Blog 33: Madeira - here we come!

So after a couple of seasons when our grand plans have been put on hold by the Covid pandemic, we at last have the chance to set sail for far-flung places – specifically our first intended destination is Madeira, maybe then the Azores – we’ll see!  

 

Despite having sailed thousands of miles together over the years, and made a fair number of overnight passages, we've not actually done much more than a 24-hour stint.  The passage to Madeira is likely to take 3 to 4 days - if the wind is reasonably favourable to us - but it could be longer.  We need to plan carefully, consulting the charts, checking wind strength and direction, height of 'swell' and the weather generally, looking for a 'weather window' to make the passage.

Astraia ready to go!

 
Over the winter, we have done a lot to get Astraia in good condition for the Atlantic trip to Madeira …

·      New fuel tank to replace the one that had a leak
·      Engine overhaul
·      Replace bilge pump
·      New genoa sail
·      New sprayhood – with a window we can now see through!
·      General washing, cleaning and polishing

The intrepid crew - Caroline, Charles, Di

Caroline joined us for this leg of the trip and she planned the passage and plotted the course.  

We waited for a favourable weather forecast and left Lagos Marina through the lifting bridge about noon on Jubilee Day, 2nd June.

We enjoyed a lovely sunny sail along the Algarve coast and anchored overnight in Baleeira Bay just before Sagres and Cape St Vincent, the south westerly points of Portugal, and a good place from which to set out into the Atlantic!

A pretty sunset over Baleeira Bay on Platinum Jubilee Night 

We left the anchorage at Baleeira at 7am on Friday 3rd June when the wind was supposed to be against us but light for the first few hours, then forecast to go round to be with us for the next 3 or 4 days at least.

Caroline programming the route and entering waypoints.

The plotter displays the waypoints as red crosses, and the AIS system shows other ships and boats in the area as different grey shapes depending on their size, a bit like playing that old game Battleships!!

This is our last sight of the mainland - Cape St Vincent in the distance and Sagres in the foreground.

We started off with a fine sail, close-hauled and therefore heeling over quite a bit, but with sunshine and blue skies.

We had a small stowaway for 20 minutes on the first day - this little bird stopped for a rest!

However, contrary to the forecast, it took a day and a half for the wind to start turning to the right direction, so the beginning of our trip was quite rough with a bigger swell than we expected.  It never looks that bad in a photo, but this sea caused quite an unpleasant motion.  Also the wind was against us, so we could not sail a direct course for Madeira so we didn't feel we were getting much nearer!

Sailing upwind and heeling over all the time also makes life quite difficult on board - it's hard even to make a cup of tea without spilling it everywhere - but we had made sure we had plenty of easy meals and soup and somehow we managed to grab a bite to eat.  To be honest, no-one felt like eating very much!!

Sunset on the first evening

The nights were very quiet - there was hardly any shipping and mostly it was in the far distance.  We adopted a watch system of 3 hours on and 6 hours off during the hours of darkness (approx 9pm-6am).  One person had to have their 6 hours off in two sessions of 3 hours, but at least we all had enough time to get some sleep.

The plotter was completely blank at night for hours and hours on end, apart from our little boat icon!

We saw lots of stars with no light pollution, the Milky Way, a crescent moon, and beautiful sparkling phosphorescence in our bow wave. 

On Day 2 the wind and sea were just as bad and the Captain was getting fed up with it (though the crew was keen to carry on!)  Then just in time the wind began to moderate and come round to a more favourable direction and we were carried speedily towards Madeira.  

Sunset on the second evening

The rest of the trip was lovely, either sailing or motor-sailing the rest of the way.  Life on board assumed a sort of rhythm, it was easier to cook and make cups of tea, and we were all able to tuck into some tasty food  The total passage took 3.5 days, about the length of time we'd originally expected. 

We did not see much en route!  About half a dozen cargo ships, a few seagulls, and most excitingly a turtle!  Luckily we came across no orcas, which have been 'attacking' yachts in this part of the world, but no dolphins either which is a shame.

A couple of small flying squid landed on our deck!

We did have one or two challenges - the engine start relay failure was the most worrying.  Charles was able to start the engine by 'shorting' it with a screwdriver, but it's not an ideal method!!  He fixed it as soon as possible after arriving.

Sunset on the third evening

Land Ahoy!!  On the 4th day we got our first sight of land at mid-morning on Monday 6th June - Porto Santo, the first of the Madeiran islands that you reach coming from mainland Portugal.  Porto Santo means Holy Port as the explorers who discovered it were thankful to be blown into it by a storm. 

Porto Santo is much smaller than Madeira and arid and barren whereas Madeira is very green, but the outline of Porto Santo is dramatic.

Big smiles and a sense of achievement as we approach our destination!  

Now we're anchored safely in the harbour - eventually, after having to move a couple of times because our anchor dragged - and the sun has come out!

A view of Porto Santo harbour

Didn't expect to see a polar bear in Porto Santo!!  This life-size sculpture was made entirely from recycled materials by a local artist who lives on a boat in the harbour.  Last year he did a giraffe!

Porto Santo certainly has a charm of its own - especially the 9km long sandy beach which runs virtually the length of the island - and we enjoyed our brief stay there.

Caroline and I cycled the length of the island on a cycle path along the fabulous beach to Ponta da Calheta.

It's such a beautiful spot and there's an extremely good restaurant where we had tuna ceviche, delicious prawns, a summer salad, and a refreshing beer after all that cycling!  

It was a perfect day - tropical blue sky and sea, warm and sunny.  

They say that the beach is as good as any in the Caribbean - except for the sea temperature!!!  Actually the sea is slightly warmer than in a UK summer, and steady all year round at about 20-24 degrees, but it is still the Atlantic!

Porto Santo has a population of just over 5,000 people, and a tiny, cute little town, Vila Baleira, with some charmingly old-fashioned holiday attractions.  It just feels like you're going back a couple of decades!

It's very clean and neat, with attractive squares ...

Nice traditional buildings and typical tiled streets and always the view of the mountains in the background ...

Good restaurants ...

Christopher Columbus's house ...

An art space with an exhibition by Emanuel de Sousa ...

This is the very modern Town Hall and Cultural Centre - with the wonderful volcano-shaped Pico do Castelo in between.

The island is largely unspoilt and not too touristy, but there are now a few, quite smart, traditional-style holiday hotels and apartments being built along the beach.

Porto Santo also has an airport, built by NATO, so it was easy for Rebecca to fly in to join us.

We took her straight to a bar for a welcoming Poncha - a cocktail made with Madeiran sugar cane rum.

Caroline and Rebecca hiked up the island's highest peak, Pico do Facho. Unfortunately the weather changed and they had a misty and damp trek.

But they enjoyed the hike and reached the top anyway.

The following day we set off on the boat for Madeira itself - this time it was raining at first and quite a rolly motion, not all that pleasant, but it's not very far and the wind was behind us so we got there quite quickly.

As we approached Madeira a patch of blue sky appeared ...

... and the main town of Funchal looked quite sunny.

We anchored in a bay at the eastern end of the island for lunch ...

... and celebrated our safe arrival in Madeira.

We then headed into the Quinta do Lorde Marina, which is part of a resort complex which has been closed for a couple of years with financial problems.  

They say it will re-open next year, but for the moment it is deserted ...

There are no guests, the apartments are unused and the pools empty.

All the restaurants and attractions are closed - this used to be the Lighthouse Restaurant. 

The Church is also closed and unused. 

There are basic facilities for marina users, such as showers, washing machine, marina office and helpful staff, and a small shop for basics.

There's also a sea-water swimming pool which used to look bright turquoise and be cleaned every day, but has now been reclaimed by the sea.  It's still fine to swim in and you see all sorts of lovely, pretty fish swimming with you - a bit like swimming in an aquarium.

You know, I think in a way I prefer it deserted than heaving with all the guests who would be there if it was open!

Now to explore Madeira ...