13-Sep-2005 -- When you are not a seafarer, a visit to 16S 6W is an expedition. The point is 31 kilometres out of James Town, harbour and main city (1,000 inhabitants) of Saint Helena Island.

Saint Helena island, one of the most remote populated places in the world, has no airport, and the shortest way to get there is to use the last existing "RMS" ship: the "RMS St Helena" linking the island to England and South Africa on routes like Weymouth (Portland) - Tenerife - Ascension Island - Saint Helena Island - Walvis Bay - Lüderitz - Cape Town.

We took the "St Helena" in Walvis Bay, Namibia, to Saint Helena for a 92 hours' journey (each way) of 2,200 kilometres, and had to stay there 8 days before coming back, which is in fact not a trouble, as the island is very nice and offers a large range of hiking possibilities.

In James Town, there is no real harbour, and the access is done through a tender,... and ropes! We had to hire this tender, the "Gannet Three", to proceed to the Confluence. Even if the sea is not very rough, the two and a half hours' trip to the point (and then back) doesn't allow seasickness tendencies, especially when you get into the southeast permanent swell and wind, out of the protection of the island.

On the route, we met a whale and her calf, and dolphins. The top of the island is nearly permanently cloudy, but the shape of the coast, from (left) South West Point to (right) Castle Rock Point and Speery Island, and the higher summits, High Peak and Diana Peak, are clearly visible from the Confluence.

823 m Diana's Peak will be 2.5 times the apparent width of the moon over the horizon at this distance.