been. It’s pretty expensive and time consuming to install new sea screws and I doubt most bay owners would want to pay for it.

I’ve seen Moorsecure install new screws it’s done right from the their boat with a machine that drills the screws into the seabed

Is anyone familiar with the depths at the boaty ball moorings at Anegada?

What drat are you looking for?

I emailed them with that question. Here is the reply:

"All of our moorings are installed and maintained by Moor Seacure. At Anegada the BoatyBall moorings are on that first row and should have at least a minimum depth of 8feet. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Cheers. "

Good info, thanks TWB. Would love to hear some first-hand info from people who have used them to confirm this...I'm not sure I believe that number. I don't recall having more than a few inches under the keel of the Sunsail 47 on any mooring in the Anegada field in the last 5 years...draft on the 47 according to spec-sheet is: 1.65m/5ft 5in.

If reports of crowded mooring fields on this forum continue, along with this Boatyball nonsense...with the exception of Cooper I think we're looking forward to saving some $ and using the hook-thing up at the pointy-end for the majority of places this year. Pomato Point has always been fab holding in the past.

Am I the only one wondering why Cooper Island doesn’t raise their rates, at least in high season? Boaters may not appreciate this, but where demand exceeds supply, why not? I’d make all the moorings BoatyBall and raise the price to $50. Those who don’t want to pay the price will skip Cooper, and everyone else will have a guaranteed mooring. Who can’t use more revenue these days?

The point of mooring balls is supposed to be about preserving the sea floor. The costs should be what is required to maintain the balls. Raise the costs and more people anchor. Another issue at Cooper is on occasion it’s not suitable for overnights due to weather. People with a expensive reservation may make a poor choice.
G

The depth has always concerned me at Anegada which prompted my inquiry. My boat's draft according to the manufacturer is 6'4." I've always used the out side moorings on the front two rows and have about a foot under the keel. Even though I've been told that any of the first two rows would be OK, I haven't tried them. If I can't get the outside ones, I anchor.

My next visit is on the 15th and I expect to anchor quite a bit this trip.

Keep in mind the BVI does have tides. Very small but can be 1 foot and that makes a difference in some anchorages. A foot under your keel at high tide might be zero at low tide.

Just got back from a 7 night charter in the BVI's. We used BoatyBall in Cooper, Leverick and Anegada. While getting up before 7am and refreshing the page to jump on a ball as soon as they become available was a bit reminiscent of buying TicketMaster concert tickets, the peace of mind knowing there should be a ball waiting for us gave us more time to enjoy getting there. We had no issues with squatters. The additional $5-10 was worth it to have a guaranteed ball.

What was the depth under the balls at Anegada?

[/quote]

According to the manufacturer is 6'4." I've always used the out side moorings on the front two rows and have about a foot under the keel. Even though I've been told that any of the first two rows would be OK, I haven't tried them. If I can't get the outside ones, I anchor.

My next visit is on the 15th and I expect to anchor quite a bit this trip.

[/quote]

I do the same thing in Anegada as I have hit the bottom twice on monohulls when I tried to head north up the rows of balls. If I cant get an outer ball I always drop the hook. Its easy to anchor there and we have never dragged even once.

I never thought we’d be THOSE people that used Boaty Ball, but this morning I successfully reserved one at Cooper. We want to backtrack from Peter to snorkel the Indians and the caves at Norman before mooring and don’t want to risk not having a ball for the night.

At 7:01, all were gone. But, at 7:04 2 opened up (because they give you 4 mins to pay for it). Then those were gone again immediately. By 7:05, all the balls but 2 in Leverick were gone. Just amazing.

Hope we find our ball free of another boat when we arrive early afternoon.

I still have very mixed feelings about this service.

I have mixed feelings as well. But given the challenges at Cooper and the demand they might as well make them all reservation only. At least then guests would know they have a place to go when they get there and could make other plans accordingly. Most people are not and should not be comfortable anchoring there. The show up way to early and sit all day doesn't work well. They show up late and hope is not really a good plan either as it can take an hour to get someplace else if it doesn't work out.

Dynamic pricing is likely next in a place like that with more demand than supply.

Jay

Dynamic pricing in a spot like Cooper will not solve anything and be just an outright money grab on the part of Boatyball since the moorings are all scooped up in a few minutes each morning.
Dynamic pricing works in a place like London or NYC to deter traffic in prime rush hours and is meant to solve a fluid problem, not a fixed supply and demand problem. When applied to a parking situation with fixed supply supply it doesn't deter parking it just makes it more expensive. No mixed feelings on my part about tactics that just make the BVI more expensive.

I predict you will see further price increases however it won’t be the big issue. I see certain charter companies receiving priority in booking the balls. I directly asked boatyball for assurances this would not happen and they would not commit to that. Book a charter with the Moorings and you might be allowed to reserve a ball at 6 pm the night prior but all others 7am the next morning. I hope I am wrong but as the saying goes follow the money!

Should a person operating a boat wish to arrive late afternoon, and wishes to reserve a boaty ball at midnight. Gof for it.

But , be prepared to go to plan B.

We have also witnessed boats laying to NP moorings over night and that is pure disrespect. What happens with boaty ball. Those moorings have RESERVED painted on the ball.

What part of RESERVED is difficult to understand.

So, reserve that boaty ball mooring, but have a plan B. Or, if possible, get the boaty ball rep out to the mooring and have them add their horse power to the situation.

Do not cut them loose in the dead of night, since that vessel adrift can cause damage to other innocent vessels, put that bare boat chartered vessel on the rocks, and it is not the owner of that boat who is the problem.

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I agree that pricing won't be the issue. Most catamarans are are $1K ++ a night to rent. People wishing to travel during peak season pay comparable prices for airfare. The price of a mooring is irrelevant compared to the primary cost drivers of the vacation which are the vessel and airfare, with provisions/dining coming in third before mooring fees. Yes, all boats are equipped with anchors (or pointy things at the bow as described by the more salty and unforgiving forum members) but let's face it, I don't want to anchor on vacation. That's right, it's vacation. I have one week a year to enjoy in the Caribbean. I don't want to spend the evenings of that one week wondering if my anchor will hold. I can do that during summers at home from the comfort of my own sailboat. Yes, I own a sailboat but still don't want to anchor on vacation. I want to tie up, relax, enjoy sun-downers and dinner, and not think about whether or not I'm dragging. And while I could easily pass each day sitting on a beach, the Captain would prefer to spend more time at sail. Boaty Ball provides an answer to this - more time at sail without having to worry about anchoring. And I can be guaranteed a mooring in a location with a restaurant. (Did I mention I'm the one who arranges the vacations?)

Charterers who are confident and content with anchoring shouldn't be concerned at all with BoatyBall, since they have the pointy things at the bow of their boats that they can deploy at their pleasure. However I will throw in my support for the mooring reservation model since it will enhance the experience for my husband and I.

And when monopoly pricing pushes the price or boatyball to $100 per night, will you still feel the same way?