The Atlantic was over 5,000 metres deep on passage with sea mounts coming up as close as 20 metres below the sea surface! The only difference between these and the islands is that the latter made a few more metres... Porto Santo is basically a dormant group of volcanoes and fresh water comes mainly from desalination of sea water. It is an incredibly friendly place and development has so far been sensitive and limited.
The community of yachtsman here is very close. All share the experiences of varying times spent on ocean passages and some are coming round from the Azores from the USA or for a second Atlantic Circuit. The available wisdom for neophytes such as us is of immense value. More and more ARC boats gather and the social whirl from boat to boat for coffee, drinks or supper allows little time for rest and recuperation. A scratch barbecue on the local beach with shared food and drink was typical. A jazz concert in town and a long walk back at 01.00 with those coming from the Azores.
There are endless Scandinavians now and a large group of feral children of mixed nationality. Everyone looks out for them and helps entertain.

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September

Well here we are in Porto Santo, having a whale of a time! You may well need to get out your family atlas to find us unless your geographical knowledge is better than ours. We set out from Lagos on a quiet morning but the NE Portuguese Trades rapidly filled in and we were soon making good progress. We had varying conditions over the next 3 days and 455 nautical miles, with speeds between 4.5 and 8.0 knots. We made the trip in 3 days and 1 hour and enjoyed it immensely.

Jo felt a bit queasy for the first part of the trip but took a full part in the watches and became very good at ship avoidance. We saw a few dolphins but the highlight was a passing turtle. Dawn over Porto Santo was magic! A family aboard Tamarisk - a Westerly - kept in contact on the trip and we were both fortunate to slot straight into marina berths in the harbour. Beer and champagne followed with our friends and then much sleep. It was a great feeling and more meaningful than Biscay.

We all took a local open-top bus tour of the island with all the visiting Portuguese from Madeira. The volcanic nature of the rocks is evident everywhere and the views spectacular from the peaks and capes.
Jo has to fly back home next week from Madeira and we will miss her. We have all decided to go to Funchal by ferry and stay in a B&B a few days to sample the food and wine. I expect there will be a little walking too. We return for the Christopher Columbus festival and then make plans...

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