Arriving in Ascension Island

30th March 2018

We arrived in Ascension Island, finding a barren volcanic rock, and a rather exposed anchorage off Georgetown.

There was one other yacht already there, which turned out to be "Peregrine" and we were delighted to meet up with them again.

Rounding at the northern end of Ascension Island at first light

We dinghied to the dock, past a big swell breaking over a rocky reef.  Tying up was a challenge with the surge, and the technique we used was to attach a pulley to a buoy and run a long mooring line through it so that the dinghy could be hauled away from the wall, but retrieved when we needed it.

The quay at Georgetown, Ascension Island

Dirk and Gretchen visit us from "Peregrine"

Ashore we found that most things were shut for Easter Bank Holiday weekend, not that there's much there anyway! Formalities were carried out the Port Office, and our entry forms eventually updated and stamped as we had arrived much later than the dates I had applied for.

The view over Georgetown and the bay, Ascension Island. 

Giant turtles drag themselves up the beaches every night to lay their eggs. Behind rear the red volcanic cones devoid of plants. Inland there is Green Mountain which we would love to climb. On Darwin's suggestion it was planted with trees and has transformed the microclimate resulting in much more rain, which in turn has now washed away the airport runway so that the island is steadily losing its connections to the world.