Saint Helena History

Saint Helena's main interest is its history.  It was a major ship resupply stop since the 1600's, especially under the control of the British East India Company. The ships sailing  between Britain and Asia, travelling around the Cape of Good Hope, on both outbound and inbound passages stopped here. At times the  island saw 20 ships a month. They would pickup water, repair their ships and purchase fresh goods from the farmers before sailing onward.

Napoleon's House - Longwood

Napoleon's view out the back yard

His first grave site, before being exhumed and transported back to France.

The island has also made a good place to exile and imprison the enemies of the Crown over the years. Napoleon being the most famous resident in the 1815-1821 times. Boer War prisoners captured by the British in South Africa were imprisoned on tent sites in the late 1890s.

Site of the Boer's tents

Now it makes a good location for the endemic Wire Bird

There were slaves kept here, from Africa and Asia. However when Britain outlawed the slave trade, St. Helena became a focus for the British Navy's anti-slave ships. Dozens of captured ships with thousands of slaves were landed on St. Helena. The ships were broken up and slaves then lived near Ruperts Bay, just around the point from where we are moored. It is estimated that 8,000 Africans died on the island, mostly from disease.

The island has a fairly new airport, completed around 2015. Prior to this $300+ million project the only way on or off the island was via ship. Before covid there were two regular commercial flights per month to the island.  Right now, an expensive charter flight lands once or twice a month.

Jacobs Ladder built in 1829 to remove the large quantities of horse and mule manure out of Jamestown onto to the islands farmers.

Here's me doing the last 10 steps of Jacob's Ladder - I skipped all the ones below.

Johnathan

Jonathan's house

Jonathan arrived on the island in 1882 as a mature, Seychelles Giant Tortoise of at least 50 years old --- making him the oldest known land vertebrate at about 190 years old - that is even older than Queen Elizabeth. He lives in the Plantation House that was built in 1792, sharing it with the islands governor who is appointed by the Queen.

Downtown Jamestown

Annes cruiser hangout spot, Wifi and good lunches

The Bell stone -- hit it with another rock and it sounds like medium frequency tower bell

(If you looking for a good tour around St Helena, Derek from Island Tours is a good choice)

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St. H is pretty friendly to cruisers, being a historic stop over for sailors. The anchorage has high quality moorings for cruisers use at £2 (usd$2.60) a day. The landing spot can be pretty dicey at times. There is a small ferry that you call on VHF channel 16 to get a ride in from your boat (£2 roundtrip on a tab) or you can take your own dinghy in. Today we decided to stay on the boat as the seas are still up and yesterday it felt like we were taking our life in our hands getting on and off the ferry because of the increased swell. On exit you wait for the ferry to ride up 4-6 feet on an incoming surge. Near the peak you grab a two inch thick rope that is mounted overhead on the dock and yank yourself onto the pier. Getting back on the ferry we risked getting swept away as the pier was awash. The tiller man is a real pro. Most days are mellow enough that the locals come down to  the pier to swim, but not with this big north swell. 

Once a month the supply ship from Cape Town, MV St. Helena, stops  in. She's now anchored outside the yachts, as they were unwilling to come in to tie up to the container this morning to unload due to the seas. The ship was already 4 days delayed, so the islanders, called Saints, are anxiously looking forward to new supplies. No Amazon Prime deliveries here.

Plans for our next set of passages seem to change every few days. We had originally planned on coming to St. Helena and then sailing directly to Antigua in the Caribbean. After being reminded how long a 9 day passage could feel on our fairly benign Namibia to St. H passage, we decided to breakup the 28 day passage to the Caribbean. A natural stop on the way is Fernando de Noronha, a set of Brazillian owned islands and national park 200 miles off the Brazilian coast. They are located very near the direct route to the Caribbean,  and about 1,700 miles from St H. They are unfortunately an expensive stop for cruisers, with harbour, park and entry fees.  So far they have allowed cruisers to enter without extra Covid testing, accepting the 2 week passage time as adequate quarantine.

After Fernando we are not sure about our

next stop as we are hearing that more Caribbean islands are opening to fully vaccinated yachts. So for now we'll stick to Plan A: leave Monday or Tuesday for Fernando de Naranho for a 12-15 day passage in light Tradewinds, then a 14-18 day passage on to Antigua.

Paul

St Helena Clearing In

 No matter how many islands you arrive at after a passage it is always a thrill and a relief to find them where they are supposed to be. The first time an island rises on the horizon after an overnight passage is unforgettable. --- dozens of islands and dozens of years later it is still a special experience.  Not all arriving passengers to St Helena were as thrilled as we were. When, in 1815, the entourage accompanying Napoleon to his exile on St Helena first spotted the island after a two month journey aboard the Northumberland, one Countess described the place as "the Devil shit this place as he flew from one Continent to the other".

We arrived at St Helena on a Tuesday after our 9+ days passage. The required PCR testing for arriving yachts is scheduled for once a week at around noon on Thursdays. About 12:30 on Thursday the masked entourage showed up to our boat. Two of the group were gowned and clearly representative of the health department. There is a bit of a roll while tied to the moorings here, as the remains of the ocean swells sneak around the island. The launch came along side and the crew held it firm to our rail. First Chris sat on our rail, her birth date was checked and the long swab was inserted by the health officer standing in the launch into her left nostril. Fairly quickly her head was flying back and the colorful complaints were spewing. Clearly not the Queen's English. Then a similar scene on the right nostril.

Next came my turn. Now I've had the pleasure  of enjoying seven PCR tests prior to this one, and in not a single one did I cry, so I wasn't really expecting it to be as bad as it sounded from Chris' experience. Holy sh*t! This guy was merciless. My head leaped back in an atavistic survival response. This was over the top. Then came nostril two with similar results. I complained with somewhat more muted language trying to preserve my manlihood in front of the crowd. Then with the swipe of my hand across my nose I able to impress them all with my now blood soaked fingers. A required PCR test I am OK with, but an associated frontal lobotomy is too much.

I've been doubtful of the medical care on St Helena since I read about the treatment Napoleon got while exiled here two hundred years ago in the 1820's. He was misdiagnosed with Hepatitis and treated with mercury. I'm hoping we can stay out of the local medical system the entire time we are here.

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Internet connectivity is pretty limited on the island and is expensive. It all comes over a commercial satellite connection. My international Google Fi cell account doesn't work on the local cell system; the local cafe sells an hour of WiFi time for 6 pounds (pushing $10). There is no connectivity out in the mooring field. This will limit what gets posted on the blog and my ability to entertain myself with doomscrolling while here.