THE South Atlantic Media Services, Ltd. www.sams.sh Vol. 2,SENTINEL Issue 42 - Price: £1“serving St Helena and her community worldwide” Th ursday 23 January 2014 Longwood Road New options on the table last night page 4 Chaine Des Rotisseurs page 7 Oyster World Rally Calls at St Helena ‘Lush’ Theatre of Life Super Yacht page 14 Page 3 Pic: Lucy, Paul & Audrey, on Lush in St Helena DAPM SHOWS CONFIDENCE IN ST HELENA agreement that fi nalises the draft budget for the fi nan- Budget Increase 2014/15 cial year 2014-2015. Within the SHG Aid Memoire agreement the docu- ment praises the close working relationships and co- The Development Aid Planning Mission (DAPM) operation between DfID, SHG offi cials and council- team, are returning to the United Kingdom with an lors. Much faith has been put in the SHG domestic agreed recommendation to increase the Grant in Aide revenue for 2014/15 where they say that it, “is forecast budget for St Helena. The package this year; £13.55 mil- to increase strongly, refl ecting growth in St Helena’s lion, an increase on the £13.4 million in 2013/14. economy.” On Monday, 20 January, the St Helena Government Councillor, Les Baldwin, said about the deal, “a good La Figaro held a Press Briefi ng with Councillors Christine Scipio and positive result for the Island in a very diffi cult page 27 O’Dean , Cyril George, Ian Rummery and Les Baldwin. global economic climate.” The Grant in Aide package Apologies were made for Lawson Henry who could not is still subject to UK Ministerial approval. attend. They, with offi cials, negotiated this year’s DAPM continued on page 3 & 28 2 www.sams.sh Th ursday 23 January 2014 THE SENTINEL ST HELENA SNIPPETS Baby Boy, Lican Th e fi rst baby of 2014, was baby boy, Li- who described the experience as, “emo- Annabelle and Erika. Doctors Solomon, can David Daniel Benjamin-Castillo who tional.” Lican is a Chilean name to refl ect Martin and Attila and nurse Samantha arrived on Tuesday 14 January at 9.19am. his maternal heritage. Th e family would as well as Lican’s big sister Gemma, who He was born to doting parents Pamela like to thank Doctors Packard and Soto, is a trainee nurse and was present at his and Dale Benjamin of Two Gun Saddle Sister Anna, Midwives Rosie, Michelle, delivery. SSTEVENTEVEN Vintage AANDND CCAROLAROL Wedding Visitors from Ascension, Carol Gilmore and Steven Andrews, were married in the Registry Offi ce on Saturday 18 January, a happy and memorable occasion for them as well as their guests. The bride looked exquisite in a lace and satin gown, topped with a vintage diamante headpiece. The bride and groom were whisked up to St Pauls Cathedral for a blessing before returning to town for a lavish reception at the Con- sulate. There was a vintage theme with fl oral centrepieces, candelabras and chandeliers. Guests were entertained with party favours and fare. At the end of the evening the couple departed through an archway of sparklers. Picture: Robyn Sim Photography THE SENTINEL Th ursday 23 January 2014 www.sams.sh 3 ST HELENA SNIPPETS/NOTICE BOARD SAMS visiting The Oyster World Eddie Jordan’s Oyster super ‘Lush’ last Saturday Rally fl eet of yachts have graced our waters yacht ‘Lush’ calls at St Helena this past week on the Atlantic leg of their journey. The largest of the fl eet is 90ft ‘Lush’ belonging to multi- millionaire and former Formula One team boss, Eddie Jordon. Its mast towers at a dizzy 123 ft. Eddie and his wife Marie are not onboard on this leg. Lush is in the capable hands of skipper Paul Adamson and his wife, fi rst mate and cook, Audrey, hostess Lucy and engineer, Alan. They have two guests onboard. Lush took seven days sailing from Cape Town and Paul said St Helena has been “one and at the controls there’s an electronic chart, tem and offers a 360 degree panoramic view. of the highlights of the whole trip around the information feeding via AIS (Automatic Iden- There are plasma screens throughout with 700 world.” Their average speed is 10.5-11 knots tifi cation System) and lighting for onboard and movie titles stored on a hard drive. although on the North Atlantic crossing they underwater ambience. The main sail and spin- The galley has all the mod cons you’d expect, notched up a white-knuckled 21.9 knots. naker operate by a hydraulic system. “A lot dish washer, fridge/freezer, washing machine The aft deck has two large ‘steering wheels,’ of it is ‘push button’ sailing,” said Paul. “We dryer and a gimbled oven that pivots and don’t actually winch the winches by hand, moves so it remains level. “What I normally we have hydraulic systems to drive them for do is cook up meals in advance, vac-pack them us.” and then re-heat them on the go,” said Audrey. The boat was specifi cally designed for the Freshly caught fi sh is a regular feature on the rally and to be simple and as practical as pos- menu. sible for self-suffi ciency, but with the luxu- The vessel is powered by a 16 watt and a 9 ries you’d expect for a millionaire. The mas- watt generator and she produces 280 litres of ter cabin has the comfort of the full width fresh water an hour by desalination. of the yacht. All cabins are air-conditioned, have double beds and marbled en-suites ex- There are 19 yachts in total currently on the cept some of the crew accommodation. Atlantic crossing of the Oyster World Rally. The deck saloon has a TV and sound sys- Go to www.sailingwest.com to follow the rally. ‘Mariela’ crew, fi rst yacht to arrive last week DAPM Shows Confi dence in St Helena Budget Increase 2014/15 continued from front page The DAPM Aid Memoire sets out concerns for areas that SHG will need to look into and laid praise on work that has already been undertaken. DfID were supportive of Enterprise St Helena in their efforts. Within the document it reads, “The opening of St Helena’s airport brings with it the prospect of continued economic and social change for people on the island... Much has already been achieved. Much remains to be done.” SAMS Radio 1 will be hosting a political show, next Tuesday evening , 6-7pm, with members of the SHG team who negotiated the agreed recommendations. See page 28 for full SHG Aide Memoire release 4 www.sams.sh Th ursday 23 January 2014 THE SENTINEL SENTINEL Longwood RoadNew Options on the Table Last Night COMMENT Sharon Henry, SAMS A dead mynah bird got my attention last week. It was in the middle of the road and appeared as if it had fallen from the sky. I saw two more on my journey. In the St Hel- ena bird world Mynah birds are probably the sharpest tools in the box. They are an an- noyance, cheeky and know the etiquette of traffi c - not like the lowly pigeon. My car tyre ‘popped’ a pigeon once when it just sat in the road and didn’t fl y away like its smarter cousin. Anyway, my friend Google solved my puzzlement about the mynahs. It must be breeding season, when they become extremely territorial and violent battles often Roads Manager, Dave Malpas, checking break out. This was confi rmed a few days on one of the discussion tables, last night later when I witnessed a ruthless fi ght. audience were then split into smaller groups Darrin Henry, SAMS So anyway, moving on... around tables and given large sheets of paper I honestly hadn’t heard of Eddie Jordon be- to discuss and write down their concerns and fore hearing about the yacht, ‘Lush.’ I usual- ‘Wait until the haul road is open,’ and ‘repair ideas. ly by-pass Formula One when I fl ick through the Willow Bank road to be a by-pass,’ were Everyone in the room embraced this exercise the sports channels. The Oyster World Rally the two main suggestions that came out of a enthusiastically. has now educated me and I’ve even stepped packed Harford Community Centre, last night Discussion between ‘tables’ revealed the air- onboard ‘EJ’s’ top-notch yacht. I’ve had (22 January) in Longwood. port ‘haul road’ (Deadwood to Ruperts) could sundowners on his deck and caught a fl eeting It also became apparent that SHG had not be made suitable for use by January 2015. It glimpse of his luxurious lifestyle, onboard discussed the status or options with the ‘haul helped that Basil Read’s Island Director, Deon ‘Lush.’ Although it has to be said, not in road’ with airport contractors, Basil Read, be- De Jager, was in attendance as a resident of EJ’s presence but with his blessing. Being a forehand. Longwood. SAMS reporter and having a well connected Roads Manager, Dave Malpas, said after- One of the fi rst suggestions offered up follow- cousin brings these kinds of opportunities. wards, he would have another look at the Wil- ing the brainstorming session, was to patch the Like meeting the infectious Francois Fer- low Bank road option, in response to residents’ Longwood Road and repair the most urgent reira, the Le Figaro journalists, CEO of Fon- input at the meeting, and Councillor Christine parts, but otherwise, leave the major work un- dation Napoleon, German yachties and of Scipio-O’Dean said Basil Read would be in- til the ‘haul road’ was available as an alterna- course the ‘Lush’ crew.