St Helena - Profile
Facts
- One of Britain's last remaining colonial possessions, the island of St Helena lies halfway between Africa and South America, with her two dependencies of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
- St. Helena has only one harbour called James Bay which now benefits from a new field of robust mooring buoys. The rest of the coast is towering rocky cliffs backed by lush green slopes climbing up to the highest spot on the island, Diana's Peak, at 823 metres.
- St. Helena's popularity as a port of call for passenger liners has now been taken over by sailing yachts, a large number of which stop there every year. A warm welcome awaits the visiting sailor ashore in Jamestown, the island's main settlement and only harbour.
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Getting work done: The Island has no real ability to deal with yacht repair. That said the locals are very friendly and there are some very skilled engineers who may be able to help.
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Provisioning: Provisions are limited and expensive.
- An airport is due to open on St Helena late 2015.
Weather
The climate is tropical, but cooled by the SE trades, and the cold Benguela current from the Southern Ocean. The weather is warm and occasionally humid, but it varies within the island and it is sometimes foggy or misty.
For links to free global weather information, forecast services and extreme weather information see the Noonsite Weather Page.
Main Ports
* indicates port of entry