Anchorage· Anegada· Virgin Islands (BVI, USVI and Spanish Virgins)
Setting Point Mooring Field & Anchorage
18° 43.4′ N · 64° 23.1′ W
Anegada's one real harbour: a shallow, sand-bottomed mooring field and anchorage between Setting Point and Pomato Point, inside the reef on the island's southwest corner. Lobster restaurants line the beach with their own dinghy docks, and it is the base for every trip ashore on the BVI's only coral island.
Practical
Position is Noonsite's mooring position (18°43'21"N, 64°23'08"W; general info updated June 2024); a reader report in Ocean Sailor/Kraken gives 18°43.467'N 64°23.48'W for the anchorage just to the west. Enter only by the buoyed channel (see the Setting Point Entrance Channel passage). Depths in the inshore main anchorage run about 2 to 2.5 m (6.5 to 8 ft) over sand with good holding, with somewhat deeper water with good holding a little farther out past the point (Kraken reader report); depths shoal toward the back of the field, which matters for monohulls (Yacht Warriors). Sail Magazine (2015) describes the mooring field as suited to catamarans with a small anchorage for boats drawing 6 ft or more. Protection: some shelter from northwest through northeast, but the island is only about 28 ft high, so there is little protection in heavy weather. Moorings: plenty of first-come, first-served balls plus about 10 reservable BoatyBall moorings (Yacht Warriors); Noonsite says to contact the Anegada Reef Hotel or Neptune's Treasure about overnight buoys. A 2017 visitor found yellow balls (Anegada Reef Hotel) and white balls (another local operator) at US$30 a night; The Moorings' March 2026 flotilla sheet lists Anegada at US$35 to US$55 a day (indicative). A collector comes round by boat or you pay ashore. Mooring ball care: in April 2024 a Yacht Warriors skipper had a white first-come ball part immediately after tying on in 18 knots; the field uses sand screws and that pennant was old and frayed and locally maintained. Snorkel and inspect the pennant and ground tackle before you trust a ball, and keep the engine ready until you are sure. Winds are usually east, so you often have to make a U-turn through the field to approach a ball downwind; go slowly. Arrive by late morning: Yacht Warriors suggests leaving North Sound about 8 am for a 10 to 10:30 am arrival to get a ball. Dinghy docks at Potter's, the Anegada Reef Hotel, the Lobster Trap and the Wonky Dog. No fuel or water dock for yachts is documented (see the fuel entry). Dinghy and outboard theft is a BVI-wide problem: lift and lock at night (Noonsite). Anegada is not a port of entry: clear into the BVI first at Road Town, West End, Jost Van Dyke or Spanish Town.
Best for
The only protected overnight stop on Anegada and the jumping-off point for the whole island
Season
Best Dec–Jul in settled trades; avoid arriving in strong winds or poor light; rollers Oct–May (see seasonal entry)
Itineraries that stop here
Nearby
- Hurricane Season (Anegada)Right here
- Setting Point Mooring Operators & PaymentRight here
- Winter North Swell & Horseshoe Reef HazardRight here
- Anegada Bonefishing Flats0.2 NM away
- Anegada Lobster Festival0.2 NM away
- Anegada Provisions & Small Markets0.2 NM away
- Anegada Reef Hotel0.2 NM away
- Horseshoe Reef & Conch Island Boat Tours0.2 NM away
Place data includes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).