St Helena Bay

On 7 November 1497, Vasco da Gama anchored in this bay and named it Bahia de Santa Helena, after the saint on whose feast day they arrived. It was the first time a European expedition set foot on South African soil. The bay they found is a large, sheltered curve of coast facing northeast on the West Coast, about 150 kilometres north of Cape Town, fed by the cold, nutrient-rich Benguela Current. Da Gama moved on. What remains is a working town built on the fishery that the Benguela makes possible.

St Helena Bay's harbour at Sandy Point — locally called Agterbaai — and the port at Laaiplek to the south together produce a significant proportion of South Africa's annual fish output. The Lucky Star canned fish brand is processed here. There are fish processing factories on the water, trawlers in the harbour, and a commercial reality to the place that you do not find in the holiday towns further south on the West Coast. The eighteen smaller bays within the larger bay create varied coastal access points, and the area catches snoek, crayfish, and harders in season.

The seafacing aspect of the town is unusual. Because the bay faces northeast, it is the only place on the South African West Coast where the sun rises across the bay — you get a morning light over water that most West Coast towns, with their westward ocean views, never see. This makes the sunrises here something worth setting an alarm for.

It is not a polished town. The fishing economy shows in the infrastructure and the pace. But the beaches around the bay are underdeveloped and often empty during the week, the seafood is fresh, and the scale of the place keeps it honest.