St Helena (9th of May to 29th May 2013)

We left Walvis bay  Namibia, with newly made friends Klaus and Juana from SV Boomerang 2 on the 9^th of May, to sail to St Helena. It  is situated 1200nm to the NW in the South Atlantic ocean… Access to the island is currently only by ship but an airport is being constructed.

 A friendly seal decided to leap aboard hoping we had some fish. The tourist boat operators feed them each day as part of their routine. Eric offered some canned tuna which it declined and slid overboard!

We had a tedious and boring trip with the wind never quite in the perfect direction to fill the sails and give us speed downwind, along with an unpleasant  rolling action from the stern. Our highlight of the trip was passing the meridian line taking us from the eastern to the western hemisphere.

In our minds we are half way around the world…..We were pleased to see the peaks of St Helena Island at the end of the 9^th day.

We took a mooring bouy and relaxed for the rest of the day choosing to clear with Immigration and customs the next day, being Monday. 

A ferry operates every 2 hrs to provide transport ashore. This was most helpful on the first day to see where to land and at times when it is very rough causing rollers to break on the sea wall. We used our kayak most of the time to regain our fitness and save the 2 Pound return trip pp charge.

We arrived unknowingly over the long weekend of Whitsunday and Monday and St Helena Day (21^st May) so enjoyed the festivities ashore, celebrating  it’s discovery in 1502. 

With Klaus and Juana we puffed and panted our way up the 699 steps of Jacobs ladder ( 600ft) to enjoy the view of the bay. This inclined plane was built in 1829 to ferry goods to and from the town on rail tracks then reverted to steps when the roads were built.

 At the top of ladder hill is the old fort with it’s barracks and battery commanding spectacular views of the Ocean and Jamestown. The views of Jamestown in the valley are stunning

The road winds it’s way down the valley boarded on one side by chain link and wire rope fencing and on the other by a rock wall to guard  against rock falls.

As extra punishment to our aching calf muscles we took the gravel track over the other side of the valley to view the old fortifications and view the celebrations below.

The warship Black Rover was anchored in the bay as part of the St Helena day celebrations

Many hours were spent looking around town at the old buildings and  museum, shopping  and enjoying coffee and cake

We took a local bus up to Red Hill then walked to High Knoll Fort which was built as a redoubt for the island population incase of an invasion.

We got the key from the National trust office and enjoyed the time fossicking through the old barracks and fort with a torch.

The view here was also spectacular and we watched the HMS St Helena arriving which sails between Capetown,  St Helena and Ascension Island on a regular basis bringing supplies and passengers.

 Cathy encouraged us to sample the fruit of the cactus “Prickly pear”

Walking along the road through a forest of Bastard Gums which are endemic to St Helena and NZ flax brought us to Plantation House which is the residence of the Governor. It was built in 1792 by the East India company. The grounds surrounding are open to the public with historic nature trails and  5 Tortoise to see.

Walking back to Jamestown was all downhill through the villages where people  were so friendly and forthcoming with information.  We sat on the top of the Hill looking at the St Helena offloading supplies and passengers

With 2 ships arriving in close succession we weren’t able to hire a car for a week but we had an itinerary well planned by the time we did.

We visited The 2 houses where Napoleon was held in exile. Local saints are passionate about their history and gave us an excellent guided tour of each house

We took a stroll down the valley to the very peaceful glen where Napoleon requested he be buried if his body wasn’t allowed off the island. The tomb no longer holds his body. It was exhumed 19 yrs later and returned to France.

With a long haul ahead of us to Brazil we had been struggling to find enough fresh fruit , veges  and eggs so we stopped at every roadside shop to provision. There isn’t enough produce grown locally to keep up with the demand and when it reaches the shops it vanishes quickly from the shelves and  the supply ship from Capetown takes several days to offload it’s supplies.

This shop was almost completely hidden and only an old rustic sign gave a clue to it’s existence.  This local man was enjoying a beer in the driveway entrance and pointed out the shop to us.

We wound our way down the exceptionally steep, narrow and winding road enjoying the view and diverse landscape. NZ flax was brought and planted here for the production of rope

There were small pockets of lush flora in a ribbon down the valley surrounded by the arid volcanic peaks

Old stone fortifications and cannon still stand in defence of this “Sandy Bay” beach

We arrived back at Jamestown just before dark and enjoyed an ale at the Pub before returning to our boats.

Tomorrow we check out and on Wednesday morning  set sail for Fernando de Noronha, 1800nm to the nor west ,an island off the Brazilian coast.

Cruiser Note's For St Helena

We left Walvis Bay in 15 knt's from the SW soon changing to 10 to 20 veering between SE to E.

After a nine day Passage we approached the Jamestown anchorage in the morning from the north.

The local boats all face the land as they are tied to heavy braided, floating, polypropylene warps that extend from inshore anchorage points seawards.

For obvious reasons don't steam in amongst the local craft.

The mornings that have been laid for transient boats are just south of the local boats. ( 2 pound per day) Everyone is very obliging and helpful. Just pay later when you have the money.

This seems to be a well chosen site, although it is a long way from the landing dock.

The water is clean and clear. Around fifteen meters over sand. Good bottom fishing in the late afternoon and evening.

The moderately large mooning buoys have a large ring on the top that you are expected to pass a line through. However the ring lies flat and is difficult to lift remotely. Be prepared to come along side the buoy or reverse up to it . Maybe even standing on it to pass the line through.

Friends tried to anchor but their anchor did not bed well. The sand seemed to have little depth to it.

The little ferry to shore is the best way. ( now 1 pound per person one way.) but we went by inflatable kayak and hauled it up on to the dock. Others did similar with small inflatables and one person tied theirs off at the dock. It seemed to survive it .

There is usually a swell rolling in but it the eight days we were there it was never a problem getting ashore.

We had the first three days there flat calm.

St Helena radio gave us a time to be ready and the ferry picked us up and took us ashore to clear.

Information others have given regards fees, internet ,supply’s etc are reasonably accurate. Fresh veges happen when they happen there is no real regular time for them to arrive . We had trouble getting eggs on the west of the island but found plenty in the east.

Ann’s place is nice but as we had heard it was lackluster and we found the Consulate hotel a better base.

If you want to hire a car , the best deal is direct from Collins garage, or if they don't have one the tourist center will arrange one for you but it will, likely, cost a little more. They can be in short supply if the supply ship HMS St Helena is coming in. Don't expect to get higher than second gear. If you do , your'e speeding!

We were approached to take a guided tour, but chose to drive ourselves

If you require LPG? Get you bottle to Solomon's garage before Thursday as the bottles are taken early on Thursday for filling. It is expensive but they can put in a measured amount if you ask. Ours was topped right up by mistake but they are such obliging people that we chose not to make a fuss.

For us this was a fascinating place with so much to see and lots of exploring to do.

We think it needs to be thought of more as a destination rather than a short stop over. We met a Sth African couple on their boat and they were working for 6mths to supplement their funds. This is permissable.