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Anchorage· Barbuda· Leeward Islands

Low Bay Anchorage

17° 38.7′ N · 61° 51.4′ W

A wide-open sand anchorage off the west-coast barrier beach that walls Codrington Lagoon from the sea: miles of empty pale-pink sand ahead, the lagoon and frigatebird colony just behind it. It is the closest anchorage to Codrington village.

St Martin, Anguilla & St BarthsAntigua & BarbudaGuadeloupe, Les Saintes & Dominica

Practical

Coordinate verified: the anchored position N17 38.670 W061 51.359 in 17 ft posted by SV Aftica on Noonsite (Nov 2017); OpenStreetMap puts the beach about 450 m east of it. Sand with very good holding; depth shoals very gradually toward the beach, so you can pick your depth. In easterly trades the north side of the lagoon cut is a little less rolly; nights can be rolly whenever there is any northerly or westerly swell, and the anchorage is only comfortable in settled weather. Doyle's approach waypoint is LBAU06 (N17 38.8 W061 52.3), and boats coming up from the south should stay outside the 9-ft bank (LBAU07, N17 36.0 W061 53.0). Yachts must anchor OUTSIDE the lagoon: anchoring inside is not recommended (little tide, very variable depths). Getting to Codrington means crossing the barrier beach. The breaches Hurricane Irma cut in it are partly silting up and surf breaks across the cut; it is marked only by a small pinkish float. Dragging any vessel across the bar is specifically prohibited under the Barbuda marine regulations. Cruisers recommend a Barbudan water taxi instead of your own dinghy: about US$40 round trip in January 2024, verify locally. Water taxis monitor VHF 16 and/or 68 (2019 report). There is no fuel, water or trash service at the anchorage. Aggressive dogs have been reported on the sand spit near the ruined Lighthouse Bay Resort (2021), so take care landing there.

Best for

Closest anchorage to Codrington, frigatebird tours and the long west-coast beach

Season

Settled trade-wind weather; avoid in northerly or westerly swell (winter cold-front swells)

Itineraries that stop here

Nearby