Overnight Anchoring/Mooring Near the Baths

Hello. I was wondering if I could get some opinions on where we can anchor or moor overnight after spending the day at the Baths, I'm well of all the spots in North Sound, however we have to be back at Scrub 9:30am the next day and that makes it a very early mooring if we go all the way to North Sound. We need to be some where along the west side of the island to make the straight shot to Scrub the next morning. We know about St. Thomas Bay, but quite frankly it doesn't look very appealing, not to mention the ferry traffic. Has anyone stayed overnight in Little Dix or Savannah Bay? They look gorgeous but the little info I find on anchoring there isn't very detailed. Any help would be awesome!

P.S. Estimated time of an average sail from the west side of VG to Scrub?

last xmas we hit the baths then motored around to little dix and set the hook right off the beach, 45' cat. beware of a northerly swell could roll a little- took the dink to thier floating dock and picked up a cab from the hotel and had dinner at cocomaya-

I've never overnighted at Little Dix nor Savannah....might be a little rolly in winter months (ground swell). You could try Cooper Is (Manchioneel Bay), but that usually fills up early and they don't really want you anchoring there. They do have boaty ball moorings there if you want to try and reserve. Its 6.6nm from Savannah to Scrub Is marina and 5.4 from Cooper....so about an hour sail either way. Another option is Marina Cay, which is right next to Scrub and a very nice anchorage with plenty of mooring balls if that's your preference. Very good snorkling at Diamond Reef as well. If I were you, I'd try Cooper first and if that didn't work out, head on across to Marina Cay.

Good luck.

The moorings outside Spanishtown have always worked fine for me in that situation.

I'd go with Marina Cay. Makes for a nice relaxing morning with plenty of time to spare.

Loving all the info. Keep it coming!

What Maytrix said X2

x3 on Marina Cay.

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Marina Cay or Trellis Bay - De Loose Mongoose looks like it will be fun to try at Trellis....

I like St Thomas Bay very much for the beautiful sunset and proximity to Coco Maya. I didn’t notice the ferry traffic any more than at Marina Cay where the Scub Island ferry passes frequently. That said, Marina Cay can’t be beat for the sunrise over Gorda, if you are on deck at that hour.

Marina Cay is closed so I would not depend on the mooring quality. Trellis might be your best option or return to Scrub and enjoy the resort for your last night.

Aren't these centrally maintained Moor Seacure moorings? They looked like they were being maintained in January.

Forgot about that option. Good call.

We were at Marina Cay in Feb, moorings looked maintained and in good shape. I want to say the fuel/water dock was in operation....the old gentleman who had always run it was still there although hours were reduced. I think he must own and run the mooring operation too. I second the recommendations for Trellis as well.

Agree on St. Thomas Bay, but it is shallow and you have to watch out for the underwater electric cables. We hooked one last time, not fun. Coco Maya is awesome.

I've found that anchoring or mooring outside of Spanish Town can be surprisingly rough and rolly considering it's location. I have anchored between the reefs at Savannah (it is a bigger area than the satellite images or the maps would lead one to believe) and it was incredibly protected; but my worry was always what I could do if a major CuNim would hit at night. So my recourse has always been to just motor up into the wind and into the North Sound with all of its good anchorages and mooring fields - nothing is better protected in the BVI than the North Sound. Trellis is full of mooring balls, so anchoring is not an option - if the mooring balls are all taken then Marina Cay is the next open alternative and if all those mooring balls are taken there is still a large area of 30' deep anchoring available... But when anchoring there one is subject to the wakes of all the boat traffic during day and night.

We anchor at Marina Cay and head over to The Baths at sunrise. I usually single hand it and let crew wake as they are ready. We get to enjoy our breakfast on an inner mooring at Devil Bay.

Cheers, RickG

Watch out if you go snorkeling Diamond Reef. There is an odd woman who lives there, and she'll be on island all winter.

We've always enjoyed staying at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour. That seems to be a minority opinion on this board. Part of the attraction was having Buck's Market and the Bath and Turtle right in the marina, and they've unfortunately moved further away. But I would still appreciate the reliably flat water, quick cab ride to the Baths, and short walk/cab to several eateries.

Dan

DanS - I once spent a month in the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor after my boat lost its rudder at sea (I got towed in by Speedy's fishing boat) and waiting for a replacement rudder. It was nice there and very calm, but when I was there in January there were no facilities open there - nothing at all apart from a coffee shop was open in the general vicinity of the docks. And although the docks were, for the most part, rebuilt, they were empty and I don't know if they were even open for business for transients.

Long Bay by Mountain Point on Virgin Gorda is a great spot to anchor for the night. Beautiful, protected (unless there's a big ground swell, in which case your only options are really VGYH, North Sound or Marina Cay/Trellis), great snorkeling (there's even a sunken WWII ship called the Kodiak Queen!), and you can swim or dinghy access to a beach. Link here with some details: https://www.bareboatsbvi.com/virgin-gorda/long-bay-beach.php

Also, Savanah Bay is absolutely beautiful and you won't regret spending the night there. Again, just be aware if there is swell you are going to want to be flexible and choose a different option. For entrance through the reef into Savanah Bay, stick to the right side.

As for your estimated time of an average sail from west side VG to Scrub, obviously it depends on the boat and wind. I'd plan for 2 hours to be safe, but it won't take that long

Not sure about the OPs status, but I thought Savanah was redlined by most charter companies unless an owner or crewed. Was it Savanah that a boat went ashore and was destroyed by the swell a few years ago?

I believe that Savannah is indeed redlined for charters. The boat that went aground recently was in White Bay

Thanks for the update. I should have mentioned that I have not been there post-Irma.

Dan

yikes...lol. This has been super helpful...rookie question here: What is a "Ground Swell" and how do we know if one will be in effect the night we anchor?

Large waves from the north due to storms in the North Atlantic. They generally occur only in the winter.

There are web sites that forecast wind and waves, for example http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=58

Dan

Savannah Bay is not redlined by Moorings/Sunsail. It is however not usable with a North Swell and the entrance requires care.
G