St Helena’s tourist strap line is ‘the most extraordinary place on earth’ –
quite a claim. Based on our experiences during our 4 day stop over we now agree
that it might be one of them. The island, a British Overseas Territory in the
South Atlantic Ocean has spectacular scenery, amazing marine wildlife and a
unique history and culture.
Firefly arrived at the roadstead off St James at 2200 on Thursday 18th
January in darkness, the approach made more dramatic by the lights of houses on
top of the volcanic island, the moorings almost directly below, close to a sheer
rock face. We also caught our first sight of Jacobs Ladder the flight of steps
linking the upper and lower settlements of the town.
As we sail away watching the Island disappear behind a cloud we are able to
reflect on some of the highlights. We hiked around Diana’s Peak the highest
point of the island where the volcanic dry exterior is transformed into a lush
green ‘cloud forest’ interior fed by the moisture of low lying clouds. We
‘walked’ up Jacob’s Ladder all 699 steps and after catching our breath (it took
a while) could admire a bird’s eye view over the lower town and the mooring
field.
Whale Sharks are regular visitors to the islands and we went out to look
for them in a local boat. We eventually found two with all of the passengers
jumping in to swim and snorkel with them - Peter almost landed on top of one as
he jumped in! These elegant creatures are about 30 feet long and are the biggest
fish in the sea. They are sharks but they feed on plankton like Basking Sharks
and the only threat is a whack from their tail. They were however very placid
and didn’t seem to mind our company.
We toured the island stopping at the Governor’s Residence, Plantation
House. Currently there is a Lady Governor, employed by the UK Civil Service to
oversee things on behalf of the UK. Her right hand lady, Debbie, despite a busy
schedule, showed us around and gave us a fantastic insight into the life of the
first Lady Governor and life in general on the island. in 1815 and of great
historical significance, Napoleon, was exiled here after the battle of Waterloo.
He was sent to St Helena as opposed to allowing him political asylum in England
and he stayed until his death. We visited Longwood House his rather plush gaol,
it seems like he was treated well. His original tomb is set in a beautiful green
valley a few miles from the house but his body was returned to France some 6
years after his death.
Our final outing yesterday evening was aboard an open topped 1929 Chevrolet
Charabanc we shared with other World ARC crews. We climbed out of Jamestown and
visited the distillery of an enterprising English man who is married to a St
Helena resident – inevitably purchasing both spiced rum and a bottle of wine.
The next stop was at nearby restaurant with a superb view back over Jamestown
and the surrounding peaks and needless to say the wine was did not make the trip
back down the hill.
There were many dinners and events hosted by locals and our special thanks
go to Jackie Reo the Commodore of the St Helena Yacht club who made sure we had
all the information we needed and could not have done more to make us feel
welcome and our visit special. We would recommend her for an honorary ‘World
Cruising yellow shirt’, she is a great ambassador of the island.
So thank you Jackie and all of the friendly people of St Helena for making
our trip so special. Our next destination is Salvador de Bahia on the east coast
of Brazil – its over 1900 nautical miles and there is not a great deal of wind
forecast so it may take some time.
Paul, Gareth and
Peter.