I did it two years ago with two Voyage 500s and had a fine time. Great Harbor was crowded, but we found a great spot in ~40' of water near the mouth of the harbor. One of our boats anchored there on the 30th late in the afternoon, and I came in and anchored next to them mid-morning on the 31st. I never saw any shenanigans wrt anchoring - all the boats were well behaved, though some latecomers wove through the anchorage looking (in vain) for a spot closer in. At about 3am a squall came through with winds sustained at 30+kts. I didn't witness a single boat drag. I would disagree with those who cry out about how dangerous is it and that you should "never" bring your boat in there on NYE. It's crowded, yes. Not dangerous.

There were certainly thousands of people on shore, but the dinghies were nowhere near "20 deep" on the dock. It seems that most people come over on ferries from WE. We had no problem tying up or finding our dinghy when we wanted to head back to the boat.

My only complaint would be, in fact, the number of people on shore. It makes getting a drink a 20 minute affair. There were some stumblers/amateurs bobbing around, but that can be said for NYE practically anywhere in the world that serves alcohol. Also, forget trying to get a meal ashore unless you've made reservations well in advance.

White Bay was crowded as well, but I didn't hear of anything bad happening.

Pro Tip Many of the NYE/OYE revelers will have been at JVD for several days, and just about none of them will be in the mood/shape to continue partying. As I said above, we anchored at the mouth of GH. On January 1st, as soon we saw the beginning of the exodus of boats from White Bay we motored over and snagged a ball directly in front of SDB. We practically had the place to ourselves until about 1pm, including a nice breakfast at SDB with some morning painkillers to take away the fog! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Don't listen to the naysayers. If you want to have a good time, it certainly can be had. Just be prepared for crowds ashore and at anchor.