How BoatyBall works

What BoatyBall is

BoatyBall is the mooring reservation and safety network for the British Virgin Islands. Before BoatyBall, boaters raced from bay to bay looking for open moorings on first-come basis, with no way to plan a charter with confidence — and no easy way to know if the mooring they tied up to was maintained, or if it would hold overnight.

BoatyBall solves that. Reserve your mooring in advance at popular bays. Pay for first-come moorings from your phone once you tie up. Set a free drift alarm on 600+ moorings in the BVI. Get access to medical evacuation coverage as part of your membership. And request dinner reservations or dockage without picking up a VHF radio.

How memberships work

Membership tiers determine what you can do. The core split is between the captain (Solo) and everyone else on the boat (Crew and Guests).

• Free account. Pay for first-come moorings in the BoatyBall program. No reservations, no medical evacuation coverage, no community access.
• Solo (the captain). The captain can reserve moorings. Includes AeroMD medical evacuation coverage, BoatyAlarm access, and the exclusive community.
• Crew & Guest. Added under a Solo captain’s account at a discount. Get the same medical evacuation and BoatyAlarm access — everything except reservations and community access, which stay with the captain.
• Advanced Reservations. A limited upgrade for captains who plan ahead. Request a slot up to 12 months out; the upgrade activates 24 hours before your trip starts, and once your trip is underway you can reserve moorings several days in advance within your trip window.

See the Membership page for current pricing, the party-size math, and everything included in each tier.

The mooring types

BVI mooring balls are color-coded by purpose. Most nights you’ll be on orange (reserved through BoatyBall) or white (first-come). The other colors mean specific things you need to know before tying up.

• Orange — Reservable. All orange moorings in the BVI are BoatyBall moorings. Book through the app in advance. Overnight OK.
• White — First-Come, First-Served. Not all white moorings are in the BoatyBall program, but they all work the same way — you tie up first and pay after. For BoatyBall-program white moorings (marked with a BoatyBall sticker on the ball), you can pay directly through the app. Overnight OK.
• Red — National Parks Trust. Day-use only at Parks Trust sites like The Baths and Sandy Cay. 90-minute limit when others are waiting. Not managed by BoatyBall.
• Blue — Dinghy tie-off only. Small moorings at popular snorkel sites — not sized for a full-size vessel. Some are in the BoatyBall program (payable via the app) and some aren’t.
• Yellow — Private or commercial dive. Either privately owned or reserved for commercial dive boats. Assume they’re spoken for even if they look empty.

For the full color code with visuals, field norms, and safety rules, see Mooring Field Etiquette.

Getting started

To join the BoatyCrew and use the app:

A typical charter, end-to-end

Here’s how the whole system fits together across a week on the water.

Before you leave home

• Confirm your account has a current boat and a valid payment method on file. You can’t reserve without both.
• Moorings are released each morning at 7 AM local time for that day’s use — that’s when you’ll actually make your reservations, not before your trip. Plan to be in the app at 7 AM sharp on days you want a specific popular bay.
• If you want to guarantee a mooring in a specific bay on a specific night of your trip, consider the Advanced Reservations upgrade. It activates 24 hours before your trip starts and lets you book multiple days ahead once you’re underway.
• Confirm your BoatyAlarm access is active in the app.

When you arrive at a bay

• Approach the mooring field at less than 5 mph — watch for swimmers, snorkelers, and dinghies.
• For a reserved (orange) mooring, tie up to the specific ball number shown in your reservation. Do not tie to a different orange ball.
• For a first-come (white) mooring, tie up to any BoatyBall-stickered white ball, then open the app and pay for it. See Mooring Field Etiquette for the payment steps.
• Having trouble finding your specific mooring in a crowded field? Use the app’s location services to guide you to the exact ball. See Find My Mooring.

Once you’re tied up

• Dive your mooring to inspect the pendant and hardware before you trust it overnight. See Mooring Safety.
• Set your BoatyAlarm so you’re notified immediately if your boat drifts off its position.
• Request dinner reservations or dockage from the app or website — the request goes directly to the establishment.

Checkout and next bay

• Standard checkout on reservable moorings is 12:00 PM. Complete any additional-night payment before then to hold your spot.
• Once you vacate a first-come mooring, it’s available for the next vessel — payments do not transfer to another boat.
• Planning to stay past noon on a first-come mooring? Pay for it through the app so no one comes in expecting an open ball.

What else is included

Beyond mooring reservations, a BoatyCrew Solo membership includes:

• AeroMD medical evacuation coverage — 24/7 access to emergency medical evacuation from the BVI, included at no additional cost.
• BoatyAlarm — free drift and anchor alarm on 600+ BVI moorings. Get notified the moment your boat moves off station.
• Community access — the BoatyCrew online community for tips, planning help, and connecting with other BVI boaters.

Trip insurance is available as an optional add-on — see the Membership page for details.

Getting help

Every bay is different, and things sometimes don’t go according to plan. If you have a specific question or something isn’t working, you have three ways to reach us:

• Ask BoatyBall — the AI assistant, grounded in these guides. Fastest for how-to questions.
• Call BoatyBall — for anything urgent or account-related.
• VHF the nearest resort — if you’re on the water and need immediate local help.

For a marine emergency while on the water in the BVI, contact VISAR (Virgin Islands Search and Rescue) — the BVI’s version of the coast guard. Dial 767 from a mobile phone (the BVI’s marine 911) or call 284-499-0911. Learn more at visar.org.