Standing on the foredeck at 2.00am Wednesday morning (6th May) the outline of the Island of St Helena appeared silhouetted against the night sky. All we could see was a mass of volcanic rock emerging from the ocean, the two shades of grey contrasting each other on the horizon, but land was a welcome sight after 1700 miles of sailing and brought much excitement on the decks. Such is the remoteness of this island few people, with some notable exceptions, come here and as we anchored in the bay there was eager anticipation to get ashore and explore this distant British Territory.

I feel I should give you a few basic facts about St Helena as probably most of you have never heard of it and Im sure some you will all be dusting down those old Collins atlases trying to put a geographical perspective to its position in the South Atlantic.

The island is a British Overseas Dependant Territory, 122 square kilometres in size, capital James Town and is home to 4000 inhabitants. It was discovered by the Portuguese in1502, dabbled with by the Dutch and subsequently acquired by the British. They used the island as a base to tackle the slave trade and to exile its most famous resident Napoleon from1815 up until his death in 1821. The economy is based around fishing and the sale of stamps, some five hundred thousand in 2009, and many islanders have to migrate to find meaningful work.. The islanders, known as Saints, are very proud of their island but remain stoically British.

The world is a smaller place nowadays and events that occur thousands of miles away impact almost everywhere and the swine flu epidemic resulted in a doctor having to come on board to take all our temperatures......or maybe he was a vet!! No its not what your thinking its just that virtually all the inhabitants double up jobs wise. Immigration also took some time due to the diversity of the crew and everybody wanted to ensure their passport was stamped 'St Helena' to validate this rather big 'tick in the box' as far as travelling is concerned.

Most of us will explore a new city by a taking an open top bus tour, an audio system synchronised with the arrival at each monument or place of interest. St Helena had a slightly different take on this and as we eagerly awaited our tour around the island we were somewhat surprised when a 1939 open top Chevrolet pulled up and the driver, Colin, invited us to jump on board. Now one would think it quite chic to drive around the island in such vintage style but think again. The vehicle had no suspension, the engine had no cover, the seats had been repaired repeatedly with silver insulation tape and the radiator had to be topped up regularly. I thought it ominous that Colin was not sure how long the journey would take and if he was a member of the RAC, he would certainly have been getting his moneys worth.

The Chevrolets maximum speed was twenty miles per hour although possibly twenty five when the driver engaged neutral on the steep declines. As we hurtled free fall down the cliff roads I had visions of us leaving the road, wings springing from the side of the car, magically being donned with Edwardian garb and singing "Hi Low Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang We love You", as we flew above the ship moored in the bay.

Having said all that, the trip was worth the discomfort as we visited all of Napoleons haunts, Halleys Observatory, the Governor's house and his giant tortoises, as well as taking in breathtaking views from the best vantage points on the island. Colin certainly knew his stuff and kept us well informed.

Unfortunately the locals do not seem too bothered about optimising the economic benefits of the few passing ships, and as Wednesday was half day closing, we were left kicking our heels somewhat and indeed I only managed to purchase a St Helena T towel (Made in England) and the 'must have' fridge magnet as mementoes. Fortunately I kept my camera busy and the photographs will serve as the best reminder of this gem in the middle of nowhere.

We wiled away the remaining hours of the day in 'Annies Place' drinking beer and feasting on bacon egg and chips before returning to the ship and starting the next leg of our journey to Ascension Islands, 710miles north.

Doddy