Anywhere where there aren't any mooring balls!We are taking friends to the BVI's (Mid-October) and would like to know of the other lesser known but very cool anchorages.
Thanks
Most of the overnight moorings are in sand. Check out all the major anchoring spots - sand, sand, sand. Trellis Bay, Cooper Island, North Sound, Marina Cay, Little Harbour, sand. They were not put in to protect the coral. They are a money-making proposition and quite popular with charterers, many of whom have very little experience anchoring. Also it gets quite crowded in the BVI and you can get a lot more boats in a mooring field as opposed to anchored boats.I have a question about the coral that keeps getting mentioned.
When we had to anchor off the Cooper Island Beach Club, well after the mooring balls were put in place, I checked the anchor by diving on it to find a completely sand bottom. Somehow I don't think the beach at the Bitter End is coral down below. There's sand under the mooring balls at Leverick Bay. Coral heads in the smaller anchorage at Jost? Maybe in the check-in anchorage. Cane Garden Bay? It's a sand beach with a reef at the south end. Soper's Hole really full of coral? I thought coral grew on vertical surfaces, not flat bottoms.
For those who know for sure, are the mooring balls really there to protect the coral, is or was coral actually present, or is it the idea to keep reckless charterers who don't know how to anchor from breaking boats?
Help dispel or prove another urban myth.
Great Harbour; Jost Van Dyke. Sailors here can and will share with you all of the other great anchorages in the BVIs'.We are taking friends to the BVI's (Mid-October) and would like to know of the other lesser known but very cool anchorages.
Thanks
I think Rick nailed it. It's about low common denominators for the charter company ... no need to restrict charterers to those with experience, and a big money maker (the revenue is split with whoever collects the fees). Notice that the captained boats are often not at the crazy busy spots. It's called local knowledge.Most of the overnight moorings are in sand. Check out all the major anchoring spots - sand, sand, sand. Trellis Bay, Cooper Island, North Sound, Marina Cay, Little Harbour, sand. They were not put in to protect the coral. They are a money-making proposition and quite popular with charterers, many of whom have very little experience anchoring. Also it gets quite crowded in the BVI and you can get a lot more boats in a mooring field as opposed to anchored boats.
Really great info.... at http://bvipirate.com/ You can get more information than you ever believed possible.
Point your bow to Lee Bay on the west side of Great Camanoe. When we anchored there it was quiet and we had the place to ourselves. The only visitors we had were a couple goats on the rocky shore.We are taking friends to the BVI's (Mid-October) and would like to know of the other lesser known but very cool anchorages.
Thanks
We have been to the BVI 8 different times, starting in 1985. By far the best anchorage is in Brewers Bay on the NW corner of Tortola. There are reefs coming into the anchorage, so you must read the water. Not very difficult. Feel your way into the SE corner of the bay and anchor in sand.We are taking friends to the BVI's (Mid-October) and would like to know of the other lesser known but very cool anchorages.
Thanks
Agree with Steve. But have to push up to about 10 feet of depth to get the sand for anchoring. And then the next morning, right over to Monkey Point for snorkeling. But shhh, don't tell anybody.Point your bow to Lee Bay on the west side of Great Camanoe. When we anchored there it was quiet and we had the place to ourselves. The only visitors we had were a couple goats on the rocky shore.
Steve