I don't have it in front of me - but the Cruising Guide recommends anchoring north of Pelican Rock (Brown Bay?) because of less swell. We tried that, found nothing but coral, gave up and moved to south side - plenty of sand, easy anchoring, no problems with swell. Not the first time a cruising guide has led me astray.

On a similar note - in November DPNR came around Great Lameshur and told a couple anchored boats to lift anchor and go somewhere else. If BVI stays closed, St John is going to have more problems with illegal anchoring and rafting, cuz there just aren't enough mooring balls for significantly higher traffic.