Sargassum at 17 Mile Beach, the Low Bay sandbar (Barbuda)
Clear
Pristine, dive in
17 Mile Beach runs along Low Bay on the west side of Barbuda, a ribbon of sand laid between the Caribbean Sea and Codrington Lagoon, across the water from the island's only town. The name hints at the scale: the bar carries on well beyond its best known stretch near the Lighthouse Bay Resort.
This page saves you a pointless crossing: the score, on a 0 to 5 scale, is updated every morning, and the map shows the state of the Barbuda sector at a glance. Clear sand, mats offshore or a landing in progress, everything is summed up before you plan the day.
17 Mile Beach (Low Bay) on the sargassum map
What to know about this beach
The bar faces due west, on the Caribbean side: Barbuda puts its full width between these kilometres of sand and the Atlantic, where the drift carried by the easterly trades comes from. The island's east coast absorbs arrivals first; Low Bay, downwind, usually sees only what is left.
The setting remains unusual: open sea on one side, Codrington Lagoon on the other, and in between a strip of sand only some fifteen metres deep in places. Masses slipping past the island, north side or south side, do strand here at times, yet the sheer length dilutes them quickly: the mapped stretch alone runs past 1.6 kilometres, with more of the same bar continuing southward.
Frequently asked questions
Is 17 Mile Beach spared by sargassum?
It is clearly favoured. Facing due west on Barbuda's leeward side, it lets the island's Atlantic coast absorb the easterly flow. Leftovers can still round Barbuda and settle here from time to time.
Is Codrington Lagoon affected as well?
The sandbar separates the lagoon from the open sea, where the rafts travel. The side to watch is therefore the Caribbean face of the bar, the beach itself: the morning rating covers that shore.
How do I check conditions before crossing from Codrington?
Glance at the FanGass rating for the Barbuda sector, from 0 to 5 and recalculated every morning, plus the map at the top of this page. Ten seconds of reading beat a wasted crossing.
Which other Barbuda beach should I compare?
Princess Diana Beach at Coco Point, in the south of the island. It is leeward too, but faces south-west: on some days one of the two fares better than the other, and the map settles the choice.