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 The Anchorage. The rest of the coast is towering rocky cliffs backed by green slopes climbing up to the summit of Mount Acteon at 2683 ft (818 m). The highest spot is 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.

Marine Sightings Sheet Marine Sightings Sheet Noonsite Page, fishdir@anrd.gov.sh The St Helena Fisheries Directorate has a local marine sightings scheme which they would like yachts coming to St Helena to participate in. Follow the link to the Marine Sightings Sheet Noonsite page to fill out the form and send it to : Emma Bennett, Marine Scientific Officer, Fisheries Section, Agriculture and Natural Resources Department St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean STHL 1ZZ

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.

Main Ports

Jamestown *

*Indicates a port of entry.

Related Reports

Update from the South Atlantic island of St. Helena (03 Feb 2010)

South Atlantic Circuit (10 Feb 2006)

St Helena cruising report 2002 (25 May 2002)

Related News

World ARC Circumnavigators head into the South Atlantic (04 Jan 2009)

Governors' Cup From Capetown To St Helena (26 Mar 2008)

South Africa Departure Point for Several New Races (11 Nov 2004)