St. Helena Island: Secret of the South Atlantic

Two of the scruffy crew. I don't think they minded not

shaving every day, but going without showers was asking

a lot of all of us. Things break and your deal with it!

This was one stop of the World ARC where there were no “Yellow Shirts” (WCC staff) to assist in checking in and planning activities. The reason being there is no way to get them on and off the island in a timely manner to take care of their other duties! Not to worry. This is a very enterprising fleet and along with the activities planned by the St. Helena Tourist organization, we had many things to do.

Dennis was constantly trying to repair the Watt & Sea water

generator as the high seas seemed to challenge it.

The St. Helena Yacht Club was the gathering place on the wharf. Of course, like most yacht clubs, it had a bar! And that is about all. Jackie, the St. Helena Yacht Club Commodore and a volunteer, manned the building day and night and helped us all get what we needed, arranged for laundry pick up and drop off and even organized a couple of barbeque dinners. Their showers were a welcome site since we were still without a functioning water maker!
The shower situation was very interesting. It was unisex; there were two shower stalls on one side of the aisle and two dressing rooms on the other side of the aisle. That meant you streaked across the aisle in the company of whomever was present! It should be noted that this wharf is the ONLY way on and off this whole island!

But we caught lots of fish!

Actually, the water maker is just fine! The problem was the CAT pump that makes the water maker work. It had a small oil leak, nothing major. Dennis thought there would be skilled people in Cape Town who could look at it and stop the leak. The pump was removed right after we arrived. It was sent to a special engineering operation that could check it out.

Well, after four attempts to install it and get it to run the water maker, they finally admitted that they had destroyed a piston inside the pump. That really means they did not know what they were doing and they used up about $800 of our spare parts trying to make it work before they ruined it. Generously, they took the labor charges off the bill! We should have charged them for parts and replacement. Our Chicago crew would be bringing a new $1500 CAT pump to Brazil! So no fresh water until then!

Dennis is excellent at filleting them. He just takes the meat

off both sides, leaving the head and guts intact. This reduces

the mess on the deck and we always have enough flesh.

What is that saying? Cruising is boat repairs in exotic places! That is right! I guess it is like your furnace dying in the midst of winter or your hot water heater needing to be replaced the day before Christmas. After all, Trillium is our home! Home, Sweet Home.

To have enough water for the crossing, the crew (guys only) grew beards, went without showers (all of us – YUCK) and were very manly about it all! Me? Not so much. We were very good at conserving water and only used a half of the tank. See! I could have washed my hair!

That turned out to be a blessing because the only way to bring water on board in St. Helena was to taxi it back and forth  from the wharf in jerry cans. There is no way to bring a yacht or even a dinghy to the side of the wharf safely. Shuttling water reminded us of Christmas Island without the rain! It is hard work, too. Fortunately, one of the local businessmen loaned us eight jerry cans and the water taxi was willing to make multiple trips. It was an exhausting exercise for the men.

The  St. Helena Yacht Club is right on the wharf.

Once that was done, it was time for fun and exploration of St. Helena. The yachties gathering places were the yacht club and Anne’s Place, which has been a yachtie-friendly place for years. There was regular food service day and evening. One night they held a pig roast that was delicious. And it was topped off with a cobbler and ice cream. We were like a bunch of kids attacking the ice cream. A rare treat for sailors at sea! A dream come true!

Provisioning was rather challenging in St. Helena. First of all, most of their supplies come in by the supply ship that also brings passengers to and from Cape Town once a month. The ship was due the following week so the market store shelves were somewhat empty. There was local bread and eggs and some produce. You had to go shopping multiple times to get the fresh stuff as it was gone as soon as it was put out.

The Town Gates were originally built in 1708 as they

were to protect Jamestown from invaders.

While the guys went to the bank to change US dollars into St. Helena dollars, which, by the way, cannot be used in any other place in the world, I went to the grocery store. At least things were in English – that’s a good start. I checked out with a couple of bags of groceries only to find out using a credit card is a challenging situation.

It was challenging enough that I was told I could leave my bags there and go to the bank for cash. Apparently, as experienced by another boat, there is a lot of paperwork to complete at the store, then you take the paperwork to the bank where they process it. Next you return to the store with the bank’s paperwork and collect your goods! Fortunately, Dennis showed up with cash just as I was leaving the store!

Once we had St. Helena dollars we headed to Anne’s Place restaurant! In fact, we ate a lot of meals there. It was also the Internet hot spot so many of us hung out there to catch up with family, friends and world news. Chocolate milkshakes were the first items ordered!

Dennis walking through Castle Gardens toward Anne's Place

Anne's Place is very much a yachties hang out. The ceiling is covered with flags from various countries and rallies including several World ARCs. There is no pressure to give up your table as there seems to be enough room for all to linger. And it is cool and breezy, which is always welcomed.

After catching up on emails, blogs and FaceBook, we decided to explore Jamestown. I was interested in the quaint shops and pubs. It looks like time has stood still here. Life is lived at a very relaxed pace. After all, there is no rush to meet a boat or catch a plane. It will be days and even months before that can occur! So what's rush?

This is the ceiling of Anne's Place.

What a delicious pig roast dinner!

We had some many wonder and fun meals with the

2016-17 World ARC fleet!

The WARC had set up an all-day tour through the Tourist organization. Since they don’t have many large groups stopping, there were no tour buses. We went in private vehicles with knowledgeable local guides (i.e. citizens with cars who knew the places to visit). The four of us were in one car with a driver who was willing to take us to see the airport as it wasn’t part of the tour.

We stopped to see Napoleon’s grave as he had been held prisoner there for years. We saw where he lived at Longwood – not exactly a punishing situation. In fact, it was rather posh. And there were a number of his military people retained there as well.

Longwood House

The terrain is very mountainous with the roads cut into the side of the earth. Cars must pull over in designated spots to let the uphill traffic pass. It is much easier to go down the steep inclines than to try to stop and start on the uphill side. Uphill has the right-of-way.

The tour took us to the Governor’s home where we were invited in for a tour. They have a newly appointed lady Governor who is very open to having people see the official residence, including her personal spaces. On the grounds, we saw the huge tortoises that have been residents there for years.

Part of the time Napoleon was held in the buildings in this

location below the heart-shaped waterfall. It was dry when

we were there so we didn't see the waterfall in action.

There are several forts on the island making for an interesting climb among the ruins. St. Helena is a small British Overseas Territory in one of the most remote places on earth: the South Atlantic Ocean.

There is an incredible range of wild life, flora and fauna. This 47 square mile island holds about 30% of all endemic species found in the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories. The Saint Helena Trust is dedicated to the preservation of the natural, cultural and built heritage of the island. There is much to do there: hiking, diving, birding, wildlife, whalesharks, dolphin and whale tours, astronomy and photography. Too bad it is so difficult to get there. We are the lucky ones!

We also stopped at the top of Jacob’s Ladder which is a 699 step climb straight up to the top from the city. And it is the source of the lights we saw as we approached the harbor on our first night. It was built in 1829 and was originally used as a sort of tram to carry down what is produced in the valleys of the mountain and carry materials up the steep incline to the military fort high above the harbor. Since it was at the end of our tour, John decided to get out and walk down! Many of the sailors in the fleet actually climbed up from the bottom and back down again. I did not risk irritating the bursitis in my hip again and passed on the opportunity to say I had done it.

The Governor,s house

Joined by three other boat crews, we had a pleasant evening and dinner up on the mountain one evening. We booked a trip in a 1920’s open-air vehicle that carried 14 of us up the hill to the Sunshine Café for a homemade St. Helena dinner of wahoo, rice, vegetables salad and desserts served with ice cream! I think you are getting the picture that ice cream is a very special treat on the ocean!


On the way up while it was still daylight, we stopped at the St. Helena distillery. This is a relatively new business adventure one couple started when the news of an airport was announced.

Planning to hit the ground running when the first visitors arrived, he has a major investment in equipment and 20,000 glass bottles shaped like the Jacob’s Ladder stairway. Unfortunately for him, he has yet to see those promised visitors. But as they say: build it and they will come. He is ready with a selection of liquors distilled and flavored from local plants. I found most of it disgusting, but did buy the coffee liquor. Even though I am not a coffee lover, I did enjoy the taste and I really just wanted the bottle as a souvenir from St. Helena!

The mooring field for the locals.

The trip back down the mountain was beautiful under the starlit sky with the city lights below. It is the only city on the island, although people live throughout the hills and valleys. Since our 72 hours we coming to a close and we didn’t want to waste any of our precious water supply by living in the anchorage any longer, we went straight back to the boat and prepared for our departure.

Looking straight down Jacob's Ladder at Jamestown.

Looking up the valley

Jamestown from the top of fort.

John and Colt had flights which had been scheduled based on the WARC calendar. However, when we looked at it closely, it appears that the schedule wasn’t humanly possible to maintain. If we stayed longer in St. Helena with the predicted light winds, they would have missed their flights. Having given them the opportunity to stay or go, the decision was to head to Salvador and make the flights.

Sticking to our plan of not motoring, we prepare the boat for departure while still on the mooring buoy. Then we released the lines and sailed away from the buoy in the dark at 0100. There was no wind! It probably took us two hours to get far enough offshore to pick up some wind. But we stuck to the plan and did not start the engine! So long, St. Helena. We slipped in during darkness and we sailed out in darkness.

Corker's 1929 Chaeabanc

St. Helena is a most interesting place to visit and well worth the stop if you happen to find yourself in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. The lifestyle is laidback British - if there is such a thing. The small town atmosphere and welcoming residents made for a delightful visit. Thank you to all who welcomed us and made sure we had a wonderful time in their secret island.