Porto Santo to Quinta do Lorde

Hi everyone,

We're now in Quinta do Lorde Marina on the eastern end of Madeira Island.  It's a nice marina built as part of an apartment/resort complex.  Some of the marina facilities are a little run-down, for example the power outlets on half of our jetty are out of order.  But the staff are friendly and the resort itself is neat and tidy.  There is a small chandlery and a nice bar/cafe.  There is some surge in the marina, even with a very low swell outside, so bring your snubbers.

Zen Again at Baia d'Abra

From Porto Santo we sailed to Baia d'Abra, a mile or so E of Quinta do Lorde.  We stayed there for two nights surrounded by spectacular volcanic scenery.  We sailed across with sv ReVision II and Matusadona.  The winds were light NE for a route to the SW so we gybed downwind.

Porto Santo to Baia d'Abra track

Porto Santo to Baia d'Abra graphs

Porto Santo in our wake

Madeira Ahead

Rocky eastern archipelago of Madeira Island

Entering the Baixa da Aguagem

Spectacular rock and sediment layers

We arrived an hour or so before sunset and the sunlit rocks were amazing.  Many different hues from black to pink and every shade of brown.  Vertical volcanic pillars had driven through the sedimentary rock at varying angles, creating a natural mosaic.

FSC yacht ReVision II in Baia d'Abra

UK yacht Matusadona in Baia d'Abra

Sunset on the rocks

The next day we dinghied around the eastern side of the bay to the natural arch.  Many interesting rock structures along the way.  Above us a constant stream of hikers atop the hill were also enjoying the scenery.

More 'Organ Pipes'

Natural Arch - sadly not navigable

FSC yachts ReVision II and Zen Again in Baia d'Arba

After another somewhat rolly night at anchor we motored the 1.5nm to Quinta do Lorde Marina.  We called them up on approach and a RIB came out to lead us to our allocated pen.  Very well organised.

Baia d'Abra to Quinta do Lorde track

Baia d'Abra to Quinta do Lorde graphs

Approaching Quinta do Lorde Marina

Marina RIB leads you to your pen

We spent the afternoon charging house and outboard batteries, doing our laundry and starting on the boat to-do list.  Baia d'Abra had no internet coverage so we're catching up on that too.  The marina wifi is the best we've EVER encountered ANYWHERE!

We expect to stay here for several nights.  We had hoped to go to Funchal but reports from ReVision II and Tuuletar indicate there are quite a few yachts waiting there to get in to the marina.  We'll bus in to explore the town.