A FCFS ball failed on me right after we tied onto it yesterday. Didn't back down on it. Aboard a Lagoon 51. Wind was blowing 18 knots. Rope looked very old and frayed. Didnt look like it had prop damage but I could be wrong. We went and recovered it in the dinghy to claim it as a prize after getting settled. Gave it back to the gentlemen that came to collect the fee. Ill post a picture once I get to some wifi.

Glad you’re ok, and it seems to have worked out with nothing more than extra excitement,

Am I just reading about this more? Or is it becoming a thing that balls can’t be trusted as much as they used to? I’ve moved off of a ball that I don’t like the look of, and don’t take them as infallible, but are they becoming fully questionable?

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

The balls in Anegada are on Sand screws. Did it pull the screw out or did the ground tackle fail. You might also give moor secure a call and let them know.

Ground tackle failed. Does moor secure maintain those balls?

I am not sure. I believe they do but in the frenzy to cover the anchorage with balls they might not be under their umbrella. If so your ball failure might be the first of more to come if they are uninspected.

Good intel. We will be anchoring next week if we head up (seas look crappy…)

Looking at the weather and swell for next week, I'd consider keeping the North Sound and Diamond Cay at the top of your destination lists. Cane Garden Bay should be a "pass" this time around.

Thanks, Z. You think White Bay will be trouble?

Also, what am I looking for when checking the wave forecast? PredictWind shows swells mostly out of the east for the next several days, which I thought was typically not an issue for most BVI anchorages?

I can’t even remember, is high period or low period bad?

Thanks again.

We're at Diamond Cay now which is pretty choppy. I should have seen that coming with the ESE wind we still have today.

PredictWind is showing the wind waves, which are not the swell that Z is referring to. Those will be from the north and are the long rollers you see out in open water from distant weather.

The longer the period, the more energy these swells carry and expend when they reach the shore.

EDIT: and, yes, White Bay probably inadvisable in the coming days as well. Great Harbor is a good alternative and a short cab ride (or dinghy if conditions allow).

The swell is predicted straight out of the N at about 4.5 feet Monday-Wednesday. Really the only place I would skip would be CGB. White bay should be ok. It will wrap around a bit. Anegada will also be fine but the snorkeling there will not be great. Odd weather for this time of year but not a big swell.

Thank you! Any suggestions for a good service for swell forecasts? (I once new this stuff, but it’s been 9-10 years now)

The simplest site to use is: https://www.windguru.cz/58

You can see the swell direction, height and period in one easy-to-view image and can scroll down to get other models and often you get secondary swell data as well.

White bay will be inadvisable. CGB as well; one time I didn't check the weather and a north swell hit overnight while I was anchored there. I escaped without grounding but as I was motoring out the channel, I had surfers surfing in next to me at the same time. If the water is 15 feet deep and a swell of 6 feet builds up while hitting shallow water, your boat can suddenly have no more water underneath it! The best place is the Virgin Gorda North Sound and it also lets you explore a couple of anchorages while there, so you don't get bored.

It can be hard to predict what swell, wind, and wave action will do in various situations. Just because the action is not coming directly into an anchorage doesn’t mean the anchorage will not be affected. Having anchored up and down the U.S. East Coast, Bahamas, and the Caribbean from the DR to Grenada we have encountered untenable anchorages that “appeared” fine when looking at the various forecasts. Swell and waves can wrap around headlands, capes, etc. with amazing efficiency. Water depth, sea floor topography, and many unknowns will have an effect. In the BVI the good news is the local old salts have the experience to give great advice for virtually every situation.

My wife studies wind, swell, and waves very carefully and has become very adept at predicting the effects on a given anchorage. I defer to her on the subject. Charterers will seldom have the experience to make the appropriate predictions except in obvious situations. Our rule when trying to do the calculus required when we can’t obtain local knowledge is to avoid any anchorage if we find ourselves in a serious discussion about “do you think it will be OK?” PredictWind, windguru, and Navily are very helpful, especially when one cannot access local knowledge.

When I mentioned White Bay will be fine I meant as a day stop. White Bay is not a suitable overnight stop. It has zero protection from storms and no room to drag or react to issues. This includes the balls in the east end.

Here are the photos of the ball that failed. You can see how old and frayed the rope is where it parted. Probably would have been easy to move on from this one had we the chance to inspect it.

Scary stuff. Glad you were still aboard and able to react!

We were fortunate to be well-positioned to respond. I was still at the helm with the engines on and the crew still up front. One mistake I made was having the crew clear the lines from the ball. We had really long mooring lines and this took some time while we drifted closer to the two boats moored behind us. I was maneuvering with one engine, which I didn't have a lot of practice with, but I got the hang of it real fast! All was fine once we were confident we weren't going to fowl the port prop. Next time I'll hold onto the ball and go find some safer space to get things sorted out.