Hi Kupe,

Here is our full story! ...The first day we picked up the Bitter End Ball, there was another boat on one of the other balls,,,so we thought we would follow their lead. After 30 mins we were hailed by the skipper of an Oyster 745 which was anchored neaby. He was asking for our assistance. He had just craned his RIB onto the deck (ahead of a passage to Antigua) with the help of two local guys and needed us to ferry them back ashore to BEYC in our dinghy.

We were of course very happy to help (the bottle of wine was appreciated but unnecesary!). It turned out the chaps we took ashore were none other than Bacchus (bar-manager from BEYC who we knew well from previous years) and his colleague. They were essentially acting as caretakers ashore ahead of the start of the rebuild. They suggested that the pennants had been removed as the balls are not being maintained...but had no issue at all with us using one. If it had been otherwise then we would have moved to anchor.

...i have no idea if that is the official word on them. But we were content with the assumption and spent 3 (separate) peaceful nights on that same ball.

With other places that are closed (Cooper, Marina Cay) people still came out to collect mooring-fees and we were only too happy to pay. If anyone had come out from BEYC then the same would have applied, but nobody did.

As for taking a yacht up to ONB marina...we were in a 48ft monhull and I wouldnt dream of attempting it on my own boat and we apply the same logic to the boats we charter! We saw people on large cats who went all the way up to the beach-club without issue. I cant see why you wouldnt at least go up to the marina in a charter cat up to a certain size...if you study the charts and electronic-charts then it would (in my opinion) be similar to entering the Anegada mooring field...if you know your onions, keep your wits about you then...no big deal. But who knows what the charter operators think!

I'd personally rather have the boat in North Sound somewhere and dinghy / shuttle up to ONB...just a nicer, calmer place to spend the night. But horses for courses...