Saint Helena

We had heard that getting onto Ascension is not easy. The landing consists of a couple of steel steps or a couple of concrete steps - take your pick. There are also a few thick ropes that you can hang onto for dear life. And you can expect to get wet. So when Craig, Dom and I arrived there in Foblet (with all our goods in a dry bag) we were a bit shocked to see how extreme the swell was. It would recede from the steps then rush back and completely engulf them in foamy water. But we thought, hey, they said it wouldn’t be easy. So after a few manoeuvres, Craig managed to get Foblet alongside the concrete steps and Dom made a dash for it, grabbing the rope and doing a bit of the splits as the water sucked Foblet away. Within seconds he was almost waist deep in water standing on the steps. Craig tried to get Foblet closer again so that I could get off, but another huge surge of water came in, lifted us up and threw us bow first at the rocky wall. We could hear crunching noises as poor Foblet got her nose smashed. We were both hanging on for dear life and there were quite a few swearwords coming out of my mouth. Foblets reverse gear was no match for the force of the water, and within seconds we were smashing against the rock again. More crunching noises and more cussing. And did I mention that 3m Galapagos sharks are spotted around this area every day, waiting for the likes of us! Craig managed to get us away from the landing but Foblet’s nose section was starting to deflate, so we had to try and pump her up whilst negotiating the current. In the meantime, Dom went ashore to ask for some help, and someone came to drop us a stern line from the platform above. But by then it was clear that Foblet needed some attention, so somehow we managed to get Dom back on board and we limped back to FOB. Well, I was so shaken by then that this incident literally drove me to drink - a tequila and a G&T to be precise. A bit later, Okko, one of the guys who was working on the nearby tugs, must have seen poor Foblet’s deflated spirit, so he stopped by in his rather large and wonderful rubber duck and offered to drop us on land and pick us up later. He did this for us every day, (another example of the kindness of strangers) and although he made our lives so much easier, I’m not sure that I want to get onto that landing ever again in my whole livelong life! 😂Read more