Fairwinds Goes South . . .

Adventures in a small boat on a big sea

Fri 27th October - Depart Cascais Towards Isla Graciosa (Canaries)

Woke up early this morning worrying about something I had seen on a weather site and had to go back up to the internet cafe before we left. Checked Theyr for the next three days and Magic Seaweed for the next week, and it all looked OK - we can expect to hit some light Southerlies, but should have favourable winds at least half the time.

Got away from the pontoon in good style - having propwalk is wonderful. Stopped at the fuel berth and topped off the tank and filled the cans with 50 litres. We finally left Cascais at 11.45 with two reefs in and a brisk Easterly blowing up to 18 knots. A few miles out we met a strange line where the water went instantly from green to blue, with lots of broken water . . . it looked like a reef, and alarmingly the echo sounder suddenly showed 2m. I hastily rechecked the chart . . . it was definitely a tidal effect, but I held my breath as we crossed it. Shortly afterwards the wind died away to almost nothing and the engine was on. We motored at 5 - 5.5 knots with double reefed main up to damp the rolling.

Goodbye Cascais!

Discovered we were making a (very) little water in the bilge - I think it is because the electric bilge pump is teed into one of the cockpit drains and is taking a little in when the drains go under in this following sea. We are talking two strokes per hour, so hardly critical! Might see a bit of shipping tonight- we appear to be closing gradually with a shipping lane.

Our postition at 18.00 was N: 38 14.4 W: 009 38.8 , approx. 22 miles SW of Cabo Espichel and 30nm out from Cascais. We had a last chat with Noble Warrior on the VHF, but our paths were diverging and we were losing contact. 572nm to Isla Graciosa.

Supper was a delicious curry tonight made with fresh beef and vegetables. By nine o' clock the wind was a solid F6 almost dead aft, and we rolled fiercely under genoa and a crescent moon. Ships appeared both sides of us, as predicted by the lines I had drawn on the chart earlier between the Cabo de Roca and Cabo Sao Vincente TSS lanes. We rolled on . . . were we finally on our way to remote Atlantic islands?

Sat 28th October - At Sea

Noon Position 28/10/06 N: 37 08.8 W: 010 14.0 Approx. 55 miles WNW of Cape SW Vincent 106nm from Cascais 501nm to Isla Graciosa

Course to Noon 28th Oct

We had a gnarly night running before a solid F6 with building seas under genoa with a couple of rolls in, dodging lots of shipping. The wind was still NW or N, veering back to NE as the night progressed. The skipper did not sleep well, which in no way reflects on the quality of the 1st mate's watchkeeping. Kathy is blessed with being able to sleep at sea in most conditions.

The wind stayed strong when dawn broke, still N to NE, but then it began to veer and by Saturday afternoon we were beam reaching in SE F6. It was pleasant enough sailing . . . we were way off our course, but assumed that the wind would go back to the East and ease in the near future as forecast and we would recapture our mising Easting then. I saw giant whale (Fin?) breach once about 200 yds behind us - it must have been 50ft long, and quite the biggest living thing I had ever seen. It was obviously on a mission, travelling fast at right angles to our course, and I didn't see it again.

Still blowing a 6 in the afternoon but it had gone S-Easterly, so our best comfortable course (relatively speaking) was 225deg, which would take us close to Madeira if we stayed on it. Montesanto Navtex is predicting this, but had shown nothing untoward further South in the Madeira or Casablanca sea area, so we expected to be able to make up the Easting we were losing later on.

After dark the wind went even more Southerly, still a steady F6 with big seas and breaking crests. The best course we could now comfortably steer would put us NW of Porto Santo, never mind Graciosa. We hoped the wind would moderate soon, as it was getting tiring.

Sun 29th October - At Sea

Noon position Sun 29 Oct 35deg 45.3min N 11deg 27.5min W Days run 108nm WP Isla Graciosa 402nm Water depth approx. 4000m

Course to 18.00 29th Oct

After a second rough night the morning saw the wind begin to ease. By midday the sea was down and the wind was ESE 12 - 14 knots. We could now manage our course under all plain sail. However, Kathy reported a large black cloud ahead. so we dropped two reefs in the main as a precaution. It turned out to be just as well - we were soon in 30 knots of wind. We eased sheets and held our course, but the squall refused to pass over so we ran off for a bit and furled most of thegenoa away. This was not a small squall, it seemd to be a discrete weather system maybe five miles or so across. We turned back onto our course for Graciosa and were immediately headed . . . as we couldn't make any sense of the wind patterns under the cloud we decided to grit our teeth and motor-sail straight through it.

We eventually cleared this mini-depression or whatever it was, and continued on our way in what was now definitely more of a Southerly than a South-Easterly. About half an hour before sunset I was snoozing in the forepeak when I heard a tinkle on the starboard side deck. I went out to have a look and found a nut and a washer lying under the starboard crosstrees. I tried to visualise the crosstrees - were there any bolts involved? I didn't think so, but couldn't see well enough through the biinoculars. As a precaution I decided to go up the mast as far as the crosstrees and check. We got the mast ladder out, but the motion was horrible and we were beaten by the arrival of darkness. We decided the mast would probably stay up overnight and that I would have another go in the morning.

Mon 30th October - At Sea

Noon position Mon 30 Oct 34deg 36.4min N 12deg 50.9min W Days run 108nm WP Porto Santo 198nm

Course to Noon 30th Oct

By now we had realised that the wind gods did not want us in the Canaries yet, so it's back to Plan A and the Madeira archipelago. Morning saw us hard on the wind for Porto Santo and not quite able to lay that. Our best course at this point was almost due West, whereas we need to make 243deg. It looked like we were going to have to motorsail some more to gain any Southing at all, so we put two reefs in main, rolled the headsail away and wound the Beta up to 2100 rpm. This enabled us to make 235 degrees, but it was a pain on such a perfect sailing day - puffy trade wind clouds, warm water, blue skies and a gentle ten knot breeze. If I trusted the weather to be stable we would tack our way to our destination . . . but having already seen dozens of boats held up in Portugal for up to six weeks by the endless succession of South Westerlies I'd rather use the iron headsail to point somewhat higher - and damn the expense, which has mostly already been incurred in the installation of the new engine. It's costing us aout 25 cents (17p) a mile for the diesel, so cheaper than running a car at home. We stopped the engine in the afternoon and rolled out some headsail to steady the boat while we topped up the diesel tank with 20l from cans.

The main epic of the day was my ascent of the mast while at sea (as far as the crosstrees anyway). As mentioned previously, I found an 8mm bolt and washer on deck just under the staboard crosstrees. Although the mast hadn't come down overnight I thought it prudent to check the crosstrees. They were fine, and the errant bolt almost certainly came off the gooseneck. I was very glad of the mast ladder - we certainly couldn't have managed without it - it was hard enough to hang on with the rolling as it was. The ascent was made with the boat sailing on a bam reach on the genoa, as that seemed the most comfortable position. Not as epic as Dame Ellen, but I had a couple of impressive bruises to show for it and a couple of suggestions as to how George Deffee can improve his mast ladders.

Phoned my Mum on the Iridium to wish her happy birthday. ETA Porto Santo is Weds am.

Tues 31st October - At Sea

Noon position Tues 31 Oct 33deg 45.9min N 14deg 40.7min W Days run 107nm WP Porto Santo 93.5nm on 243 deg

Course to Noon 31st Oct

Beam reaching in a moderate breeze all night - very pleasant, and the skipper finally got some quality sleep. We shook out the night's reefs with the dawn and continued on our course at five and a half knots. At this speed we would need to slow the boat down a bit to avoid arriving in darkness. By midday though the wind had dropped to ten knots SSE. Our shoreside weather routing specialists (Tim and Silkie) were predicting the possibility of a bit of a Southerly blow tonight and tomorrow morning, which might make the approach to Porto Santo harbour a little tricky. While they researched this we hardened up on the wind to make as much Southing as possible to be sure of clearing the SE corner of the island - wqhich would be a dangerous lee shorein strong Southerlies - and so make our final approach on a run. Current best track is 210 degrees, but we may be able to improve that if necessary with mechanical assistance. Should Porto Santo look uninviting our alternative will be to press on for Funchal, which has a wide entrance, but at the moment the weather looks like it might be a bit lighter than predicted.

Phoned Dad in the afternoon to wish him happy birthday. We settled in for the night with two reefs in the main and the wind just aft of the beam, but by ten o' clock the winds was up over 20 knots and we had the third reef in the main and the genoa down to working jib size. At midnight the wind eased a bit, and the boat slowed to four and a half knots - perfect for an early morning arrival in Porto Santo. Lightning flashed regularly around us, but none of the storms were on our direct course.

Weds 1st November - Arrival in Porto Santo

I´m sure Dame Ellen would have sacked her entire onshore weather routing team . . . About 2am it becme obvious that we would have to go through a rather large thunderstorm spread across our route. Nothing happened for ages, then in seconds the wind rose to over 30 knots and spray drove across the boat. We rolled the genoa away and bore away onto a broad reach with the mainsheet eased, Kathy on the helm. Kathy was brilliant - hung onto the tiller for maybe twenty minutes as we careered along almost out of control trying to run from the thunderstorm winds under triple-reefed main, but when we were doing over eight knots and the wind speed was above forty continuosly we had to stop.

Porto Santo Marina

Crawling up on deck to claw the sail down was strangely exhilarating as I clung to the mast and waves and spray washed over me.

We went below, put the washboards in and secured the hatch, remembering to also secure the locker lids in the event of any unusual attitudes. We left the engine ticking over and put all the lights on. The motion was very comfortable, and after getting out of her wet things Kathy got into the lee bunk and slept. I had a look outside - froth and lightning all round, windspeed a steady F8. Dug out the Atlantic Crossing Guide to see whatr it said about lightning strikles on yachts - not cheerful reading. I put the hand held VHF, spare GPS and Iridium phone inside a Ryvita tin and put them in the grab bag, then lay down on the saloon floor. The motion really was very comfortable, and the boat felt very safe.

About eight o'clock the motion changed, and with dawn breaking I sllid the hatch back to be greeted by blue sky and the wind down to under 20 knots - the storm had spat us out. Our drift had been maybe a knot an hour in a vaguely Northerly direction, and the wind was now definitely South, so now we had to beat upwind to Porto Santo . . . 17.5 of the wettest, hairiest miles I have ever sailed, half the genoa out and the engine running at full revs, 35 knots of wind, huge breaking seas . . . never had so much water in the boat, put the lee cockpit gunwhale under at least four times, took inumerable waves over the high side and a fair amount over the deck/sprayhood/everything. I even got mild hypothermia, with Kathy draping wet towels over me to stop the windchill and feeding me chocolate and biscuits from the companionway . . . doing this sort of thing in Scottish waters doesn´t bear contemplating.

The wild surf in towards the harbour running before steep and confused waves kept us wondering how easy the entrance would be, as it involved turning across the swell. We managed it, but if that had been the entrance to Dunstaffnage marina it would very quickly have been utterly blocked by random chunks of fibreglass. The boat looked a wreck when we got in, sails a shambles, everything soaked, crew gibbering idiots. It was one of those wobbly little finger pontoons, and Kathy actually ended up crawling along it on hands and knees. The guy took one look at us and told us to have a rest before completing the paperwork with customs and marina.

So - we had made it to our first real Atlantic island. Time for some serious R&R.

Weds 1st-Thurs 2nd November - Porto Santo

After a few hours sleep we went up to the restaurant at the port for a meal - they stop serving at six, so you have to eat early. A few hours sleep, a steak and a bottle of wine make things look a lot better. We then went for a walk down to the centre of the town, had an hour on the internet and a couple of beers and walked back. After a good night's sleep Thursday was mostly spent recovering, drying out and making a start on the washing. We met Gerry and Jim, two singlehanders . . . went on board Gerry's boat, an unusual and very spacious junk rigged steel Bruce Roberts 26 he built himself. He is off direct to Brazil next week. Jim arrived a few weeks ago from Santa Cruz de Tenerife aboard his 28ft MacWester, where he had spent a year chilling out and enjoying the local scene. Jim has sailed to Brazil twice and is writing a book called 'Off The Shelf'.

Nell Gwyn II

Fri 3rd November - Porto Santo

Did some more washing in the morning then walked down town for an open top bus tour of the island, which was excellent - although initially they tried to palm us off with a minibus because there were only four of us. Superb views from the top of two of the island's volcanic peaks, plus an unusual overhead view of the marina - Fairwinds is in the centre of the picture. Later we met Declan and Debbie off Kephri, a Laurent Giles 38 from Ireland. They are cruising with their two kids Donneka and Saorsa. Declan is a web designer, and told me he was picking up free WiFi from Madeiranet via a Wi-Fi aerial on his spinnaker pole and getting loads of work done.

An unusual view of the marina

I hoisted our pole up the mast with the Repeatit aerial strapped to it, and with the aerial at the crosstrees I can get a weak signal at high water - enough to send and receive email, but not much use for serious work unfortunately.

Sat - Sun 4th - 5th November - Porto Santo

A quiet weekend . . . went for a swim off the beach then we walked down town to do some shopping - heavy stuff, like beer and milk, which necessitated a taxi back (4 Euros). There is a bus at 18.15 every day except Fridays, but we were too early. We had dorado for tea, which are delicious - small ones, farmed in Madeira. Declan and Debbie came on board for drinks after supper - they are leaving for Madeira in the morning, having been here nearly a month. On Sunday the highlight was getting the sextant out and shooting the sun from the harbour wall with Gerry and Jim. Some of my sights were not too bad, but the working out of them is a mystery I am finding hard to unravel. Am working my way through it slowly with the 'Complete On Board Celestial Navigator'

Gerry up Gwyn II's mast

Fell asleep after tea again and only woke up at midnight to get into bed. I think October took more out of us than we realised, but we are pretty much recovered now and ready for that Southern sunshine. (As I write this - Monday morning - it is raining!)

Monday 6th November - Porto Santo

Rained all day, quite heavily. We have more leaks! Got the blog up to date and did a little work with the very intermittent wifi connection. Lengthy beer drinking and bs session with Gerry and Jim in Pato Bravo, followed by a nightcap on Fairwinds.

Tim sent us a weather report which looks as though setting off for Tenerife tomorrow would result in arrival in strong Southerlies, so we may be staying here a little longer - maybe we will go over to one of the marinas on Madeira itself. Hopefully the weather will settle down into a more normal pattern eventually.

Tuesday 7th November - Porto Santo

Beautiful sunny day with puffy white clouds and a light Northerly wind, but three separate websites confirmed that Tenerife can expect strong Southerlies on Friday or early Saturday, so we are not heading South just yet. Maybe off to Quinta do Lorde tomorrow, or at least to anchor in Baia de Abra

Topped up the diesel and bought 50 litres - that ferocious motor-sail into here must have used a lot. We now have a completely full tank plus 50 litres - hopefully we won't be buying any more for a while. Did some general cleaning and tidying. The Garmin fixed GPS set crashed today for no obvious reason and had to re-initialise itself. Diagnosis was easy because Gerry had a similar set, so just plugging it in and seeing it working confirmed it wasn't the aerial.

In the evening Chris from 'Tradition' came on board for a beer, then after supper he rowed us out to her and we took out Madeira and Bolo de Mel (Madeiran honey cake) for pudding. 'Tradition' is another Vega, from Rhode Island - Chris spent last Summer in Ireland and Scotland after bringing her over, and is now working his way South. She looks quite unique - a previous owner filled in the original big windows and replaced them with two round ports on each side, and there is also a small hard sprayhood over the hatch (or dodger, as the Americans call them). Down below the boat is very white. Chris has made one or two interesting modifications - there is a cooker with oven installed sideways, a custom built fixed table and he has cunningly moved the backs of both the saloon bunks out a couple of inches, giving room for proper bookcases both sides.

Albin Vega 'Tradition'

We had a great evening, although Kathy began to fall asleep when Chris started showing me how to download and view GRIB files.

Weds 8th November - Moving on to Madeira

Today was the day we had planned to head for Tenerife, but yesterday's weather session on the internet put paid to that. The winds looked fine until Friday evening or Saturday morning - which would put us some miles North of the top ot Tenerife - then another depression appears with South Easterlies of F6 and maybe F7 lasting right through the weekend. We reckoned that we would be heading for a repeat of our arrival into Porto Santo, so departure for the Canaries has been postponed. Instead we decided to move over to the main island of Madeira, to the new marina at Quinta do Lorde near the Eastern tip of the island. It is at least ten miles nearer Tenerife, with the promise of free wi-fi and a change of scenery. When we got up in the morning the wind was strong on the pontoon - gusting up to 20 knots from just South of East - but looking out from the harbour wall sailing conditions looked idyllic. I was surprisingly nervous about putting to sea, not trusting the weather as far as I could throw it . . . where had this come from, and what was it going to do next? Eventually we paid the bill and left just before midday. Just before we left we heard that a yacht had gone up on the beach during the night. Looking from the harbour wall through the binoculars she seemed a long way up, a small red yacht looking as though she had hit the beach at right angles travelling at some speed. Gerry reckoned it was a single hander who fell asleep with the self-steering set. As we left a couple of fishing boats were going out to try to drag her back into the water. We hope they were successful. Once out of the harbour we enjoyed a wonderful beam reach under full sail for about an hour, making over five knots, then the wind began to die and back round to North-East, due astern. Boat speed dropped to under three knots, although we could [probably have made four if we poled out the genoa. As the pilot did not recommend a night entry into Quinta do Lorde, and we did not know how much swell there might be across the marina entrance, so we reluctantly put the engine on and motor-sailed for four hours until we could round Ilheu de Fora and unfurl the genoa for a peaceful sail to the end of the breakwater. As soon as we turned to head for the marina four miles away they called us on Ch 16 - the place is almost empty at the moment, and any custom is obviously welcome. On arrival we had a choice of berths, and ended up a couple of fingers down from Kephri. Approaching Madeira The marina will take you to the supermarket for free or organise car hire, and there are several buses a day into Funchal. There is free wi-fi in the restaurant, and you can sit as long as you want without consuming anything . . . and we can get a weak signal on the pontoon, good enough for e-mail. We even got two little tins of complimentary mints as a welcome present! We have a few jobs to do while here - must finally finish the series drogue, try to order an LED for the tricolour from Ultraleds and maybe look for a replacement/spare Garmin GPS128 on Ebay - ours is beginning to lose the plot, it has to re-initialise itself every time it is switched on now. Quinta do Lorde Marina

The fingers are substantial and have centre cleats, making tying up a breeze. When we went up to the office formalities were quickly dealt with, and the marina manager Katya could not have been friendlier or more helpful. The marina is very much a project in progress; although the pontoons are all in place the shoreside facilities are a bit temporary, being based in the former hotel which has obviously failed as a business. Essentially you are moored in a low-key building site, but it is pleasant enough nonetheless. There are only nine boats here with people on board as I write this.

Thurs 9th November - Madeira

Got the wi-fi working on the boat, but with a very weak signal. After lunch we went for a walk along the Eastern end of the island . . . a spectacular waymarked path skirting sheer drops round the Baia de Abra, with long sections of bare volcanic rock. The worst sections are protected by posts driven into the rock with wire 'handrails' but it is still a spectacular walk. Took a photo of a yacht at anchor under the cliffs and used it for November's BlueMoment calendar. When we got back to the marina we were too late to eat - the restaurant stops serving at half past five - but we had a couple of very welcome cold beers. (The new restaurant and all teh facilities are scheduled to be open in January, but frankly I doubt it - there's still a lot to do).

Spectacular cliff scenery

Fri 10th November - Funchal Revisited

Took the bus from the marina gates into Funchal - a roller coaster ride with spectacular views - we had forgotten just how extraordinary the Madeiran landscape/townscape is. It cost us E2.40 each for an hour and twenty minutes' ride. Had a delicious lunch at one of the marina restaurants we remembered from a previous visit. We met the French couple with the young kid that we had met in Porto Santo - they were rafted up three out against the wall, happy to be in Funchal in the centre of things. They said the marina staff were very friendly, although the Hanse on the next finger to us here reports the opposite - they were told there was no room and never would be room. Maybe the marina staff prefer the French to the Brits. It was blowy, and a substantial SE swell made anchoring in Funchal seem a very unattractive option.

Funchal Marina

After lunch we walked up through the old town up to a seventeenth century fort on a hill overlooking the harbour, where we enjoyed panoramic views of the city and its suburbs sprawling up the mountains behind. One thing we noticed is that, like so many other places, Funchal is being slowly strangled by traffic - there seemed to be a lot more than on our previous visit, a sign of growing prosperity from the tourist boom no doubt. A lady at the Madeira Balloon kiosk also told me that it is not unknown now for people walking on their own in the hills near Funchal to be mugged for their camera, phone etc - something you don't read about in the brochures, which claim that crime is still virtually unknown here. Sitting at a table on the cobbled mosaic street outside the Grand Central Cafe enjoying a beer and watching Funchal pass by the city seemd as cultured and urbane as ever though.

The bus was a little late on the way back, and the driver made up time in spectacular faashion. All the non-Madeiran passengers were gripping the seats in front of them as we hurtled round sharp bends with vertiginous drops to lights far below, experienceing g-forces usually reserved for fighter pilots and astronauts. We needed a beer by the time we got back to the marina just to calm down. Went over to Kephri after supper for a pleasant evening with Declan, Debbie, Donneka and Saorsa.

Sat 11th November - Quinta do Lorde

Spent most of the morning in the restaurant plugged in to a decent Wi-Fi connection and got a few outstanding jobs done and some e-mails sent. Charlie Wright confirmed that he is coming out on Monday for a few days with a view to crewing for us to the Canaries, so let's hope for fair winds - looks like it might be going North-Westerly midweek or after. This was a very welcome surprise - Charlie has crewed for me before and has a great sense of humour, so it should provide a bit of light relief. In the afternoon we started putting the cones (90 of them!) on the Jordan series drogue, our ultimate survival strategy in the event of us meeting really bad weather where it is no longer possible to heave to or lie ahull. I flaked out all the line on deck then delegated this to Kathy as it is a one man job and she has more patience. The Aussie distributor's estimate of three minutes per cone is a little optimistic.

Making the series drogue

Blue Sky, a big Jeanneau Sun Oddysey, told us they are off tomorrow to Calheta, another new marina which is cheaper, finished with no building work and has shops and restaurants and a supermarket five minutes away. It's a long way past Funchal though, and there is quite a big Southerly swell, so we are staying put . . . less things to spend money on here anyway.

Sun 12th November - Quinta do Lorde

Mon 13th November - Quinta do Lorde

Tues 14th November - Mountains, Levadas and Tunnels

We got the car about ten o'clock and hit the road not too long after. I drove so Charlie could have a look around . . . the nature of the road system means that driver does not manage to do much sightseeing. Along the Rapido towards Funchal first, the dual carriageway taking a direct route through kilometres of tunnels and across kilometres of valley-bridging viaducts, then up to Monte for a stroll through the gardens and to watch the Monte toboggans setting off down the hill. From Monte's commanding position 550m above Funchal the road climbs continuously up to the summit of Pico Areiro, Madeira's second highest mountain at 1810m. Clouds swirl around the car park and sweater sellers do a brisk trade. From here you can walk along a spectacular mountain path to Pico Ruivo, the highest peak. We walked about a kilometre along the route, which is paved to prevent erosion and protected with handrails in teh most exposed sections. The views over the volcanic peaks and down into the lush valleys were spectacular until the cloud came in and we beat a hurried retreat to the warmth of the restaurant for a beer and tostas mistos aka ham and cheese toasties. After this modest repast we dropped back below the clouds and took the road down towards Ribeiro Frio and Santana.

Skipper and Mate at Monte Contemplating the void

At Ribeiro Frio we walked the first couple of kilometres of one of Madeira's famous levadas, a network of miniature irrigation canals that run through the mountains providing mostly level and easy walking with spectacular views and drops. Charlie and I went on ahead and found a tunnel, but unfortunately we hadn't brought a torch and exploring by camera flash is not easy.

From Faial we took the old road over to Santana, a thirty minute crawl in swecond gear up then down precipitous cliffs . . . then we took the new three kilometre tunnel back and did rthe same journey in precisely two minutes. It was a weird experience, like driving through some kind of spatial wormhole. We stopped off in the pretty little town of Porto de Cruz to take refreshment and admiire the view, then tunnelled our way back to Machico on the South side of the island via the new Rapida in minutes rather than the hours it had taken us to drive over the top.

We were in Machico to look for a fish restaurant recommended by the car hire rep, but in spite of asking several people we were unable to find it and ended up picking a likely looking restaurant at random. I had more espada for starters, then we all had espetada - which sounds similar, but is actually a large meaty kebab grilled on a skewer - delicious. On the way back to the marina we stopped off at what we thought was a tiny roadside pub but was actually a big barn-like venue for bands and discos, catering for up to 1200 people so the owner told us. There were just the three of us, and we watched the lightning from the doorway until the rising wind sent us back to the marina to check on the boat.

Weds 15th November - Calheta and Funchal

Today Charlie drove; he used to race bikes, and it shows. It was raining intermittently and I gripped the grab handle as we hurtled down the Expressway with its tightening turns, steep gradients and sudden transitions from tunnel to wet tarmac and back again. We were heading for Calheta to have a look at the marina there. On the way we passed another marina at Lugar de Baixo near Ponta del Sol - brand new, but abandoned with most of the pontoons removed. Some of the piles lean drunkenly at odd angles, testament to the power of the large wave that broke over the breakwater. Apparently there had been 150 French racing boats in the marina the day before it happened, but they had left by the time the disaster occurred. Now it lies empty while an insurance wrangle continues. Calheta was a pleasant enough modern marina, obviously with all mod cons. There is even an artificial beach there, with Saharan sand imported and protected behind a couple of breakwaters. We headed back towards Funchal, stopping in Ponta del Sol for tostas for lunch. Heading on into Funchal we parked the car in a multi-story car park near the Monte cable car station and had a wander round. It was grey and raining intermittenly, some of the showers torrential enough to cause a rush for shop doorways and awnings and bring the normally brisk pedestrian traffic to a halt for five minutes. Two huge cruise liners were in the harbour, one of them the aptly named 'Costa Fortuna'. The abandoned marina Calheta marina Ten years previously we had been in Madeira and been ripped off at the fruit market. You would think we would know better this time but no . . . we were accosted by an exotic fruit seller who gave us tastes of all sorts of delicious varieties of passion fruit - strawberry flavour, pineaple flavour . . . you name it, he had genetically engineered it somehow. It was indeed absolutely delicious, but only Charlie noticed that he was putting the skins back on a shelf for refilling rather than binning them. He even let us taste a banana/mango cross and the fruit of a swiss cheese plant, which he claimed was ideal voyaging food for yachtsmen as it would keep for a week once opened and you could just eat a bit every day. Eventually I agreed to buy nine assortd passion fruit, which cost us eight Euros. I have to record that Kathy was against this, but I was entranced by the fruity delicacies. Needless to say, when we got them back to the boat they were at best tasteless, at worst horrible, and were soon chucked overboard. Next - The Canaries - Tenerife

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