St.Helena - The most extraordinary place on earth

These are the exact words on their tourism brochure and a most
extraordinary place it is indeed. Two days before we arrived at Jamestown,
the anchorage at St.Helena, we discovered that our fridge was no longer
working. 30 days worth of meat supplies could go to waste if we don't find
a solution to our problem and quick. We moved all our still frozen meat
from the fridge and stored them in an airtight container in the coolest
place on the yacht. The red meat and boerewors we may still salvage but
the chicken we had to use asap. I prepared Thai green curry chicken with
coconut milk served on a bed of rice. The prospect of perhaps loosing all
our meat placed a bit of a damper on our mood. We had some corned beef but
no soya beans which we sometimes bring with as a supplement for beef.
Fortunately we had plenty tins of chick peas which would provide some
protein. Fishing was also a possibility but the sea is not full of fish as
you may have been told.

We arrived at St.Helena in the early hours of Monday morning and tied up
to the brand new bank of buoys installed recently. To anchor at St.Helena
was always a problem. Being a volcanic island the seabed was mostly rocky
and does not provide good holding grounds for an anchor. A lot of yachts
start dragging their anchors but this problem was now solved. Customs and
immigration boarded our vessel at about 9am and by 10am we were granted
clearance. The ferry boat took us ashore with our precious cargo of red
meat now wrapped in black bags. Peter, a friend of ours was waiting at the
wharf with a moped and carted our load of meat and our gas bottle to the
Consulate Hotel and placed our meat in their freezer room. There was now
hope again. My first mate Malcolm has been at the helm of Shamus Rennie,
and aircon and fridge company in SA for about 40+ years and if anyone
could fix it, it would be him. He had just spend two months on the island
prior to our departure from Cape Town, staying in the consulate hotel and
fixing freezers, fridges and aircons on the island. A leak detector found
the problem on our fridge on the boat and our hopes were once again
getting stronger. Getting on and off the island turned out to be a
nightmare of note as the full moon late February also coincided with the
equinox in March, causing huge swells to slam onto the jetty where we
disembark from the ferry. At times it was so dangerous that we had to wear
lifejackets just in case we got overturned. Carrying equipment on and off
the island, filling our waterdrums etc became a dangerous exercise. Our
full 30 ltr waterdrums were washed off the platform as another huge swell
pounded into the jetty. The drums were fortunately floating and could be
retrieved, and the only way to get our drums onto the ferry boat was to
fill them up, tie them all together, board the ferry quickly and dragged
the drums off the platform into the water. Once we were in a safer area we
would then lift the drums onto the ferry boat.

There were at anytime about ten yachts on tied to the buoys and we had to
sometimes wait till 11am befroe the ferryman deemed conditions "safe"
enough to run his errands. most of these yachties were people in their
seventies and we assisted them in getting on and off the ferry. The
ferryman would read the swells, run in quick, drop a few people and then
run for safety again. My stomach was in a continious knot getting on and
off. Malcom sourced all the right equipment to fix our fridge and thanks
goodness got the fridge up and running again on Wednesday and we could
transfer our meat back into our fridge. Quite a process to get all the
vacuum pumps, generators, leak detectors etc but it was mission succesful.

Monday afternoon at six when the ferry services close the conditions were
extreme and instead we had a braai at Ann's Place with about fifteen other
yachties, sharing our experiences, good food and so on. My friends at
Ann's Place, Richard and Jane always treats us like royalty when we visit
their island, and for a while we could unwind a bit. 9pm the ferryman
informed us that conditions eased a bit and we all moved to the jetty. We
all had to wear lifejackets and two loads of about 9 people were ferried
back to our yachts safely in fairly hairy conditions.

Back to St.Helena, the place oozes with history. Google it a bit and you
may find that some of your forefathers perished here as prisoners of war.
Napoleon also died here a long time ago. And the only way the island can
be reached is by boat. For now. After sixty years of debating they are now
busy building an airport to make it more accessible to the world. The cost
is close to 300 million British Pound and they hope to be up and running
by 2016 if I am not mistaken. The airport will change the character of the
island for ever, in some respects good and in some bad. Already the influx
of construction workers, big machinery etc is having a huge impact on the
island.The local population ranges between three to four thousand people.

At the Consulate Hotel I once again read Desiderata and will finish this
little post with the words. We departed on Thursday morning and are now
sailing towards Brazil. So all fun and games as you can gather, and
sometimes not, but we do the best we can and enjoy it thoroughly.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be
in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the
dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and
aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for
always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your
achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career,
however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of
trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons
strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be
yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about
love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as
the grass.
Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the
things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden
misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are
born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of
the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be
here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is
unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and
whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep
peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful
world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.