We sailed round to Low Bay, off Codrington town, or at least off the large lagoon that protects the town.  In order to clear out of Barbuda, you have to go to the town and find the necessary officials. The anchorage was a bit open, but we settled down and then took the dinghy ashore. This entailed a fairly wild and wet run through the choppy surf, and a committed drive up the beach on a wave…. coordinating the jumping off onto the sand and heaving like mad to avoid being sucked back odd on the next one. Next step was to haul the dinghy up and over the sand bar, drop it in the lagoon, and then motor about 2 miles across to the town.

In a dilapidated small town (or village, to be more accurate), the sight that greets you on arrival is quite bizarre. There is a brand new facility that purports to be a fishing quay and associated processing and administration building, funded by the Japanese government. It is completely disproportionate, probably in the wrong place, and we suspect is associated with a whaling deal. The other buildings around are somewhat haphazard, often with peeling paint and in states of disrepair, apart from a few official properties.

The local process of clearing out required us to find the 3 separate bureaucrats in different parts of the town, but in the right order. This took a bit of time! People were helpful in directing us, but not always accurate in their guidance. There were a lot of desultory looking lads and bored young women, glued to their mobile phones.  Apart from the school children, there seemed to be little joy in faces and attitudes.  We wondered how a fairly poor community of about 2000 people can function, providing all the essential services without falling apart.

Scratching our heads, we went back to the dinghy and reversed the trip, again getting a good soaking. The boat was slewing around a bit, so we moved to a slightly more sheltered part of Low Bay overnight.

Watergaw