TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Boatyball

Your sample is biased and I assume based only on users of BB.

It’s not representative of anything. Given the statistically insignificant number of balls and users, you cant extrapolate anything.

The people on this forum likely have far more knowledge and insight than an occasional visitor to the bvi.

Extrapolating your sample is the same as saying there is so much demand for boatyball because it’s getting used.

That’s actually a function of the limited number of balls and nothing more.

The BVI does not need to be tailored to the infrequent users to the detriment of the rest of us.

I shouldn’t have made my last statement. Let me clarify. There are way more than a couple of people that don’t like BoatyBall. And I fully understand that most of the people on this forum don’t have the fondest feelings for BoatyBall. I completely understand why and I enjoy the feedback. Believe it or not this site has probably helped us the most in determining what our plans are for the future. I also don’t take a lack of criticism to indicate support either. My statement was based in part on the number of critics present on this forum and the amount of positive feedback we’ve received elsewhere. I greatly appreciate the feedback from this site, but this forum isn’t exactly representative of the majority of the charter market in the BVI. I understand that we have our critics and our supporters among this site and elsewhere; my point was simply to counter the claim that the majority of boaters dislike BoatyBall.

So there you have it. Alec finally acknowledged "And I fully understand that most of the people on this forum don’t have the fondest feelings for BoatyBall."

Let's not forget how frequently Alec stressed that only a couple people on the forum did not like boatyball.

The implication, Alec and boatyball don't care about the views of the people that are in this forum the same people that have a strong passion for the bvi.

We are the frequent visitors to the bvi that share knowledge so that everyone can enjoy. We are the ones that may have boats in BVI charter fleets. We are the ones that promote the bvi with a passion. We are frequent visitors to and supporters of local establishments.

And in the eye of boatyball, we don't count.

Alec is a 19-year old kid and if he physically touches any of the Boaty Balls, he needs to have a trade licence.

Your sample is biased and I assume based only on users of BB.

It’s not representative of anything. Given the statistically insignificant number of balls and users, you cant extrapolate anything.

The people on this forum likely have far more knowledge and insight than an occasional visitor to the bvi.

Extrapolating your sample is the same as saying there is so much demand for boatyball because it’s getting used.

That’s actually a function of the limited number of balls and nothing more.

The BVI does not need to be tailored to the infrequent users to the detriment of the rest of us.

Warren – I am going to address this to you because you are one of the top posters on this forum and I know you are passionate about the BVI. I also know Alec has had private conversations with you and has answered several of your questions in private. Some questions and conversations just are not appropriate for a group discussion. I am directing this statement to you in hopes that we can have an honest conversation.

First off, Alec apologized for his comment and generalization that he made the other day. We all make mistakes and I hope you can understand that.

You responded to Alec and said, "Given the statistically insignificant number of balls and users, you can’t extrapolate anything." This goes both ways. The assumption that most boaters only use the app because they are forced to is also a generalization.

You also said in your previous post that "The BVI does not need to be tailored to the infrequent users to the detriment of the rest of us." This seems to be a common sentiment among several on this forum. However, that strikes me as an odd statement from someone who benefits off of those infrequent users. Most boaters are lucky if they can make it down to the BVI once or twice a year.

Several on this forum are fortunate enough to own boats that they charter out. Whether you like it or not, these infrequent visitors are the ones that charter your boats and help keep the economy going. How many of those infrequent boaters truly have the knowledge and skillset needed to captain a boat like Scuba Doo? Do you really want these infrequent captains that charter your boats dropping anchor in the middle of a mooring field like Christo observed the other day or tying up to a mooring that has not been checked in years?

It is pretty clear that the BVI government and businesses welcome these infrequent users and so do the charter companies. We can debate on if this is good or not for the BVI but I do not see this dynamic changing anytime soon which means we either embrace it or we do not. Regardless, I think we can all agree that there needs to be more moorings in the BVI so that people of all skillsets have a safe place to spend the night.

The most common complaint on this forum is that BoatyBall is converting existing moorings. Several have stated on this forum that if we added additional moorings that they would be supportive of the program. As we have stated numerous times, BoatyBall would like to see additional moorings in the BVI as well.

However, the choice to add additional moorings is not a BoatyBall decision. The local businesses are the one who have to apply for new moorings and then spend the money to pay for the taxes, hardware, maintenance, and insurance for the moorings. One of our goals at BoatyBall is to simplify and ensure the payment to the local businesses and make investing in moorings balls attractive for the locals.

The good news is that every mooring ball owner we are working with wants to add additional moorings. Adding additional moorings is an arduous process and takes time. However, after talking with the owners we are confident that boaters will be seeing additional moorings in some of the most popular bays over the next 12 – 18 months. Hopefully that is some good news for those on this forum.

To imply that "Alec and BoatyBall don't care about the views of the people that are in this forum" is not correct. We would not be engaged with this group and forum if we did not care. In fact, just the other day you encouraged BoatyBall to be more vocal on this forum.

You also indicated that you could support BoatyBall if we addressed a few items. One of those items was increased communication with this forum. We are committed to trying to engage this group and to continue to gather feedback from some of the most experienced boaters in the BVI.

You asked us to address our cancellations policy. You have stated that once a boater makes a reservation they might end up doing something not safe in order to try and keep a reservation. BoatyBall has a no cancellation policy; however, we are reasonable people and we have refunded every boater that has contacted us with a legitimate concern. If a boater contacts us with a safety concern we will ALWAYS refund them. Period!

The third item you said you would like for us to address is the need to be able to reserve multiple nights. This is a great suggestion and one that we are working on. We hope that by addressing these concerns that we will some day earn your support.

We do appreciate this forums feedback. Understanding your concerns have helped us make better decisions and changes to the app. We know we will never please everyone but we would like to try.

We do appreciate everyone’s feedback and we are listening.

Just missed Boatyball in November ‘18 and don’t plan to use it next month when we return after reading stories of squatters on reserved balls. Reserving a ball at 7 am then spending hours stressing over whether I’m going to get into a verbal altercation with a squatter on my reserved ball is not for me. The fact that there is a bay manager to resolve disputes means that I’ll eventually get the ball but how much of my time will be wasted getting to that point. With my luck I’d be in Anegada circling the mooring field waiting for the squatters to return from Cow Wreck at the end of the day. Might as well just anchor and have a relaxing trip.

I have chartered in the BVI about a dozen times but grew up boating In the Florida Keys and Bahamas. I personally have not used boatyball yet but plan to on my next BVI charter. Change is hard all around just look at the FL Keys and Bahamas. Sounds like if you don’t like it don’t use it. If you do then great! Instead of focusing negative energy at someone’s livelihood. Maybe focus on the fact that the BVI has banned plastic straws to save the turtles and marine life, but still allows turtle hunting. You’re welcome!

Happy Sailing!!

I have chartered in the BVI about a dozen times but grew up boating In the Florida Keys and Bahamas. I personally have not used boatyball yet but plan to on my next BVI charter. Change is hard all around just look at the FL Keys and Bahamas. Sounds like if you don’t like it don’t use it. If you do then great! Instead of focusing negative energy at someone’s livelihood. Maybe focus on the fact that the BVI has banned plastic straws to save the turtles and marine life, but still allows turtle hunting. You’re welcome!

Happy Sailing!!

All of the moorings in the app are maintained and insured by Moor Seacure.

BoatyBall helps boaters identify which moorings are in a maintenance program and insured. Most bays in the BVI have a mix of maintained moorings and un maintained moorings. The app helps the local businesses that have invested in this maintenance and insurance to differentiate themselves from other mooring ball owners who have not invested in maintenance.

OK, regardless of whether one agrees with their business model or not, let's not call anyone clowns here...

So like Moorseacure have been doing for years?! So your business model is to actually reinvent the wheel?!

...it was turning just fine without you clowns.