Madeira, Portugal
6th June - 4 th July, 2021
Arrived in Porto Santo, Madeira Islands, after an amazing sleigh ride passage from Sagres, Portugal
It took us 2.5 days (3 days and 2 nights). We averaged 7.2 Knots. The shortest great circle distance is 433 Nautical Miles. We sailed 435 Nautical Miles to get here. We did not run the engine at all during this passage. We got 162 Ah/day from Solar, 55.1 Ah/day from Wind, and 247.4 Ah/day from Hydro, a total of 464.5 Ah/day during the full passage.
Hoisting the Madeira flag
Very different landscape compare to what we have seen in the last year
This must have been the worst of our 8 PCR test. It felt like they were putting some acid down your nose
We rented a scooter for two days to explore the island
Even though we emailed our proof of J&J vaccine ahead of time we had to do another, our 8th, PCR test here in Porto Santo Madeira.
In Portugal they say you don't have full immune until 28 days after the vaccine, and for us is was 27 days. But the test was free, so we were happy to do it. They are very thorough here regarding Covid, which we appreciate. The marina organized the test, it was very convenient. It came back the next morning and once again we were negative. So now we are free to explore the island, Yay
Views from the top of the hill behind the marina
A great hike around the shoreline to the north of the marina. It loops around the coast and when you're thinking "how on earth am I going to get around that last big mountain", then a tunnel magical appears that takes you through the mountain to the other side
From there I scrambled up the hillside to climb up to this peak. Spectacular views!
The north coast
Up on the ridge between two peaks. The marina is behind me, and so is the wonderful long beach on this side of the island
This is one of the most popular trails on Porto Santo, even though we hardly saw anyone. It's on the north west side of the island. It's a great hike with wonderful scenery.
Second day of our Scooter adventure started here:
Pico de Ana Ferreira is an incredible rock formation on Porto Santo, which looks like a spine of jagged rocks running down the center of the island. There are several attractions at Pico de Ana Ferreira such as the numerous caves to explore, a hike to the summit along the jagged ridge, and the ‘Organ Pipes’ rock formation.
Ana Ferreira Organ-Pipe
This rock formation is incredibly unique, with an organ-pipe arrangement of pentagonal rock columns, which was caused by volcanic activity millions of years ago. The crest was produced by differential erosion, which means the ‘host’ rocks were worn out exposing the more durable and resistant inner layer of mugearitic rock.
At the base of the organ pipes, you can walk all the way up to inspect the surface. When you are close to the rocks, you will quickly be dwarfed by the huge, elongated columns that tower above.
The climb up to the caves started on a nice trail and then you have to scramble through lots of beautiful cactus
View from one of the caves looking to the north east
The final part of the Pico de Ana Ferreira is the hike to the summit along this ridge
It was a little nerve racking to scramble up along this ridge
We made it!
Anders at the summit
We took a shorter route down. No trail and a lot of rocks and cactus
Here we are at the southern most point on Porto Santo, Morenos lookout. Looking south, you can see Madeira
At Ponta de Canaveira, south west corner of Porto Santo. Very rugged coastline on this side of the island
Nice lunchstop at this south town, Calhetas. All the small islands around Porto Santo are Marine protected areas.
We met Sven Yrvind ( a Swede) in Porto Santo with his 5.76 meter, tiny boat Exlex which he built himself. What a character, now 82 years old.
This is inside Exlex, Sven's tiny boat. This is the middle section where he sleeps, read and write on his new boat.
Sven is very proud of this rack for "tools" that he made. This is what he has. No stove no plate. He only brings canned sardines, musli and water. Only cold meals
Sven came onboard Horizon. He was amazed by our sextant and wondered if we knew how to use it, which we do. He was also impressed by the quality of Horizon
It's not everyday you have the privilege to tow a celebrity out to sea with an electrical engine. We used less than 200W while towing him. This short video captures the occasion.
We asked Sven where he was going. He said "first I'll go south then west then north then east and then I'll go to the Azores. Sounds like a good plan to us if you look at the winds
The only two Outbounds in Europe at the moment happened to be at the same anchorage at the same time. We had a great time with Bill and Laurie on Toodle-oo, hull #27
Drinks with good friends and fellow cruisers, Toodle-oo and Tara both OCC members, in Porto Santo before we left the next day
Our first anchorage in Madeira , Enseada da Abra, in the north east part of the island
Spectacular hike out on the Peninsula, Ponta Sao Lourenco
At the top. The lighthouse is behind us
On our way back again...
Our anchorage
Now anchored in Funchal. Beautiful city night lights
City street art in Funchal! It is fun and very colorful
From Monte we rode de Carreros, sleigh, down the hill
Ready, set go...
It was a fun 2km ride down on very steep roads. Got to trust the riders ;-)
At the bottom. The sleighs goes back to early 1900 when it was the main transportation from Monte down to Funchal. The legend says that one old lady couldn't walk down so they built this for her, and so it started.
This is how they get all the sleighs back up again
We took the Gondola up to Monte, a small mountain town
The very beautiful Monte church. Can be seen from the ocean.
The old famous Blandy's Madeira distillery is in central Funchal. Started in 1811. Definitely worth booking a tour and tasting
Funky looking old fort by the ocean with some cool old cars. Probably very popular wedding venue
Beautiful marina in Calheta on the south coast of Madeira. Also very affordable. Lots of restaurants and very close to supermarket
Another fun OCC gathering onboard Horizon. Crew Toodle-oo and crew Tara. And it happened to be Bill's birthday, Cheers
Once again the two Outbounds meet. This time side by side in Calheta Marina for a week.
Bill (Toodle-oo) and compared the tension on the riggings between the two Outbounds and did some trimming
Happy Midsummer from Calheta. Celebrated with a small bottle of aquavit :-)
We LOVE Madeira!!! It is such a beautiful island. Every valley is different, all with their own beauty. Lots of great hikes on the island.
Here are some pictures from our three days road trip, hard to not pick too many though
Thanks for the company, Laurie and Bill!
Madeira is definitely one of our favorite.
A steep hike up to the mountain behind the marina
Lots of colorful flowers
Pretty steep climb up the hill
Very steep actually...
Bye Bye wonderful Madeira...
After motoring for 8 hours we launched the spinnaker. Then we flew the spinnaker the whole night, which is a first for us
On 4th of July i caught a Dorado, Mahi Mahi, in the sunset.
Cleaning up and fileing the fish on the swim platform in big swells, it's a challenge
As always, another beautiful sunset. Our windvane was steering perfect through the whole passage. We call him Pettson. He is our third crew member. Very reliable. Don't need any food, drinks or sleep
The island
We sailed from Calheta, Madeira to the canaries with a stop in the most southern islands of Portugal Ilhas Selagens which is a nature reserve so you need a permit to go there. Try to find it on the chart, or map
Definitely worth a visit, So wild, untouched and remote
Our anchorage and the ranger station
On our way to the Canaries we stopped one night in this remote anchorage, Ilhas Selvagem. It's Portugals most southern islands. They are much closer to the Canaries than to Madeira. This is the ranger station. You need a permit to go here.
The hiking trails on the island
This island must have the most police by capita in the world. 5 people all together, 2 rangers, 2 policemen and 1 mechanic. The Police came out to check our documents and then they gave us a ride in. The story is that Spain tries to declare that this is a rock so they can expand their economic and fishing territory. That's why Portugal has crew stationed here. They also have a mailbox and a helicopter platform
This bird is a Sheerwater. The most common in this nature reserve. They used to be almost extinct because of hunting. But after the reserve they started to thrive and now you can find them everywhere. They have their nests in all small rock holes. They are not at all afraid of you since they don't have any natural enemies
We got a guided hike of the island. This is the view from the top overlooking the ranger station, our anchorage and Horizon
This dog has been on the island for 18 years! Her name is Selvagem, after the island. She followed us on our hike around the island. She was a trooper, and so cute. I so miss Findus now
The nature reserve sign on Selvagem Grande, the biggest of the islands, where we spent the night