Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
see the island as I had predicted, saying softly that she hoped I was right as she would like
to stretch her legs on land once again.
I was surprised when proven correct, and, in fact, a few hours earlier than I predicted, the
boy shouted out from his vantage point on deck, “Land ahoy!” I was right, and I felt a
moment of great pride and a sense of accomplishment. This was my first landfall using a
sextant to navigate, and I broke out a bottle of red wine to celebrate the occasion.
As the hours wore on, we saw with pleasurable anticipation how the grey silhouette of St.
Helena grew in size and changed in color to a dark green. We saw a halo of white cloud
cover over her lofty mountain peaks and noticed different sea birds wheeling about. Ex-
citement mounted on-board Déjà vu as plans were made to do laundry, lay in fresh provi-
sions, and have that long-awaited, hot shower. Paula was especially excited about washing
her long hair, as I had not allowed her to use the boat's supply of freshwater for anything
other than drinking, cooking, and cleaning teeth. For showering, we had come up with an
arrangement where a bucket of salt water was scooped up very cautiously from the moving
deck and a special shampoo that was known to lather in salt water was used to soap down
our naked bodies. With the aid of a large plastic mug, salt water was then used to rinse
off the soap and, finally, a few cupfuls of precious freshwater were used to wash off the
salt water. This worked successfully, and I employed this system virtually the whole time I
sailed.
Later that night, the lights of St. Helena were visible as a great, white loom on the horizon,
and I was able to determine the Morse signal of the local radio direction beacon which en-
abled me to set a more accurate course for the remainder of the trip. I was aware of the
change in mood of the crew as well as my own. Herman became much more gregarious
and bold, defying some of my orders and shirking some of his responsibilities. He ques-
tioned my ability to navigate, even in view of our first landfall. He suggested that washing
the dishes should not be one of his chores, as he had helped change the sails, and generally
became a typical teenager again.
Paula became a little cooler towards me in our recent relations, which had waxed rather
amorously, and I expected that that was a sign of her independent nature. She had also be-
come far more concerned at how she dressed and looked, spending more time in the head,
brushing her long, black hair, and putting on makeup and even perfume. For my part, I
grew a little tenser, as I had to consider the logistics of our arrival such as the anchoring
details, customs clearance, and a host of other nagging details.
St. Helena grew in size and more details of her geography became apparent. Her mountains
were more defined, as were the colors of her landscape. The cloud cover over the top was
ever present and added a story book quality to the already enchanting island. As the yacht
