The
sun is out but the weather is unsettled as we depart El Rompido on Rio Piedras.
We are headed for the Madeira Islands in the North Atlantic Sea. Rob and I
are happy to be under way and anticipating the a five day voyage ahead of
us. We will take four hour watches throughout the voyage to keep a
constant look out for ships and weather. Through the HF radio, we are able to
get weather charts on the computer which keep us informed up to 3 days
ahead. So even though we are short-handed, we feel quite good about the
voyage.
The first 24 hours brought us a full moon and a slow start. Winds pushed us south east when we wanted to go south west, tacking west almost took us back to El Rompido, so we headed south east again, following about 150 miles off the African coast.
The next couple of days and nights brought us closer to our desired course, but we were still being influenced by heavy swells. Later on, things settled down with a steady west-north-westerly of 3-4. We had up full sail and Sea Fever got into her groove, self steering for five hours. We passed through the shipping channel busy with ships coming from the North Atlantic to Gibraltar and the Med Sea.
In the distance, many heavy clouds looming about. The nights brought us dramatic skies of heavy clouds, lined with the silver light of the bright moon. The Big Dipper and later on in the night, Orion shown down on us with his great strength. After the moonset, the stars were so brilliant it seemed the light from the moon never left. The clouds made for dramatic sunsets and sunrises.
The sunrise of 24 September was a collage of all kinds of clouds bringing lovely intense colors reflected in the morning sea. It was smooth sailing and slight seas but this did not last long....late in the afternoon, around 7:00pm, my watch, I see a large squall ahead of us. I batten down the hatches and attach my harness, ready at the helm. Wham, we are hit with a strong wind and lots of rain. I call for Rob to help me but he is sleeping and has his ear plugs in so he does not hear me. After many calls, the poor guy, half asleep and no clothes comes up on deck...sees the situation and takes the helm to keep us in control. I rush to get him some clothes as it is very cold; eventually he is dressed and warm.
This was the night of the grey meenies. We watched these squalls on the radar and they take on a life of their own...splitting, joining, changing direction, some were like a monkey on our back..could not get rid of it!!! The sometimes gale force wind was going in all directions. Our poor wind vane is going in cirlces! We were both up most of the night fighting the grey meenies, one of us resting in the saloon nearby to help the other on deck if necessary. During this game, I went to reef down the main even more as the winds were so strong we needed little canvas.
Needless to day, by sunrise, we were both pretty tired. The day was beautiful and we could see behind us the wall of cloud bank and rain we had come through. Overall, this voyage presented us with an invaluable variety of weather conditions including the perfect beam reach for lovely sailing. I rested a bit and Rob took over having an easy sail for his watch.
On the 26th September, we arrive Porto Santo. This barren, rocky volcanic island was turned a brilliant red-orange in the early morning light and a very welcome sight. Some of the hardened lava flows covering a cone looking like cream dripping over its edges.
We found a very cozy berth in the marina with plenty of room around us. Rob set the ropes well in case the weather blew up again. We had a very nice welcome from the marinaro which was much appreciated. We have a friend Steve coming from Chicago, so we want to get the ship back in shape for him. It is hard to keep a boat neat and tidy during a voyage like we just had!
Rob and I rode our bikes into the town which turned out to be having a festival in honor of Christopher Columbus. He lived here for a while, married to the mayor's daughter. The town itself was perfect...small, nice plants, narrow streets and low key. Seems like it would be a nice place to live for awhile. Tiled roofs and green shutters were typical of the traditional buildings. Lots of cafes and good markets for provisioning.
In the evening we went to a musical event featuring a drum and flag corps from Piza, Italy. Their costumes were from Columbus's time and were perfectly elegant. After this event, a group from Madeira played traditional music of the islands. The next evening we enjoyed a wonderful concert in the small church. The group played music with instruments from the time of Columbus.
Our friend Steve arrived a couple of days late, and we were very happy to see him arrive! He and Rob explored the island on the bicycles one day and the next day the three of us took a walk on the northeastern side of the island. The walk started out very barren and dry, rocks covered with bright colored lichens. As we went over a ridge, the trail passed through pine woods with spectacular views of the islands coastline. This walk is supposed to take one and a half hours...we enjoyed it so much that we took five hours including our picnic lunch!
Before departing Porto Santo, it is a tradition to put your boats name on the wall along the jetty. This is to bring your vessel good luck. Some of the signatures were extremely artistic and others painted with humor. Steve and I added Sea Fever's signature to the wall.
Due to the islands volcanic character, it is difficult to find anchorages along the coast of the this island. The marina in Funchal is bursting with boats and we were not looking forward to being there. However, a local told us of new marina which had just opened. It was not finished yet, plenty of room available. So we were tucked in very nicely with few worries and free to explore this captivating island.
Madeira
is a volcanic land of up and down. There is limited amount level land
except what has been made by man. The international airport is built on concrete
pillars on the edge of the island! The steep mountain sides are covered with
terracing f
or
growing bananas, grapes, market gardens. The steep cliffs are covered with
lush green forests with red tiled roof villages tucked on the sides of the
gorges. The roads are narrow with endless switch backs; travel by car is
slow.
Madeira
is made for walking. There are many kilometers of hiking trails taking the
walker to breathtaking heights above the peaks and sea. Along the way, one
sees mountain huts, gardens, waterfalls and unforgettable views.
"Levadas" are
an intricate irrigation system which distributes water to
crops from the wetter north to the dryer south. There are over 1335 miles
of levadas, all having a maintenance trail beside them. This gives
the walker the opportunity to reach remote parts of the island not accessible by
auto. Once again, one is accompanied by spectacular views.
Of course the three of us took advantage of all this beauty. Rob did some careful research as to the best walks for us. We rented and car and took off each day on an adventure. I did a couple of the shorter ones and Steve and Rob did 18 kms along the coast one day. Another day, they went to the highest peak on the island. When they returned they said there were no words to describe how beautiful it was.
We all took a rest from walking and discovered a different part of the island by car. We went up to the wild north coast visiting villages along the way. We found our selves driving through deep river gorges or on the high plateaus in the center of the island, then up in the clouds and down in valleys. We stopped in Monte and Steve and I did the traditional and famous toboggan ride of Monte. Great fun!
After all this walking, touring and fun, it was time to think about departing. We went to Funchal to fuel and water the boat. It was a bit rolly at anchor so we snuck in the marina alongside a local boat so we could get a good nights sleep.
While in Funchal, we were able to acquire a permit to visit the nature reserve Isla Desertas. Desertas Island is about 30 miles from Madeira and is uninhabited except for the Park Rangers. This island is one of the last places of refuge for the monk seals. On Desertas Island, there is a population of 30 seals, with one or two pups born each year. The seals habitat and mate in sea caves in remote areas. With tourist boats now taking many people to these caves around the Mediterranean Sea, the seals habitat is being disturbed more and more. The monk seal's population is now only 400 world wide. Let us hope that more refuge areas such as Desertas are declared before we loose this mammal of the sea.
The rangers were more than welcoming and we could have spent the night in our anchorage. However, we decided to continue on our way to the Canary Islands, about two days voyage almost due south.
So off the three of us sailed with a nice northerly wind on our stern quarter. The swell was a bit big, throwing us around a bit, but all was well on board.
