Porto Santo – our first taste of island life

Before starting our passage to Madeira we had to complete a few checks and procedures.  These included registering with MadeiraSafe and sending copies of our vaccine certificates for approval prior to departing the Mainland.    Once we received an email confirming our certificates were approved, we then had to notify Porto Santo marina the date we were expecting to arrive, even though it was only our intention to anchor in the harbour.

After spending a day recovering from our crossing and tidying up the boat, we went ashore and checked in with the marina and GNR (Police).   The check-in process requires us to show a number of papers, including proof of ownership, insurance and our passports.  Everything went smoothly, with our only slight concern being that if Madeira chose not to recognise the NZ agreement of 90 days in each Schengen country instead of 90 days in every country, we had infact overstayed our visa.   Fortunately this was not even looked at and after 30 minutes we left the offices fully checked in and ready to explore.

Porto Santo was an unhabituated island when it was discovered by the Portuguese in the 13 Century during an exploratory trip to Africa, when the ship was blown off course during a storm.   It was quickly colonised and named “Holy Port” before continuing on to the larger, greener, more mountainous island to the SW.   The only sandy beach in Madeira is on Porto Santo and it’s a beautiful, long undeveloped stretch of paradise. A ferry arrives every day from Madeira bringing visitors and being the essential link between the two islands for food, supplies, fuel and mail. Very little is grown on the island as the rainfall is much less than Madeira and the topsoil is thin.

There are about 5,000 people who live permanently on Porto Santo, mostly employed in tourism or hospitality, but there is also a very interesting biotech company called Buggypower with a large investment in infrastructure on the island.   Buggypower grows marine organisms that are the foundation of life in the seas.   These organisms have huge nutritional benefits as well as being the start of the marine food chain and producing oxygen.   Buggypower have developed a way to grow these organisms in large vertical tanks, which are being used in pharmaceutical, food and animal feed products.   The company requires clean seawater to grow the organisms, hence the appeal of the crystal clear waters around this small Atlantic island.

Porto Santo is only 11km long and 6km wide but has a diverse topography with steep, barren hills to the north, long sandy beach to the SE and dramatic cliffs to the West.  Formed by an undersea volcano 18 million years ago the island has lots of amazing geological features on display from the stripey cliffs of sedimentary rocks, exposed veins showing the flow of the lava, the sharp rim of the crater to the dramatic basalt pillars that tower high above the island.  

We hired a car with Fi and Iain, making good use of Iain’s impeccable research as we wove our way around Porto Santo enjoying the spectacular views, incredible rock formations, great company and lots of entertainment along the way.   We walked, climbed, drove, scrambled, swam and explored every 42sqkm of the island, finishing the day with a refreshing dip in our own private small sandy cove, with high cliffs as a backdrop to the crashing surf which washed us back onto the soft sand. 

A highlight for me were the Basalt pillars located high above the main town, Vila Baleira.  The columns are hardened lava, formed into geometric shapes as the volcanic rock cools.   It felt like we were on a film set of a prehistoric movie, as the columns towered above, and all around us.   Add to that the remoteness, emptiness and silence of the surrounding area and you may understand how special the experience was.

The next morning we arranged to drive out to a small beach and watch the sunrise together.  In September it is still dark at 7am, so we didn’t have to wake too early to beat the sun, so after packing a picnic breakfast of fresh fruit and hot drinks, we set out to greet the day.   As we drove the light started to break through the dark sky and rabbits scuttled out of our headlights – another country with a disastrous introduction of these pests that are now out of control.   We watched buzzards and falcons soaring, looking for prey (hopefully a rabbit); groups of plovers running along the verge; a hoopoe with its orange crest raised on its head and distinctive black and white patterned wings; swifts darting across the sky – it was definitely the right time for the birds, before the morning started to heat up.   Our intention was to go for a morning swim as the sun came up, but we all soon changed our minds as we huddled on the exposed stony beach, watching a rain shower pass to the north and the first rays of the sun poke through the low clouds.   We talked, drank our hot drinks and ate breakfast together as the sky slowly grew lighter and the golden sun shone through as we watched a yacht slowly making its way towards the island.    It was a perfect way to end our 24hr car hire experience in great company and feeling so grateful for the day just gone and the one dawning.

Later that day we started talking to a man working on his large yacht in the boatyard.   The man, Miguel, invited us to look around his boat named Utopia, and it transpired his boat project had been a labour of love for the last 13 years.   He had bought a boat with a great hull, but everything else had been replaced – all made, built and designed by him.  The boat was stunning.   He had designed things that are not normally found on yachts – a hidden cockpit table that cleverly pulls out and unfolds so you can have a small comfortable place to eat breakfast, a window behind the companionway steps so the whole engine is visible and easy to monitor, a dome window above the navigation station with excellent 360 degree view of boat and surrounds during bad weather, locking floorboards which could be turned over to provide a different flooring if more grip was required and, the piece de resistance – three taps in the centre of the large saloon table.  When I asked him what they were for, Miguel grinned and said, “water, whiskey and wine”  He had two extra tanks so thought it would be a good use of space!!   It was inspirational to talk to Miguel about his 13 year journey and plans to sail Utopia in the Polars.   He had a sharp wit, incredible knowledge, amazing talent and a gentle personality.   We came away feeling humbled and privileged to have met him.

The marina wall at Porto Santo is decorated with the names of yachts who have made the journey, so we spent time adding our design to the many that have come before us.   It was a fun, social occasion as fellow sailors and visitors stopped to talk and ask questions.    We only spotted one other NZ boat on the wall, so proudly added a piece of kiwi-ness to these windswept shores!

The number of yachts arriving in Porto Santo was increasing dramatically as the “Atlantic Crossing” season approached.   The small protected harbour was full and over 20 yachts were anchored off the beach, so we decided it was time to get moving.   We checked out of Porto Santo, paying the 7 Euros per night for our stay (great value as normally this includes free showers and laundry, but we didn’t avail ourselves of either while there as the showers were being refurbished and we were always too late for the laundry!) and headed out in a good NE wind, following Ruffian who had left a couple of hours earlier.    We could see the outline of Madeira’s high mountains ahead of us as we made good speed towards our next adventure.