Story and photos by Lexi Fisher and Chris Doyle
Barbuda, part of the dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, lies about 22 nautical miles north of its sister island. It is large, nearly half the size of Antigua, with a mere 2,000 inhabitants who almost all live around the village of Codrington. Its highest point is only 125 feet above the sea, and it has so many miles of brilliant turquoise shoal water that, as you sail toward it, you can sometimes see a blue-green reflection in the clouds long before you see the land itself.
The area is dotted with coral, teeming with every kind of fish, and is excellent for snorkeling. You have a good chance of spotting decorative eagle rays, often swimming in pairs, or gently moving stingrays. There are endless pale pink beaches with nary a soul on them. The longest is over 16 miles long, broken only by the small boat harbor and the occasional barrier breach.
Ashore, donkeys, horses, and deer roam wild, and best of all is the giant frigatebird rookery, the largest in the Western Hemisphere and bigger than any in the Galápagos. Frigatebirds are masters of the air. At two to three pounds, they have the greatest wing area in proportion to their weight of any bird.
They begin mating in late summer, and the female lays just one egg; the chicks spend almost six months in the nest and are dependent on their parents for food for almost a year. Frigatebirds return to their nesting sites, and Polynesians used them as homing pigeons. The Barbuda colony has been featured in National Geographic magazine, and a visit to this colony is an outstanding experience, unique in the Eastern Caribbean.
The colony is an unearthly spectacle. The frigates’ strange cries and the noise of their clicking beaks come from all around, and the air is alive with dark, wheeling birds. As far as the eye can see, clumpy mangrove bushes are full of nests with little heads sticking out, looking like intelligent fruits from an alien planet.
Barbudans are descended from enslaved people brought to the island by the Codrington family, who leased the island from England beginning in 1685, for one fat sheep per year. Unlike most Caribbean islands, Barbuda was never developed as a sugar plantation. The Codringtons used enslaved people primarily to raise livestock, grow provisions for their Antiguan estates, and maintain the island as a private hunting ground. With less direct oversight than on the sugar islands, enslaved people on Barbuda developed greater autonomy, which shaped lasting patterns of self-sufficiency and communal independence. They built lives around the island’s resources through cooperative fishing, subsistence farming, and hunting. When emancipation came, they stayed on the island, living cooperatively. Land was held communally, and there was so much that no one fought over it. This had been the key to the Barbudans keeping control over their own island. Since there was no individual land ownership, land could not be sold to outsiders.
When Antigua and Barbuda became independent in 1981, Barbuda was incorporated into the new nation despite significant opposition from many Barbudans, who had sought a different political arrangement. Since then, there have been several ambitious projects to develop the island and “bring it into the 21st century,” an idea strongly resisted by many Barbudans, who have long argued that large-scale tourism development would disrupt their communal land system, damage the environment, and deliver few meaningful economic benefits to the local community.
Barbudans often fought schemes dreamed up without their approval. Once, the Antigua government approved a large hotel project on Spanish Point. Mobile construction offices were erected. The Barbudan people wanted to keep this land as a park. They went en masse to the site and shoved the offices over the cliff. It will remain a park. Defending communal land from outside development has shaped a strong tradition of environmental protection on the island.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma in 2017 changed all this. The short story is that the government has basically passed a law that takes their land, which they are leasing to well-funded companies for millionaire homes. The lease of the old Coco Point Lodge was bought by Peace Love and Happiness, an international corporation whose aim was to develop the area into a millionaire’s playground. The houses they have put in, about three stories high, look more suitable to Miami than Barbuda. They are also working on Palmetto Point, in part of a valued wetland area, where they have been filling in and ponding vital wetlands to create a golf course and a large residential area. The loss of biodiversity will be significant, and while it may end up looking green and pleasant, it will require constant, environmentally damaging maintenance, further reduce biodiversity, and likely make Barbuda more vulnerable to natural disasters.
At the same time, another millionaire development group, run by Robert De Niro and James Packer, acquired the defunct K-Club to turn it into another playground for the super-rich. To date, their visible footprint has been limited to the Nobu Barbuda beach restaurant and clearing some land for residential development.
After Irma, while residents were forcibly evacuated, the government prioritized building an executive jet airport, and rebuilding the community has been very slow and is still incomplete.
Many Barbudans have strongly objected, but the courts have not often sided with them.
Doyle Guides contain the Eastern Caribbean’s most comprehensive and reliable sailing information, available in hard copy and online through a free mobile app, website, and Facebook group. (www.doyleguides.com)
For more reporting by Chris Doyle about the island, read “Barbuda: Is It the Most Threatened Island in the Eastern Caribbean?” (caribbeancompass.com/barbuda-is-it-the-most-threatened-island-in-the-eastern-caribbean).
Antigua & Barbuda Entry and Exit Procedures
Ports of Entry
Codrington is the single port of entry in Barbuda. It is necessary to get advanced approval from customs to arrive directly to Barbuda. Antigua has two ports of entry: English/Falmouth Harbour and Jolly Harbour.
Advance Paperwork
All visiting yachts should pre-register with eSeaClear or SailClear prior to arrival. For visitors from many countries, a visa is not required. Stays of up to 90 days are granted on arrival.
Entry Process
All vessels must clear in with customs and immigration upon arrival with their eSeaClear or SailClear notification ID number, crew passports and boat paperwork. A cruising permit is granted on check-in.
Exit Process
Same as the entry process. It is possible to check out of Antigua & Barbuda from Codrington. It is best to confirm customs & immigration will be at the office in advance as the authorities also service the airport.
Rates
Barbuda does not typically collect fees. Cruisers should expect to settle outstanding fees in Antigua. Approximate clearance costs for a double-handed 40-foot yacht with two crew are US$40. Children are deemed passengers and incur an additional charge when clearing out.
Check Antigua & Barbuda on Noonsite (www.noonsite.com/place/antigua-barbuda) for full details, information, and updates (free log-in required). This information is provided by Noonsite.com, specialists in worldwide formalities for yachts, and was accurate at press time.
