Directions: There are three flights a fortnight by RAF Tristar from Brize Norton, or you can take the RMS St Helena from Cardiff (soon to be Portsmouth), which takes about a week.
Parking: You just pull off the road where you like.
Comments: Being in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, there's usually some wind. Unfortunately, it may be coming from across the island.
Green Mountain (2816ft) and various cinder cones from dead(ish) volcanoes churns it up a bit.
Not suitable for buggying: (a) the sand is beautifully soft,
(b) it's full of holes some 6' across and up to 2' deep, dug out by nesting green turtles.
These also present a hazard when running backwards with a kite.
(The holes, that is, unless you're flying under a full moon, in which case you may fall over a turtle. Since they are a protected species, this would be frowned upon.)
Other sites: The beach south of Georgetown is maybe getting a bit close to the airfield, even though several days can go by without a single aircraft movement. (Come to think of it, if you spoke *very* nicely to the air traffic controller, maybe he'd let you buggy down his 3500m runway. On the other hand, maybe he won't. But he'd probably pass the time of day with you.)
The only other beach is English Bay, and you wouldn't want to get your kite tangled up with the BBC transmitting aerials... The only flat-ish areas inland are covered with jagged lumps of volcanic clinker, lying just where they fell during an earlier erruption, as well as large cacti, and Mexican thorn bushes. Altogether, this amounts to an environment that would reduce any kite to shreds on the first unplanned landing.
Note that every few months, all aerial movements are banned for some 8 hours while the Americans perform a missile test. (The missile is launched from Florida, aimed at Ascension, and blown up some 20 miles short of the island. Usually. I caught the last plane home before the test.)
In short, don't go there to fly kites. But if you're going anyway, just put one or two in your bag. I flew my Rolands Frog. (Maybe that's why I didn't see any turtles.) And don't forget the sun cream - you'll just *lurve* the climate. And there are some superb walks on Green Mountain and elsewhere.
More Comments (from Dave Thurlow): I cut my teeth flying a Flexifoil 6ft Stacker at both Long beach (Georgetown) and North East Bay.
Amazing places to fly a kite. Mind, you must look out for the Frigate Birds that form a stack high above your kite to 'dive bomb' it.
Secret is to lower the kite a bit during their dive, then bring it back up again when they are below your max height!
The wind is constant and warm, sunglasses and hat a must.
Althought a bit far to travel to just to fly your kite, if you are going that way anyway pack your kite!
Local Clubs/Contacts: None known.
Nearest Retailer: Try Capetown. Only a couple of thousand miles away. Or maybe there's one in Brazil.
Report By: Philip Le Riche 23.12.2001 - Email: pleriche(at)uk03.bull.co.uk
Updates By: Dave Thurlow 8 Sep 03 - Email: vegshed(at)ntlworld.com