Many anchorage’s and dive site offer moorings for private and commercial use. Permanent mooring offer a number of advantages, protection of marine habitats, secure holding and the ability to fit more vessels into a given area are some of them.

The skipper has to assess the safety and suitability of a mooring, not all are well installed or maintained. Anchorage’s may have private moorings mixed in with public ones, check the swinging room is adequate for the vessel.

To use the British Virgin Islands as an example the mooring bouy system is divided into two categories. The National Parks Trust have day mooring fields installed at many of the most popular dive and snorkel spots, they are colour coded according to vessel activity. The installation system used causes minimum impact on the surrounding environment. Note these moorings are not authorized for overnight use.

The overnight moorings can be used by vessel up to 60 ft in length and are marked as such, they are allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

Picking up a mooring buoy from a catamaran is not difficult. It is recommended to approach from the starboard bow as this gives the crew on the foredeck a clear view to the helmsman and easy communication. Position a crewman on the starboard bow to indicate the position of the mooring buoy and be ready to hook the pickup line. Use the boathook to lift the pickup line or mooring pennant and attach this to the starboard cleat on the aluminum crossbeam. Once secured on the stb side attach one of the vessels docklines to the port cross beam cleat and run the free end through the metal ring on top of the mooring buoy and back to the same cleat and secure. In order to centralize the buoy release tension on the starboard pickup line and take up the slack on the port line until the buoy is centered.

Make sure the helmsman has a a clear view forward, approach the mooring head to wind at slow speed. Aim the bouy to be just inside the stb bow.

When within two boat lengths center the helm and maneuver using the throttles, stop the boat with a short burst astern and hold the boat stationary while the crew secures the mooring buoy.

When it is time to leave the mooring simply slip the lines starting with the port side first.