Inevitably a voyage such as this will have highs and lows and this has been evident over the last couple of days as I shall allude to in the commentary.

Ascension Island came into view on the morning of the 11th May, a volcanic land mass born some one million year ago and renown for its green turtles who travel thousands of miles to lay their eggs. As we approached from the east we were greeted by a large school of Fraser and Striped dolphins who treated us to an unparalleled display of speed, agility and aerobatics as they swam alongside the ship riding the bow wave. So quick and random in their movement it is difficult to take photographs and often the net outcome is often several pictures of the sea and nothing else, thank goodness for digital cameras. However on this occasion I was lucky and secured a couple of good photos and some good video footage.

Also worth watching were the Gannets chasing and catching Flying Fish mid air, very much a case of cat and mouse which on balance the fish had the edge. Nonetheless it strikes me that Flying Fish seem to attract trouble wherever they go and evolution has indeed dealt them a rum hand by equipping them with wings.

So the Ascension Island, what it’s all about. Discovered in the sixteenth century it has been dubbed the island nobody wanted, it is isolated, has no natural harbour and the land is not suitable for agriculture. The British eventually took ownership as they wished to repel any attempt by the French to rescue Napoleon from his exile in St Helena and kept a large garrison on the island. It has a land area of 88 square kilometers but has no indigenous population, the one thousand people on the island are either military or working for the BBC or Cable or Wireless.It does have a large runway at Wideawake Airfield which accommodates American Air force and RAF flights from Brise Norton. This airfield is a back up for the shuttle should it be unable to land in California. Tourism does exist for big game fishing and natural history tours in particular wiith regard to the turtles. One useless piece of information for you about the turtles, from one thousand eggs only two hatchlings make it to maturity, and then they have to wait thirty years to mate!! Perhaps we should not bemoan our position in evolutionary stakes.

There is no port as such and we anchored about three quarters of a mile off shore awaiting immigration formalities and permission to go ashore, we were all looking forward to watching the turtle hatchlings making their precarious journey from the beach to the sea. However the swell was such that it was impossible to land any sort of craft and this was problematic in that four crew were leaving the ship and four were anxiously waiting in George Town to come on board for the journey to Bermuda.

Monday moved into Tuesday with no improvement in the sea state other than a small window of opportunity to get people off and on, a special barge and cage being used to facilitate the transfer. As the forecast was for no improvement until Friday, Captain Klaas made the decision to leave for Bermuda right away, which although disappointing, was the right decision in terms of meeting the schedule and ensuring the safety of the crew.

Just a word on the crew leaving us, Nigel and Peter from England, Pieter from Holland and Marcus from Switzerland. We have enjoyed their company and companionship and it was a sad moment when we have to say farewell. It made me wonder how I shall feel in three months time when it is my turn, could be a case of kicking and screaming!!! Anyway our newcomers, Steffi from Germany, Carole from Canada, Jerry from the USA and Richard from the United Kingdom, ensured that the cultural pot pouri was maintained and they were warmly welcomed on board.
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A little light relief was had by another swim in the rather feisty swell although feeding Trigger fish with bread rolls prior to our dip caused some in trepidation. The frenzy was akin to dropping a Peperami into a tank full of Piranha and as Trigger fish break up coral with their teeth, it was certainly a case of “after you” - “ no after you”. Of course fortune favours the brave and Daniel broke the impasse, and the rest of us less courageous souls ensured all his limbs were intact before jumping in, happy that we were not on the lunchtime menu. However I don’t remember cutting my toe nails.!!!

It’s a long way to travel to not get ashore, especially an island for which there will be little or no opportunity to see again but heh in terms of the whole experience its small fry and we move on positively to pastures new.... Bermuda four thousands mile North West.

Doddy