Aleria Update 3

3. Ola from the Madeira group!

We left Lisbon on the outgoing tide on all hallows eve and anchored off Cascais where we took on fuel and awaited the favorable wind promised for the morning. Like clockwork the 15 knot northerlies arrived and we set sail for the Atlantic Islands.

What a perfect first day we had. Perfect wind, sun, warmth. But it was too much to have asked for our first gentle crossing. We were ghosting along as the wind died down to less than 10 knots, just trying to keep Jolly Mon, our Monitor self steering wind vane, steering a steady course in the shifty breeze. Suddenly, bang! The wind went from <5 knots to >25 knots in less than a minute. Did I mention it was 2:30 am on Daria's watch with full sail up?

So Alex came on deck and we furled the yankee and reefed the main. We continued on uneventfully in building seas and unfortunately had to jibe the rest of the way to the Madeira islands. But we made the 450 mi in 3 days. Not too bad.

Jolly Mon took a beating though and the self-steering rudder post sheared off under the strain. Luckily, Alex had tied it off with a shackle through an eye in the blade. Most impressive is that the Monitor came with a bag full of spare parts, including a replacement post. We have used many of the spare parts already, especially the ropes.

Interestingly, there was no wildlife on this section of sea. No dolphins, no schools of fish, no birds. Just a few passing oil tankers and one sailboat that was lying ahull with anchor light on taking a break mid ocean.

It was cool to sight Porto Santo, our first stop. It's a small arid mountainous island with colored veins of iron ore running through the rock walls. The harbour is an ex-Nato installation and a nicely protected refuge. One thing that's really fun is seeing the boats and meeting cruisers from all the different countries. In Porto Santo, there were several German flagged boats, multiple French, Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish, Portuguese, one Brit and us. Everyone helps each other out. Language is rarely a prohibitive barrier. We were tied up to the visitors' dock as one of the larger vessels.

Once again, our bikes proved invaluable. It was about a 2km ride into town, and about 5 km to the deserted sections of beach. The entire coast is one long beach here, with properly spaced tiki huts, restaurants and beachside watering holes. Rather pleasant. We had our first swim in several years and clear warm blue waters. Apparently, here the temperature of the air and the water rarely fluctuates more than 5 degrees from 70•F (20•C).

Thanks to Bertrand's suggestion, we visited Columbus' home and the lovely little church nearby. Then we had a traditional fish dinner at a local hangout far down the strand. And per Mike's directive, we sipped Madeira wine after dinner in the square. We fell in love with this small community and will surely return for a longer visit.

We crossed to the island of Madeira about 50 mi away in large swell. We approached as the sun set and saw the big statue of Jesus all lit up on at the top of the mountain at the point. We anchored off Funchal as the marina was full and the yacht that was to have left did not. Apparently, the charge is until midnight, the staff leaves at 6, and often the boats leave just before the staff arrives in the morning. So much for integrity.

Luckily it was a calm night in this exposed anchorage. Until the cruise ships started to arrive. At 6 am, huge ships maneuver into the docks, turning just outside the anchorage limits. Putting out fenders would not have helped. I was up watching with Onyx as these behemoths, one after the other, parallel parked inside the breakwater. Amazing. They disgorged thousands of tourists- british, german, and canarian. The Porto Santo ferry maneuvered in between.

We walked the streets, stopped long enough to listen to a major scam, and took the tram to the top of the mountains. Funchal is built up a mountain. Not like San Francisco. Much more intense. Straight up. We rode about 10 km up. At the top is a lovely hotel, botanical gardens, a chapel, and a remarkable church where the last of the Hapsburgs is buried. The views are breathtaking. But even more breathtaking is the ride down in traditional toboggans. These are wooden craft that ride down the mountain roads at breakneck speed. They are guided by two men who steer with their feet and weight. It was a hoot. We hollared all the way down - which was only halfway. The rest of the way down - 5 km - was a steep hike through lovely neighborhoods, vineyards, banana plantations, and normal living places. It was great.

We moved on from Funchal to the Quinta du Lordes Marina. The anchorage in Funchal had become rolly and a French catamaran had arrived in the night and parked right next to us. In the morning, suddenly we were just a few feet away, so in a panic we reanchored a ways down. We then dinghied over and banged on the hull to wake them up. Alex complained bitterly to two very groggy sailors.

We spent the next day at Quinta du Lorde, a brand new marina (about 13 km out by sea, 30 km by land across mountains) where they are building a concept village around the marina with church and market square, loads of homes and condos. Amazing! And they have a laundry. The first since Spain. We know now that cruising is all about fixing boats and doing laundry in exotic places. The tech here diagnosed our SSB problem to the antenna tuner. So we are off to Canary Islands in the morning to see if they can help us more reasonably than these guys.

Overall, the Madeira group is most interesting. Topographically dramatic, with lots of natural beauty and a lovely cosmopolitan city for distraction. And the people are endearing. Yes, most definitely worth another visit.

So farewell to you all, and we'll see you in the Canary Islands, still off the coast of Africa.

Daria, Alex + Onyx