St. Helena, UK – Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ♣

March 6, 2013 – March 20, 2013

The sail to St. Helena was busy, busy, busy! There was lots of schoolwork to do leading up to midterm exams, which we wrote on the final three days of the sail. It was a difficult sail because of that, but on March 16^th we celebrated the end of exams and our arrival in St. Helena! We anchored of the tiny island and after a long day of deck work, we cooled off with a swim call! We jumped off the main deck and into the perfect temperature water below. It was incredible to float there in the water next to a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, looking up at the magnificent ship that has carried us so far.

swim call

St Helena

St Helena

The tiny island (with a population of only about 4,000) is nothing but a speck on the map in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but it sure is an amazing place! We had a swim call every morning, and on the first day, the water taxi picked us up from the ship (the island is so small that we have to be at anchor) and took us ashore for a port program hike.

  

Once on land, we loaded up into taxis. The taxis on the island are pretty neat; the one I was in is an old style 15 passenger car! The open top car took us past bright green, rolling hills, and we could smell the amazing freshness of the air. The island is beautiful! The taxis dropped us off on a road where we met up with a hiking trail. The hike took us through the hot, humid fog to the island’s three peaks. Each has a lone pine at the top, and Diana’s peak is the highest point on St. Helena Island.

Diana's Peak hike

Diana's Peak

After the hike, a group of us made our way to an interesting little restaurant called Ann’s Place. The ceiling there was covered with all kinds of flags and t-shirts and such, because people who visit will often leave behind a souvenir. We saw a Concordia flag from when Class Afloat was on the island a few years ago, as well as some old Class-Afloat t-shirts signed by the crew. Our crew made sure to add to the collection by leaving a signed Sørlandet t-shirt during our time on St. Helena!

Just a short walk from Ann’s place was the Jacob’s Ladder: 699 very steep steps! We conquered the staircase, and then, hot and exhausted from the climb, went straight to the local pool by the waterfront .

Our first day on St. Helena, St. Patrick’s Day, ended with a traditional St. Helenian meal of fishcakes as we watched the sunset. Then night fell and after a talk from a local astronomer, we returned to the waterfront where the water taxis took us back to ship.

The following day began with another swim call – the perfect way to start the day! We had another port program, this time visiting Napoleonic sites. St. Helena is the island where Napoleon was exiled, and we visited the house where he was exiled and then died, as well as his tomb. To finish off the day, we had a BBQ at the Youth Centre where we got to meet some local students. 

The day after that, March 19^th, was our last in port. The swim call that morning was the best yet – we got to jump off of the bowsprit!!!! It’s much higher than it looks, and so much fun to jump off of!

That's me standing at the edge of bowsprit

Me making a splash!

After our usual swim, followed by colours and cleaning stations, we went ashore on St. Helena for the last time. On shore leave, my group swam across the harbour to look at a shallow wreck. All the locals were laughing at us, because apparently most people take a boat out there because it’s a pretty long swim! We had a great time though! After my second swim of the day, we stopped at a local burger stand for lunch, then set off for another adventure. We hiked to a local attraction: a heart-shaped waterfall. It’s just the rock face, not the actual water that’s heart-shaped, and there wasn’t even any water flowing at the time, but it was a beautiful hike nonetheless! We walked all the way up to the edge of a pond with the rock face rising up behind us, and it was so nice and quiet. We hiked back out, then walked down the windy road to Jamestown, the main town on the island, and where our ship is anchored. We were all so hungry as we made our way into town because it had gotten late and darkness had fallen, but the town is so small that Ann’s Place is really the only spot to eat. On the way, we stopped at a little shop where a couple of old ladies gave us jam tarts to snack on as we walked into Jamestown for our last supper at Ann’s.

Jamestown - see our ship in the background

 Departure day, once again, felt like it came too soon. We ended our time in St. Helena with a final swim call the morning we left, jumping off the bowsprit again! It was a great way to end another great port!

Walvis Bay, Namibia – Goodbye Africa

February 23, 2013 – March 6, 2013

The sail to Namibia seemed so short after our last sail! The 6 days at sea felt like nothing, and next thing I knew we were seeing land again! I was on lookout on the morning of the 1^st, and I got to be the first to ring in land! What seemed at first to be simply gray shapes on an equally gray horizon soon grew to become the shapes of a lighthouse, and finally land. Then, I saw a dark shape quickly approaching in the water; a seal was poking it’s head out! Next thing I knew, more and more seals were passing by our ship, then I saw a line of dark shapes ahead – it was like a wave of seals

We anchored that afternoon, and went alongside early the following morning. When we finally got shore leave we headed out into the city of Walvis Bay, only to find that it was so quiet, it was like a ghost town. So instead, we took a taxi to the nearby city of Swakopmund. During our 5 days in Namibia, I spent most of my shore leave time in Swakopmund. There were lots of shops and restaurants there, including one really neat restaurant that is built on stilts over the water!

Our second day of shore leave was really nice and relaxing; what we all needed! I was in a group with three of my friends, and we bought a picnic lunch at the grocery store. We had a picnic lying in a small park by the beach, loving the feeling of grass on our backs! Ahh, land!

 

The following two days were busy and filled with some great port programs! Namibia is named after the Namib Desert, which is the oldest in the world. Some of the dunes are the highest as well, and we found ourselves flying down them in dune buggies for one of the port programs! The jeeps took us to a few view spots. Namibia is where the sand meets the sea; some of the dunes slope all the way down to the waves crashing at the bottom. The port program ended with a final stop at a dune with a lake full of flamingos at the base! We clambered all the way to the top of the steep dune, nearly burning our feet on the hot sand. The view from the top was incredible and well worth the climb. Endless dunes stretched behind us, with the lake below us and the ocean just beyond. We ran down the and into the lake for a swim. After the swim, a snack of cold drinks and local oysters (so slimy, but I had to try one!) awaited us!

We explored the dunes again the following day, but as part of a sand boarding program instead. We were given helmets, gloves, elbow pads, and a thin, flexible sheet of wood, and set off up the dune. There were a couple instructors who showed us what to do; you go down on your tummy, head-first, holding the front of the board up so you don’t go face-down into the sand! We spent the morning flying down 6 different runs, and on one of them I reached an insane speed of 70km/h! Woohooo!

Everyone had a blast, and though none of us really knew what to expect upon our arrival in Namibia, it turned out to be another fantastic port! On March 6^th, it was once again time to leave land behind us, saying goodbye to Africa for the last time.

Cape Town, South Africa – Parent Port!

February 17, 2013 – February 23, 2013

The ship looked so good coming into port, and we all did too. We were dressed up in our red polos, and the ship was dressed up with her flags. We stood, lined up on the deck, waving to the families and friends that lined the dock as we pulled up alongside. After the usual arrival day formalities, it was time so set foot ashore for the first time in a month.

My dad came to visit me in Cape Town, and after many hugs and smiles, we ventured out along the V&A Waterfront. The ship is docked on the V&A Waterfront, which is the best location we’ve had! The Waterfront is packed with stores and restaurants that are all just a few minutes’ walk from the ship.

 

V&A Waterfront

Arrival day

February 18^th was the birthday of one of my friends from the ship. Her parents came to Cape Town as well, and they and my dad are sharing a condo, so we spent her birthday together, exploring the area just outside of Cape Town. We drove out of the city and along the eastern coast, stopping at a few points to look at the fantastic view; the Cape Town area is beautiful! We made our way along the coast to a cove called Boulders. Boulders Beach is home to a colony of African Penguins, and we could walk right up next to them sunning and grooming themselves on the rocks. We watched the little penguins splashing around in the water, and then we swam across the small bay and climbed around on the rocks. When we left Boulders we continued our drive along the Cape Peninsula all the way to Cape Point, the very tip of the peninsula. We looked out to the point where you could see the last bit of land north of Antarctica! We finished with a beautiful drive back to the Waterfront. A few more friends from the ship came over and we ended the day with a birthday dinner!

African penguins

The next two days were busy with port programs, including a trip to Robben Island. Robben Island used to serve as a prison, and many political prisoners were held there during the apartheid era, including Nelson Mandela. The neat part was that most of the guides on the Island used to be prisoners there themselves, so they told us stories from their own experiences. The rain and the waves crashing against the rocky shore of the island added to the dreary feel.

The next morning we got up at 4:30 for a hike up Table Mountain. I was so exhausted since I had gangway watch from 12am-2am during the night! We all had to basically drag ourselves out of bed, but it was worth it. The hike was good, and really pretty with the sun rising behind us as we walked to the top. The hike took us a couple of hours up a steep, rocky slope until we reached the massive, flat expanse on top of the mountain (they don’t call it Table Mountain for nothing!), looking out onto the ocean below. We took the cable car back down the mountain, where we boarded buses that took us to the township of Langa. Langa was one of many small townships outside of the city, and we walked around the little neighbourhood, visiting a government-provided home and a community arts centre.

Hike up to Table Mountain

Hike up Table Mountain

Hike up Table Mountain - very big steps!

Top of Table Mountain

Langa community art centre

Langa Township tour

Langa Township tour

Well rested and well fed, it was time to leave Cape Town behind us. We departed on the 23^rd, waving goodbye to our families that grew smaller and smaller in the distance. It was a hard goodbye, knowing that we won’t see them for another 3 months, but it was so nice to get to spend the week with my dad!

Provisioning

Departure day

Colors - always at 8:00

Leaving Cape Town