21 April Jamestown St Helena

Because there isn't a entirely safe and convenient place to take your own dinghy in to the landing wharf in Jamestown there is a ferry service which you can hail on Ch16. When there is a northern swell running you definitely want to utilise the ferry drivers' local knowledge for safe landing; they know how to time it between breaking waves.

walk to the dock past old Customs building

looking up the main street

Jamestown sits in a high sided valley. It was founded in 1659 when the English East India Company built a fort and established a garrison. The town is named after James II. The Georgian seaport is not much more than a single street stretching a mile inland. Along this street walked Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, Captain Bligh, Captain Cook, Darwin and Edmund Halley. Almost every building in Main Street is a listed building and is described as one of the best examples of unspoilt Georgian architecture anywhere in the world.

original and current jail

tea on balcony of Consulate Hotel

town centre on half day closing

main street looking towards the sea

On the port side of Jamestown there is a long wharf with the stone buildings built in to the cliff. A modern addition is a wire net curtain to protect souls and buildings from rock falls. Another modern addition are two cranes which lift containers from the barge boats when the supply ship comes in. We do know it can also lift boats from water to dock if needed. While we were here we watched a fishing boat being lifted.

Walking up the wharf we passed the Customs and Port Control buildings before reaching the original caste walls and gate. Inside the ramparts what was once a tennis court is now the public swimming pool. Through the gates and we found ourselves in an open area called Grand Parade used for car parking, on one side the police station, court house and library, on the other the prison and next to it Immigration and ahead St James Church.

Our first stop was the tourist office in Main street to pick up maps and information and thence to the Consulate Hotel for tea and cake to read and plan. It is also one of the better places to access internet. At £3.30 for 30 minutes it isn't cheap, but cheaper than a SIM card and data. Yachties also use Annie's restaurant in Castle Gardens for internet. Note, if you buy a voucher at the Consulate you can only use it there, no transfer to Annie's WiFi and vice Versa.