BoatyBall has its proponents and detractors.
On the plus side, you can spend the day doing what you want instead of racing to grab a ball somewhere. All BBs are maintained and insured. For the ball owners, they don't have to deal with cash and BVI banks, especially helpful on out islands where there are no banks!
Some old timers dislike change, others dislike the pressure to log on to reserve a ball, especially at busy mooring fields. The most controversial aspect is the very expensive premium service offered to select clients.
Many of you know that Ratman has been around the BVI since 1965, before the airport was built! There has certainly been a lot of change. Recently there has been an increase in both the cruise and charter sectors, which has had a negative impact. IMHO, a lot of the criticisms directed at BB are actually the result of things being far busier than they were even fifteen years ago. Much of the fleet today is 50+' cats vs. 40' monos. Add in all the power cats, and the mooring fields are packed.
.
