Ramsgate, Holidays & The RNLI

On the 29th of April 1770 the renowned mariner Captain James Cook, landed HMS Endeavour in the tranquil waters of Australia’s Botany Bay, nine years before he met a sticky end at the hands of locals in Hawaii. In early June 2013 I found myself in life-threatening difficulties, by a very different Botany Bay, under chalk cliffs near Broadstairs, in north-east Kent, England. Like Cook, my thirst for adventure was nearly the end of me.

I've rowed the Atlantic twice, but my latest effort to row around the entire British coast was floundering in poor weather, just a few days out of London. I was aboard a small wooden rowing boat with another woman and we were attempting a record breaking first. Unfortunately our situation led to a night-time call to the coastguard who instigated a rapid rescue by a crew from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Our journey until that point had been slow but uneventful, in fact we were still reeling from an up close and personal encounter with a seal in the Thames Estuary. But a stiffening wind swept us off course and towards the shore, as we made our way into the English Channel. Our rowing boat was drifting dangerously close to the rocks and breaking waves poured frigid water over the bow, and subsequently over us, as we struggled to make headway just metres from the coast.

We’d put down an anchor, but it had slipped, as had the second one we’d tossed over the side. Strong winds and counter currents scuppered any attempt to row away from land and into the safer, deeper waters. You can imagine our relief, in the pitch black of night, when the lights of a rescue boat bobbed towards us. The team towed us to the historic port of Ramsgate. A brief, unanticipated 'holiday' ensued. I was left feeling rather foolish, but incredibly grateful to our RNLI saviours, who I thought I'd not see again.

Yet almost a year later, I'm back. I've heard that a small group of Ramsgate RNLI men have received an award for an incredible combined 150 years of volunteering.

“You don’t look as stressed as the last time I saw you!” jokes Lance Oram, who crewed the Inshore Rescue Boat that night in June 2013. According to their record the team received the emergency call at 1.16am and were ready and in the IRB by 1.27am. That’s eleven minutes from bed to boat.

“We leave our socks in our boots", says Eric Burton, one recipient of the long service award. “And we aim to be at every incident within 30mins.We used to set off loud rocket flares, or maroons, so everyone in town could hear them, and they’d get out of the way to let crew pass. Now people don’t know when we get the call outs.”  Despite this the community connectedness remains key, with many of the current volunteers representing a long line of family members who have joined the service. Since the RNLI took charge in the mid-19th century, the volunteers of Ramsgate have saved the lives of more than 2400 in local waters, from major shipwrecks to those floundered on the shifting Goodwin Sands.

I feel all the more humble, looking back on my somewhat foolish rowing incident. But Lance is gracious. "I support daft adventurers all the time! I run the pilot boat for cross channel swimmers. We're here to help everyone."

As Lance shows me around the complex equipment in RNLB Esme Anderson – that’s the Ramsgate offshore lifeboat- I think of the Ramsgate men - and more recently women - who have passed down the duty of saving lives at sea from generation to generation. We may sometimes forget it, but we all still need each other. Without the volunteers of Ramsgate, total strangers to me, I would probably not be speaking to you, now.

Meeting Jonathan the Tortoise

Plantation House in St Helena sits proud amid gumwood trees alive with chirps and whistles. It is the official residence of Mark Capes, Governor of the British Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic.  

Large brown hillocks which dot the pristine lawns. It's only when my guide Joe Hollins, the sole vet on the island, bangs on a large metal bowl, that all becomes clear. The hillocks rise and trot surprisingly swiftly towards us.

Meet Jonathan, Myrtle and Fredrika, three of five giant tortoises who live on St Helena. Their shy friends David and Emma are hiding in the rough.

"He is virtually blind from cataracts, has no sense of smell - but his hearing is good," Joe tells me. At 182, Jonathan may be the oldest living land creature.

Jonathan is a rare Seychelles Giant. His lawn-fellows hail from the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. Aldabra Giants number about 100,000, but only one small breeding population of Seychelles tortoises exists.Continue reading the main storyMany victims of the slave trade - sick and dying - would spend their final hours on the shores of St Helena. And then there was Napoleon, in exile. Its inhabitants, known as Saints, share this complex past, and ethnic traits of Africans, Europeans and Chinese.

Nobody knows why Jonathan ended up in St Helena. During the 17th Century ships could contain hundreds of easily-stacked tortoises, like a fast-food takeaway. In the Galapagos islands alone around 200,000 tortoises are thought to have been killed and eaten at this time. How did Jonathan avoid this fate?

Maybe he became a curio for Hudson Janisch, governor in the 1880s. Thirty-three governors have come and gone since then, and nobody wants Jonathan to die on their watch. Mr Capes is certainly keen "that he should be treated with the respect, attention and care he surely deserves".


A photograph taken in 1882 shows Jonathan at his full size, and it can take 50 years to reach that physical maturity. The years since haven't always been kind. Tourists would often do whatever it took to get "that" photo. Now, a viewing corridor runs along the bottom of the lawn to keep overzealous sightseers at bay. It was a huge privilege for me to get so up close and personal.

Jonathan loves having his neck stroked. His head extends out from his shell to a surprising length. He snaps for his food - bananas, cabbage and carrots - with some ferocity. Joe almost lost the end of his thumb and has resorted to wearing thick gloves.
"He doesn't mean to nip me," he says, "he just finds it difficult to locate his food."

Tortoises scrape at the grass with their horny beaks, made from keratin, like nails.
Blindness made it hard for Jonathan to find the right vegetation, and due to malnutrition Jonathan's beak became blunt and soft, adding to his problems finding food.
Now there's a new feeding regime, in place where Joe delivers a bucket of fresh fruit and vegetables every Sunday morning.

With this extra nutritional boost Jonathan's skin now looks plump and feels supple.
His beak has become a deadly weapon for anyone attempting to shove a carrot anywhere near his mouth. And he can belch.

Tortoises may be slow but they are noisy, especially when they mate: "A noise like a loud harsh escape of steam from a giant battered old kettle, often rounded off with a deep oboe-like grunt." Joe reassures me it's another indicator of good health. Unfortunately, Jonathan's trysts have not produced young - thus far.

Though giant tortoises like Jonathan can live up to 250 years, the community has already drafted a detailed plan for when he finally pops his shell - dubbed "Operation Go Slow".
It will ensure all runs smoothly when the inevitable happens, in fact his obituary has already been written.

It has also been decided that stuffing Jonathan would be a rather morbid and outdated thing to do. The Saints would like to raise funds for a life-size bronze statue of him.

When he goes, Jonathan will be mourned by friends and admirers on St Helena and around the world.

But to me, he is also a symbol of a remote society, soldiering on in genuine isolation.

Thoughts on St Helena

In December 2013 I visited St Helena for the first time to film a documentary about the island and its people. The chaps at the 'St Helena Wirebird' blog asked me some questions about my visit... here are my answers.

We know that you visited St Helena to film a documentary. What aspects of the island were you looking at and how did the island compare to your other experiences?
As a team we were keen to portray the island in their best light, to see what they had to offer the modern traveler and to meet and talk with locals to gain insight into island life.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit some pretty remote places, so I suppose these experiences have shaped my expectations, which is not a bad thing as I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for the trip; in fact I only had two weeks. I’d like to think I visited the island with a completely open mind, and I’m really glad I did. I’d be kidding myself if I thought I’d got under the skin of the island’s culture, but the welcome and hospitality were humbling.

The journeys and adventures we enjoyed on St Helena were all the more exciting and engaging because we had to establish new friendships with the people who helped us with them. If I’d had the opportunity, and we weren’t trying to get so much done, I think I would have spent more time pottering around Jamestown. I loved hearing the Mynah birds singing in the early evening before they went to roost in the trees. I also wanted to spend more time walking. Simon, the cameraman, did a lot of filming of the landscape, having seen some of the footage I envied some of the places he was able to go and see.

Part of the St Helena experience is obviously the historic voyage on the RMS St Helena. As a seasoned sea woman, having rowed across the Atlantic not just once, but twice, how did you find the journey on board?
The RMS was an epic adventure in its own right – and I’m not just talking about the food! It took a while to get used to the pace on board, and everyone jokes about the ding-dong calls to dinner… and cake …. and beef tea! What I loved about the ship was its unpretentiousness. You get to know the passengers and crew, and they get to know you. Aside from gaining half a stone I really couldn’t fault it as one of the very best ways to travel.

You’re a person who has an impressive travel history of visiting remote places! How did St Helena compare?
I have to say, with hand on heart, it’s one of my favourite places in the world. I love the islanders’ spirit, the sense of community and the extraordinary landscape. I may be a bit odd but I also appreciate the simple way of life.  There aren’t hundreds of shops selling everything and anything. You have to make do, and make the most of what you have. I can see why many want to tell the world about the island, but at the same time some want to keep it secret for fear of spoiling it. I just feel incredibly privileged to have been able to visit, and stay for such a long.

You relish a challenge. How did you fare conquering Jacob’s Ladder?
Who’d have thought a flight of stairs could be so difficult! Simon, the director, and I went down them and didn’t go back up again – how misguided! I went down twice in the same day! Both of us struggled to walk for ages! Going up with some of the Girl Guides was really good fun, even though I should have picked a better time – 11am was a little bit too hot. The girls were up in a jiffy but I have to admit I took my time… I was still recovering (at least that’s my excuse!). The view was amazing and it was great to see Jamestown in full swing for Christmas.

The biggest news for St Helena at the moment is obviously the opening of the airport in 2016. Did you see the latest developments of it and what do you think this will mean for the island and particularly the Saint community?
I was lucky enough to visit the airport site on more than one occasion. The complexity of the development is quite mindboggling! As to what it will mean to the Saints, well I can see the benefits – medical support, work opportunities, both in St Helena and abroad, and also the potential for increased tourism. But I can also appreciate the drawbacks that are perhaps difficult for outsiders to understand. I spoke to the Head Girl at Prince Andrew School and she explained her reticence. She told me that the voyage on the RMS prepares you for the gentleness of the island, it gives you time to think about the journey and appreciate the remoteness the islanders’ experience. When tourists arrive on the plane they will just step off without that appreciation. I can see her point. The trouble is the airport is coming, and I’m not sure everyone is prepared for it.

And the all-important question… any plans to visit St Helena in the future? Perhaps the Governor’s Cup or the St Helena Marathon to test your talents?
I’d love to come back. I’d also love to bring my husband one day too. If we have the time and the opportunity we’ll do it, but I’d like him to travel there by the RMS. We can jump on a plane any day of the week!