Any idea where St Helena is? Don’t worry if you don’t — I had no real idea either until we started planning our Atlantic crossing and realised we’d be stopping there. So let me paint a picture for you…
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Where It Is
St Helena is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean… literally. For proof, go look at this Google Maps pin!
It’s the halfway stop when sailing from Africa to South America — roughly 1,600 nautical miles from South Africa and 1,800 nautical miles from Brazil. Almost perfectly in the middle.
A Little History
The small island was discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, but it didn’t get much attention until the British settled there in 1659.
That would have been quite the adventure. The closest place for provisions was days away by boat, and even though parts of the island are fertile, it would’ve taken years to grow enough food sustainably.
Just thinking about the challenges they must’ve faced is crazy — but they didn’t just survive. They built forts along the coast, complete with cannons and watchmen. That’s how it looked throughout the 1700s and 1800s.
Although the Dutch tried to take the island, it remained British and became an important stop for ships after rounding the Cape of Good Hope.
The culture grew as freed African, Indian, and Southeast Asian slaves settled there, creating a really unique community, accent, and so much more.
As technology advanced, undersea power cables were installed (which must’ve been crazy to build), and they even knocked down part of a mountain to create a flat runway.
Yes. They literally knocked over a mountain.
The airport opened in 2016, and there are now weekly flights from Johannesburg for tourists.
So that’s a very rough history… now let me tell you what it was like for us.
Sailing In
Sailing into St Helena is an experience like no other.
We’d been at sea for ten days and were finally about to see land.
If it hadn’t been for the fog, we would’ve spotted it much earlier. Instead, we were only about 10 nautical miles out when a towering cliff suddenly appeared through the mist. We couldn’t believe it — the tiny rock island actually existed!
The anchorage is deep, and you come around to the sheltered side and find a spot among other cruisers and a few local boats.
As we stood on the bow after dropping anchor, a few things immediately stood out:
- The water was ridiculously clear
- The cliffs were really really high
- There were buildings on top of them (the really really high cliffs)
This is also when we first spotted Jacob’s Ladder — but more on that soon.
We jumped in for a swim straight away (warm water at last!), then took a small ferry boat to shore.
The clearance process was super smooth, and this is when we first heard their unique accent — half British, mixed with African words. Random, but I liked it.
The rest of the day we explored town, five of us climbed Jacob’s Ladder for the first time, and then we swam off the end of the dock. Epic after so long at sea.
The Highlights
Alright, I’m going to try my best to tell you about the best parts of our five days here — but honestly, words hardly do it justice. You’ll need to use a bit of your imagination!
Jacob’s Ladder
We have to start here, because we climbed it Every. Single. Day.
It’s more steps than ladder really: all 699 of them.
The world record is 4 minutes 40 seconds. Of course, we tried to beat it… and quickly realised that guy must be ridiculously fast.
After five days of sweating our faces off, my best time was 6 minutes 36 seconds. I know, right? I thought I could do better too. You’ll have to go and see how you do.
The Food (or Lack of It)
We didn’t expect much — it’s an island of about 4,000 people, and most food arrives by plane or ship.
One thing we learnt that everyone there knows: if you see food, grab it.
We managed to get two lettuces and some not-so-great-looking tomatoes during our stay. But that’s okay — we still had fresh food from South Africa. Just know there isn’t a huge selection.
The Hikes
This might’ve been my favourite highlight.
Even though we only did a few hikes, they were incredible. There are so many options that we just picked what we could cram in.
We did one on the windward side called Lot’s Wife’s Ponds, and wow… I’ve never seen anything like it. Pink dirt, crystal-clear rock pools, and a coastline unlike any I’ve ever seen. Absolutely breathtaking.
Hiring a Car
We ended up with a ute (or bakkie/truck), and because it’s an island, nobody cared that us four younger crew rode in the back the whole time.
It was so fun and let us see way more of the island. If you go, definitely hire a car — especially if you can try some of the 4WD trails. So cool.
Okay, I’d better stop there — I could keep going for way too long!
Summary
Sailing to St Helena is a once-in-a-lifetime (or maybe twice?) experience — and one I’ll never forget.
Being in such a remote, wild place, yet still sleeping in your own bed every night… it’s crazy in the coolest way.
If you’re thinking about sailing to St Helena, don’t overthink it — just go.
And if you’d love to visit but don’t want to go by boat, you can fly in. I’ve heard landing on that airstrip is an experience on its own!
If you have any questions, thoughts, or stories, please comment — I’d love to hear them.
Thank you for explaining more about this amazing little island!
You’re welcome! I hope you learned a little 😊
Love following your family! Never would have known this island existed!
Haha, thank you! And I don’t blame you, it’s in the middle of nowhere…