Official Approved Mooring Sites

I don't see the information elsewhere, please bear with me if this is redundant.
I got this picture emailed from our charter company so I cannot vouch for it beeing authentic.

Well that’s a interesting selection. Many of those anchorages are suitable for day or very settled weather only. Some only have room for 2 maybe 3 boats and the only anchorage approved on Anegada is off limits to most charterboats. 5 are unusable with a North Swell. Others require strong anchoring skills. Where are the boats expected to go if the overnight forecast is bad? $20,000.00 dollar fine if you pull into the bight or great harbor with a severe line of thunderstorms forecast? I think Lucy yanked the football yet again or is this a joke?
G

I think that they looked for all anchorages where there was nothing ashore to "tempt" boats to break quarantine. I agree that most of them are not good anchorages (although I haven't anchored at 3,4 or 5) and the only one I'd plan on would be 9 or 14. And I think I've had trouble getting good holding at 14 with my extra oversized anchor and over 300ft of chain! As you mentioned, most charterers have enough trouble picking up a mooring ball and are not comfortable anchoring. I think that this is another case of the "BVILove" false advertising attempt to lure in tourists.

I agree, 9 and 14 are it if there is a possibility for bad weather. I guess the other option is return to your charter base. That makes no sense from a covid perspective.

Thought the whole idea was to use mooring fields. Most of these seem to be anchoring areas. Looks like 9 is leverick Bay area.

9 is actually to the West of the mooring field. Anchor only.

Another reason they may have picked these is because they want to put the quarantined boats away from the none quarantined boats.

Are they reading any of the current science on how covid is transmitted? Unless your rafting up and hosting parties you can’t get any safer than moorings in the BVI.

14 at Little Jost is labeled Manchioneel Bay. Isn't that the mooring area at Cooper?

There is also a manchioneel bay toward the east end of little jost.

I believe that this is the area around where the B-Line bar is and further east. Depth is ~30 feet and holding is pretty bad. I like anchoring there, but I've got around 300ft of chain while most charter boats have at most 100ft and that might not be enough for that location in unsettled conditions. There are mooring balls at Diamond Cay (just to the west) but I'm unsure of whether that is acceptable for the quarantine anchorage.

It was posted in another thread, but it doesn't hurt for this to be it's own thread, due to the importance of the information, to make it easier to find.

and this assumes someone is actually bringing COVID in to give it to you at a mooring which after at least 3 tests and 5 days of quarantine shouldn't be an issue on a boat...

yep.... not on Navionics map but found it using Google Maps.

FYI... The name "manchineel" (sometimes spelled "manchioneel" or "manchineal"), as well as the specific epithet mancinella, is from Spanish manzanilla ("little apple"), from the superficial resemblance of its fruit and leaves to those of an apple tree. It is also known as the beach apple.

Don't eat the apples!

Why did the BVI call these mooring fields. Very deceptive. All are anchoring only. Many credit card captains have no idea how to anchor and the amount of room that is needed between boats anchored.
I used to keep my yacht moored on the most western mooring at Leverick Bay. If i use 100 ft of chain then I will need 200 ft diameter of anchoring room. This gets you close to the western shore of the leverick bay mooring field.

I do see a cat moored at Cooper on a ball.

Yep, sure nuf. It will be interesting to see if they are 'run off'?

tpcook:
The area around Leverick is 20ft or less in good sand holding. Nobody should EVER use 100ft of chain in that area; so no radius of 200 ft is required. In addition, the wind is quite constant and there is no tidal influence so boat can actually anchor quite close with no danger of collision.

I understand Voyage had a catamaran go out yesterday afternoon, or maybe this morning. I can't identify the boat on the webcam, so I sent a 'chat' message to Voyage, and they will check. With these stories of crazy fines, no need to get another one going.

They're leaving now, but a PC has now moored there.

There are people other than tourists here. We had a cat in CGB last week and saw several boats in Anegada last weekend. BVI people are doing staycations and some own boats here. Just sayin'.....

Completely possible, but sure looks like a typical charter PC.

Sounds like a boat a local would love to charter at the discount rates being offered.

that is a pretty sight....

http://cooperisland-bvi.com/current.jpg

Good for them....

Perhaps the power cat got the word, they have now departed. (It is obvious I have no life. I sit here in freezing temperatures watching BVI webcams all day) :-(

Right there with you Noel...

Does anyone have a update? Any change in the published anchorages? Can you snorkel? Can you dive?

I sent a message to the Steering Committee via WhatsApp and they said only the 14 on the map/graphic that is posted in this thread. It's interesting that the graphic is titled "Official Approved Mooring Sites", but there isn't one of the fourteen that has mooring balls. SteerCo confirmed that all are "anchor only". They did not say there was a revision in the works. Also, I asked a week or so ago about going ashore to walk on a remote beach after that information had been mentioned. I received a response saying that it's true you will be able to go ashore at approved beaches to walk but they have not been announced yet. If anyone hears/sees more about this please post!

Update from the water: We, and others have been snorkeling in the approved anchorages. There is no enforcement that we are aware of. The tracking bracelets don't appear to do anything. They beep constantly. Most folks we've talked to just put them somewhere on aboard where they can't be heard.

We've been to the anchorages at Peter, Cooper, Jost and Norman. All protected and good holding in sand. Haulovers at Cooper is pretty small with room for ~4 before it gets pretty deep. There are several balls around the corner to the south that I'm sure you can use. It was a bit windy at the Sandy Spit anchorage on Jost so we moved around inside the mooring field at B-line which worked great. There are now a gazillioin balls at Benures Bay on Normal which should be great news for those with anchoring anxiety. Still some anchoring space left for others.

Hopefully we get our negative results back today (our Day 5) and get released from bondage.

Thats all for now.
Husker, Benures Bay, Peter Is, out

(Happy to answer specific questions here or via TTOL PM or gmail....clloyd309@gmail.com)

thanks for the great reports...

Thank you Husker, this is great info. Enjoy!