St. Helena

View of Jamestown and harbour

Distillery - I think it's a good  business here!

Longwood - Napoleon's "home" on St Halena

Ill fated runway - too windy to land large planes!

View of the fertile centre of the island

Flax - formerly a major industry in St Helena

Jacob"s Ladder - 699 stairs straight down the mountain

Maggie and Tahawus in James Bay

St. Helena

Nov. 20, 2016

The "saints" on St Helena have lived up to their reputation as friendly and helpful, not just to outsiders but between themselves. The officials said sorry when they were late and asked what they could help with. The ferry driver will make extra trips, always with a smile. In town, cars honk and wave to all they pass, and wait for others when the roads are too narrow for 2 cars. Customers in the grocery store shared the few peaches left. Little examples, but they add up.

Passing sailboats stay on mooring balls and there is a ferry service to bring you in to the dock. There is a significant swell at the dock so it would be difficult to use your own dinghy. They have lines for you to grab and you jump onto the slippery dock at the top of a wave. The steep rock face by our boats is home to many unique birds. In town the rock is covered in wire mesh to stop rocks from falling. The town, Jamestown, the capital and only settlement, is just main street running up the valley. Our guide book says the architecture is Georgian. There are many gardens, a public pool, and the trees are in bloom for spring. It is quite pretty.

There is a free museum where we spent a few informative hours. Before long haul flights, and the opening of the Suez Canal, this was a very busy port. In particular, the Dutch East India Company stopped here regularly for 2 centuries. It has been visited by Halley, Bligh, Nelson, Wellington, Cook, Darwin, and Napoleon.  5000 Boer prisoners of war were sent here in the Boer war in SA.

In the 5 centuries since discovery it has gone through many different industries. Flax from NZ was a big product until the use of cotton and nylon replaced linen. Today, the island is not self sufficient, but partly supported by Great Britain. But the unemployment rate is 0%. Young adults get university and transit paid for in England. The cost of living is very high with everything shipped in. Being isolated, technology has been slow to arrive. Cell phones last year, some wifi but slow. Locals can use the internet free from 12 to 6, but that is not long enough to download anything much. Debit cards are coming to the bank in Jan. No businesses take charge cards so you have to keep getting cash during bank hours.

Their first airport was to open May 2016. It has taken 4 years and is complete. But the first flight to land got hit by some wind sheer, shaking up the plane. And they feel this will often be the case. The runway is built north to south, but the prevailing winds are southeast and often strong and gusty on the top of the island. For the time being the airport is sitting unused. Some designer should be in trouble.

On Friday we organized an island tour for us and Tahawas crew. Robert was our guide and driver, and a good history teacher. They have a unique English accent here so we didn't understand it all. We visited Longwood, where Napolean spent the rest of his life. The property belongs to the French government and is used as a museum with a guide. Lots of interesting info there. It was quite a comfortable place to live with nice gardens. He said at one point that the only good thing on St Helena was the coffee. They still grow and brew their own which we enjoyed.

We drove past the airport, and the old volcano crater, and many important buildings. There are remains of old forts, and the old relay stations. The Germans sunk a boat in the harbour in 1942. A part of it still projects above the water. From the heights you can see the boat in the clear water. There is a steep staircase from the harbour up to the fort. It is called "Jacob's Ladder" and has 699 steps. I see there is a marathon next weekend that involves climbing it.

 On the grounds of the Governor General's home there are several giant tortoises. The oldest was alive when Napoleon came! There is one small distillery where we enjoyed the gin and rums made from local materials and wine from SA grapes. It is the only affordable alcohol in the stores .You can buy it in a bottle with "stairs" going up the side, as a souvenir.

Another sailboat from NZ arrived last night from Namibia and Louise left to sail straight to Grenada. On Verra didn't stop here, but continued on to Grenada.  You need medical evacuation insurance to stop. (Or they will sell it to you) , No Regrets will probably arrive tomorrow night. There is a motor yacht with a helicopter and pad belonging to some Arab prince. That's it except for a handful of local boats.

Maggie will probably set sail Mon or Tues. I'd like to get our laundry done and the laundromat doesn't open until Mon. The royal mail ship, "St Helena, was leaving as we arrived Thurs afternoon. The boat brings passengers and everything else islanders need, once a month. But on Sat the workers still hadn't finished unloading the containers so food supplies were depleted in the stores. We'll try again Mon. Today, Sunday, Rob and I are doing chores on Maggie to get ready for the next passage. We made water, repaired SSB wires, replaced some lines, tackled some more leaks, and scrubbed off salt, dirt and rust. Brazil, here we come!