Tag: Madeira

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.

Swapping Mainland Europe for Island Life

I’ve already mentioned the enjoyable social side of sailing, often repeatedly meeting up with fellow sailors in different locations, but there is also a huge selection of very good social media sites dedicated to sailing and, as Steve will confirmed with a huge sigh, I am an active member of most of them!   Through these groups we have been fortunate enough to meet some inspirational and lovely people, including Fi and Iain who we met up with in Culatra and then again in Portimao before leaving mainland Portugal with them to sail under the same skies to Madeira.

I had also been in contact with an Australian guy, Mark, who was heading to Madeira at the same time, but leaving from Lisbon.   We were in touch several times to organise daily radio checks, discuss weather windows as well as touching on the recent spate of Orca attacks and sharing advice.   Mark let me know he was leaving Lisbon 12hrs before we were due to leave Portimao so we should be arriving in Porto Santo at around the same time.  

The number of Orca attacks has intensified recently with four boats being involved in incidents close to Lagos and Portimao in one day.  These attacks usually resulted in the boats rudder being bitten off or partially broken while the yacht is spun around by a group of orcas.   The reason for these attacks is unclear, with whales only targeting sailing boats in a frightening display of force and violence.   There are two active pods of orca who are involved in this behaviour, which first started in early summer 2020.   Since then there have been over 100 incidents off the coast of Portugal and Spain, with so many in The Straits of Gibraltar that a restriction zone was created to encourage boats to stay close to the shore when passing through the area.  

We left Portimao with Fi and Iain on Ruffian, the two boats cutting through the still, flat seas as we headed SW towards a bank of fog.   I made use of the last of our internet to check on Mark’s progress from Lisbon and was surprised to see it looked as if he was making very slow progress East close to Sines, instead of a SW course to Madeira.   I sent him a message as we continued motoring in no wind with Ruffian a short distance behind us.   The fog thickened and we lost sight of Ruffian through the thick, damp mist.   Suddenly there was a break in the fog and we noticed a large school of fish jumping out the flat water beside us, skimming along the surface.  My heart went in my mouth as I realised this meant one thing – they were being chased.   My first thought was Orcas – I had a minds eye of a cartoon whale with a nasty grin and big teeth looking at me with a, “Here’s Johnny” evil look in it’s eye!   Fortunately, when the fins broke the water it was a large pod of dolphins which greeted us, so it was with relief that I radioed Ruffian to let them know about the dolphins.   Iain said he had seen something behind us and was also very worried but had heard there had been another Orca attack near Sines this morning.   My heart dropped as Iain proceeded to tell me it was an Australian boat that had been damaged.   When I told him the name of Mark’s boat, he confirmed that was the one involved.   I felt terrible for Mark who was now trying to get to Lagos with a broken rudder.   We later discovered his rudder had been completely removed by the Orca, and in a message to us describing the 2 hour attack in darkness at 2am, with one very large whale and several smaller ones playing with the boat, sounded like the most frightening thing you can imagine.

As the fog lifted the wind increased enough for us to sail and, with Hilda the Hydrovane set we settled into a relaxed routine on board.   The wind was very light and Cerulean felt like an old heavy bus, not performing as well as we had grown used to.   After a frustrating couple of hours Steve and I agreed that, if the light winds continued as forecast, we needed to evaluate whether it was worth continuing to Madeira as something was obviously amiss and maybe we should consider turning around.    We radioed Ruffian who were well ahead of us.   Iain suggested we take his GoPro and look under the boat, so we turned on the motor and caught up with them, catching the GoPro in a throwbag they hurled across to us.   Hero Steve, attached to a line, jumped into the deep, still waters and pointed the camera under the boat to try and understand why we were making such slow progress.   Fortunately he could not see anything tangled around the keel but there was plenty of furry growth on Cerulean’s bottom from weeks of inactivity on anchor.   We decided to keep going and deal with her dirty bottom once we arrived in Madeira.   It was the right decision.  

We crossed the busy shipping lane that is the main thoroughfare for ships entering and leaving the Mediterranean, finding a perfect gap in the traffic for us to slide through, avoiding a tug pulling a large oil rig (we had a discussion on what lights would have been displayed, if we’d seen it at night!).   The wind increased and we enjoyed some lovely sailing in flat, calm seas for two days.

At 3am early in the morning of day three, we turned the engine on as we were wallowing in no wind making 2knots with sails flapping.   This followed a glorious day where we had flown the cruising chute with Hilda steering beautifully throughout the day.

We saw very little wildlife during the passage – a few dolphins, a shark and, on day three we were joined by a little bird that hitched a ride with us for a while.   It’s funny because the same thing happened when we crossed the Bay of Biscay.    

My mum was a keen birdwatcher.   She had a bird table in front of the dining room window and she took huge pleasure watching the many and varied birds that visited the well-stocked bird feeder.   When mum was bed-ridden we put her bed beside the window so she could still see the birds and, when she passed away, we had the window open.   A little bird came and sat on the windowsill and looked in at us all standing around mum’s bed, trying to come to terms with what had just happened.   The bird sat for some time observing the scene and my sister, Judy and I took comfort in thinking this was mum looking in on us.    When the bird came to the boat and found its way inside the cabin, three times (even when we put netting across the entrance way), it allowed me to pick it up and take it outside each time.    When it flew away, it did a circuit of the boat, returned and landed on my head, before eventually leaving us for good.     I took comfort thinking of mum and knowing how much she would approve of this adventure we are on.

All day on day three we motored.  We took advantage of the engine being on and made fresh water so enjoyed showers.  As we headed further south, the temperatures increased and even wearing clothes was too much during the day!    At night we made up a bed in the forward cabin and took three hour shifts sharing the sleeping while the other stayed on lookout in the cockpit under the huge moonless sky of stars.   At one point we were both in the saloon, talking while the autopilot steered us towards Porto Santo.  The large chartplotter was in between the two of us as we sat either side of the chart table chatting.   At some point I decided to adjust the autopilot course and picked up the (seldom used) remote control unit, adjusting our direction by just a couple of clicks to port.   As I had turned it on to make this adjustment, I then turned the remote off again and continued our discussion.   About ten minutes later I looked at the chartplotter and saw with dismay that we were tracking in completely the wrong direction.  I rushed on deck and realised that, instead of turning off the remote control, I had turned off the autopilot and we had been doing circles for the last ten minutes!      Later that evening we had a catch up with Ruffian on the radio and, just as we were finishing, Iain commented on the two circles we had performed earlier.   I hung my head in shame – even when 200 miles from land, there is no hiding from stupid mistakes!

Steve decided to have a haircut while we had no wind.   He powered up his electric razor and proceeded to give himself a number 2 while hanging over the transom.    When he had completed the front he asked for help as he could not reach the back of his head.   By the time I joined in the fun he had a perfect Mullet which, after much hilarity and threats if photos being taken, I set about trying to complete the coiffeur.  Sadly, I am no hairdresser and just mastering how to use the razor properly proved a long and tedious task which resulted in me shaving Steve’s hair above his right ear, clean off!    First I was mortified when I saw I had given him half a Mohawk, quickly followed by me dissolving into fits of laughter which was not matched by a pissed off looking Steve!     Needless to say, he took the razor from me, vowing never to let me near it again and not allowing any photographic evidence of the event!

By the evening of day three the wind had started to pick up, all be it from the wrong direction, so we decided to turn off the engine and start tacking into the wind.   The peace and quiet after hours of hearing the motor was a huge relief and we made reasonable progress for a while, giving ourselves targets and rewards when those milestones were reached.    Our aim was to get within 50 miles of land and then, if the wind was still on the nose we would motorsail again.    With about 70 miles to go we noticed a big flash on the horizon.   Lightening.    Lightening fills all sailors with dread.   Being a singular metal pole in the middle of an ocean is similar to walking down the middle of a busy motorway and hoping not to be run over!    As the lightening intensified and moved towards us, we put all our electrics into the microwave to protect them and turned off as many electrical items as possible.   With sheet lightening flashing all around us we continued sailing with a reef in the main and smaller jib only.   The boat was not performing well and I was getting really frustrated as I tried to work out why she wasn’t responding in the way we have become used to.   The sails were trimmed, but Cerulean felt like she had a handbrake on still.  

Eventually the storm passed and, with the high volcanic peaks of Porto Santo in sight and only 20 miles left, we turned on the engine.   The sea was rough with wind against us, blowing upto 28knots, so progress was slow!    We were both tired, were not enjoying this last part of the passage, had not eaten properly as trying to prepare food while the boat is being lurched from side to side is not easy and we were hot and dirty after two days of heat and no showers!     To say it was a relief to round the tall, rugged Ilheu de Cima and see the small town of Vila Baleira with its long sandy beach, was an understatement!   We turned into the protected harbour and dropped our anchor next to Ruffian.  Tall barren, rugged mountains formed a backdrop to the small marina and it was with huge relief and a sense of achievement that we turned off the engine, made a decent meal and collapsed into bed for a much needed, long and peaceful nights sleep after a four and a half day passage covering 522 miles!