Types of mooring balls

BVI mooring balls are color-coded by purpose. Most nights you’ll be on orange (reserved) or white (FCFS) balls. Knowing what the other colors mean prevents you from tying to a ball you shouldn’t — or missing a chance to guarantee a spot at a Parks Trust site.

The BVI mooring color code

Orange — Reservable
Book through BoatyBall. Overnight OK when reserved to your vessel. The most common everyday mooring.
White — First Come, First Served (FCFS)
Available to the first vessel that arrives, secures, and pays. Overnight OK. Look for the BoatyBall sticker to confirm the ball participates.
Red — National Parks Trust
Day-use only at BVI National Parks sites like The Baths and Sandy Cay. 90-minute limit when others are waiting.
Blue — Dinghy tie-off
Small moorings at popular snorkel sites for tying off dinghies only. Not sized to hold a full-size vessel.
Yellow — Private or commercial dive
Either privately owned (use only with the owner's permission) or reserved for commercial dive boats working nearby sites. Even if a yellow ball appears empty, assume it's spoken for — a dive boat may be swinging back.
💡
Good to know

Not every white ball is a BoatyBall FCFS mooring — some belong to other systems or private owners. Always look for the BoatyBall sticker on the ball itself to confirm before tying up.

📋
National Parks Trust courtesy

Red moorings at Parks Trust sites like The Baths, Sandy Cay, and The Indians are meant for short day visits — jump in, enjoy the water, and move on when others are waiting. Please limit your stay to 90 minutes when there’s a queue. Parks Trust moorings are not reservable and are managed independently of BoatyBall.

Paying for a FCFS mooring

Once you’ve secured your boat to a white BoatyBall FCFS mooring, payment happens through the app or website. The process:

  1. Log in to the BoatyBall app or website.
  2. Select the blue mooring icon corresponding to your location on the map.
  3. Confirm your vessel is attached to the FCFS mooring.
  4. Complete payment through the app or website. In some bays (including Cooper Island), a resort attendant may also collect payment onshore.

Standard checkout time is 12:00 PM. If you want to stay longer or another night, complete the follow-on payment before checkout to keep your spot.

Speed & nighttime lighting

Two safety issues that go beyond etiquette — these are the ones that prevent collisions and injuries in busy mooring fields.

📋
Speed limit

Keep your speed to less than 5 mph throughout the mooring field. Watch continuously for swimmers, snorkelers, dinghies, and paddleboarders — many will be low in the water and hard to see until you’re close.

📋
Night lighting — COLREGS

At night, your boat must display both navigation lights and a white all-round anchor light, with the white light positioned at least 1 meter higher than the nav lights. This meets international COLREGS requirements and makes your boat visible to other vessels approaching or moving through the field. Not optional — this is regulation.

Field etiquette

The unwritten (and sometimes written) rules every BVI boater is expected to follow:

  • Don’t hold moorings for later-arriving boats. Dinghies, gear, or personal items placed on a ball are not a valid reservation.
  • Don’t tie to a mooring occupied by someone’s dinghy. Even if it looks abandoned — you don’t know their circumstance.
  • Secure your vessel with two bow lines. One line is not enough in changing wind or current.
  • Keep pendants short — 3 to 4 feet. Longer pendants swing more and increase collision risk with neighboring boats.
  • Moorings are not transferable. Your reservation applies to your vessel only.
  • Once you leave a FCFS mooring, it’s available to others. Don’t try to hold it for a return trip.

Environmental responsibility

BVI waters are pristine — and stay that way because boaters take care of them.

  • Use onboard holding tanks as required by maritime law.
  • No discharge in mooring fields, or anywhere near beaches, snorkel sites, or dive sites.
  • No food or waste overboard, even biodegradable. What looks harmless attracts fish, sharks, and rats.
⚓
Why this matters

The BVI’s reefs, sea grass beds, and turtle populations are what make it a world-class destination. Every discharge or piece of debris in a mooring field affects the next boater’s experience — and the health of the ecosystem long-term.

When in doubt, ask.

Every bay is a little different. If you’re not sure whether a ball is reservable, whether a rule applies, or how to handle an unusual situation, ask. Call BoatyBall (+1-284-XXX-XXXX), hail a nearby resort on VHF, or ping Ask BoatyBall — the AI assistant grounded in these guides. No dumb questions in a mooring field.

Have a specific question? Ask BoatyBall.

Get answers grounded in these guides. Available anytime, anywhere you have signal.