RMS St Helena Final Voyage - The Island Says Goodbye
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- čas přidán 8. 02. 2021
- Last voyage of the RMS St Helena, sailing out from Jamestown harbour on Saturday 10 February, 2018, at the end of 27 years serving as the island's lifeline to the world.
After opening its brand new airport, St Helena Island was now switching to air travel as the primary method for transporting people, so the Royal Mail Ship was no longer required.
Saying goodbye to the RMS St Helena was an emotional experience for many on St Helena as the ship had become a much-loved part of the Saint way of life.
On this February day in 2018, a flotilla of 19 small boats took to the water to bid the RMS farewell, and the Jamestown seafront was lined with hundreds of well-wishers.
For the full story of the day, complete with interviews and photographs, please visit our blog.
[update: 2021 - the ship has since been acquired by Extreme E, the electric off-road racing series, has undergone an extensive refit and now serves as their command and transportation centre]
Full blog story of the day, including photos and interviews: whatthesaintsdidnext.com/rms-st-helena-last-voyage-tearful-goodbye-from-st-helena/
What a beautiful tribute! It makes me want to visit your stunning island.
Thanks Muchas 👍 hope you get to visit one day soon. 😊
Very well done, guys! Bringing back great memories, we were at the harbor on that day, very emotianal.
An incredible day to look back on, for sure. Thanks for the comment :)
I've always been fascinated by Saint Helena since I was a child and I'm determined to visit one day. Kudos to the @Whatthe saintsdidnext team for getting these fantastic videos out to the wider world. I just wish I'd been able to visit by sea, not air travel. I take it that the airport has ironied out it's early issues with wind shear?
Hey @OldskoolK31, thanks so much for the feedback 👍we really hope you get to make that visit someday. Yes, the ocean voyage was a wonderful experience and an amazing introduction to the island. Ship days used to also bring a buzz around town which we do miss.
You'll be pleased to know the airport is working fine😊. A lot of work has been done to understand the weather conditions and effects around the airport and every flight day is carefully coordinated throughout between the airport-based forecaster and the pilots. We have a film that explains it well, here: czcams.com/video/MWfCh_S0_ow/video.html
You may hear of flights being postponed due to "weather" from time to time, but this is usually always due to low cloud cover, not wind shear. The airport sits at 1,000ft above sea level so is prone to being affected by low cloud.
Best wishes from St Helena ❤️
Great video. Fond memories of being on OLD FAITHFUL RMS ST HELENA.
Thanks Sarah, she certainly was old faithful, did us proud all those years :)
Fabulous video guys
Thanks Richard, glad you enjoyed it :)
Enjoyable trip
Thanks 👍
I'm not a Saint but this vid is so emotional. Well done. Will there be a longer documentary on the RMS's that have served Jamestown??
Thanks Dave 👍 unlikely to be any new material in the works now. There a few films floating around about the RMS during her time in service, but not sure if they're online. There was only one other RMS prior to this one. Models of both are on display in the museum in Jamestown.
You're right about the emotions though. It was a very emotional day for us that last day. We posted a blog story about it, which you can read here: whatthesaintsdidnext.com/rms-st-helena-last-voyage-tearful-goodbye-from-st-helena/
It just occurred to me: I’m possibly ignorant, but how do you get your larger goods now? Doesn’t seem that anything less than a huge cargo jet could possibly pick up the slack
Not at all, it's a good question. A small cargo ship, the MV Helena, now operates what is basically a shuttle service between St Helena and Cape Town to bring in containerised supplies.
Large goods from the UK are shipped to Cape Town first, then brought here on the MV Helena.
The cargo ship is a lot more economical that the RMS to operate.
We also have a visit from a small tanker every 3 or 4 months which tops up the island's fuel tanks.
Hope that answers your question. Cheers 😊
I was going to ask the same question 👌
Some questions that weren't answered in the video or blog article. As an outsider, so the ship was retired because the airport is seeing growth in activity? Are there that many flights arriving now that the ship serves no purpose? What about oversized cargo? Smaller planes that seem to be in use can't carry large cargo items or large quantities. Is the ship planning to be replaced with another, perhaps for a specific purpose?
Thanks for this feedback, sorry we didn't cover these details in the video or blog.
The ship was heavily subsidised and expensive to run, plus coming to the end of her life. It was decided in the long term to be more economically beneficial to build an airport rather than replace the ship. A smaller, dedicated cargo vessel (MV Helena) now provides the bulk cargo operations from Cape Town.
The cargo vessel is a lot more cost-effective to run as it has a far smaller crew and doesn't ordinarily carry passengers.
Flights (before Covid suspensions) were taking place once a week, from Johannesburg.
It is very unlikely a passenger ship with capabilities of the RMS will ever be commissioned for the island again.
Since departing St Helena in Feb 2018, the RMS has been acquired by Extreme E racing series, undergone a major refit and will serve as their command centre and mobile garage.
Hope this answers some of those questions. Cheers :)
@@whatthesaintsdidnext Thank you for the response and for answering all the questions, much appreciated :)
@@OhHeyItsShan you're welcome :)
Is it possible to sail with the new cargo ship if one wants slow travel from Cape Town?
Yes it is, although there is just one cabin. Contact Andrew Weir Shipping, in UK, to check about availability or Solomons Shipping on St Helena.
Where is the ship now? As mentioned in another post, what about oversized cargo, that costs a small fortune to airfreight?
Hey Visionery1, thanks for the comment.
We answered in another comment, but will copy that answer here as well:
The ship was heavily subsidised and expensive to run, plus coming to the end of her life. It was decided in the long term to be more economically beneficial to build an airport rather than replace the ship. A smaller, dedicated cargo vessel (MV Helena) now provides the bulk cargo operations from Cape Town.
The cargo vessel is a lot more cost-effective to run as it has a far smaller crew and doesn't ordinarily carry passengers.
Flights (before Covid suspensions) were taking place once a week, from Johannesburg.
It is very unlikely a passenger ship with capabilities of the RMS will ever be commissioned for the island again.
Since departing St Helena in Feb 2018, the RMS has been acquired by Extreme E racing series, undergone a major refit and will serve as their command centre and mobile garage.
Cheers :)
@@whatthesaintsdidnext thanks for the detailed response. The MV Helena should fit out a few cabins for passengers, I foresee a strong demand as getting there is part of the experience.
@@Visionery1 they actually have a single cabin that can accommodate a total of 4 passengers. The priority for this is people who can't fly for whatever reason, but otherwise, if you don't mind sharing with 'strangers' then they do offer regular passage. The service is rather basic though, as you would expect, not the luxury experience that came with the RMS. In terms of demand, it wasn't that great, in general it seems most people happy to opt for air travel now.
As a final aside, with Covid concerns, the passenger service on MV Helena is currently suspended.
@@whatthesaintsdidnext thanks for the answer. Not what I was hoping to hear, but you gave out the truth.
@@mybrotherkeeper1484 you're welcome, thanks for the comment 👍