From Quinta do Lordo we took the bus to Machico to get some provisions.

We went for a hike to Punta de Sao Lorenzo, not far from the marina.

Together with the Capella crew we hired a car and went for a trip around the island. We visited Funchal and Porto Moniz and went to a supermarket in Machico.

A few days later our friends on sy Ran lent us there car for a day and we went back to Funchal via Pico Aviero and the valley of nuns.

We tried to get a berth in Funchal or in marina Calheta but they were full and had no aviable berths.

We left Porto Santo just before noon, without being ashore. We did get one night of descent sleep though.

Our friends on sy Capella arrived soon after and we went out for dinner together.

The distance to Quinta do Lorde was only 30 nautical miles and after 6 hours sailing wing on wing we arrived at the marina and was guided by the marina staff to a good berth. What a difference from Porto Santo, so tranquil and safe.

Quinta do Lorde is a resort built in 2002 with around 150 rooms/apartments , swimming pools, gym, restaurants, shops and a marina. It went bankrupt in 2019 and only the marina, one restaurant and one shop is open. The rest is empty and deserted, a little bit like the movie “The Shining”.

Sailed distance 31,5 nautical miles.

After 5 day in Porto we set off for Porto Santo, to get further south and to meet our friends on sy Capella and sy Star. The weather forecast promised a beam reach and around 20 knots of wind.

We left Porto at first light but instead of a beam reach we where close hauled in 25 knots of wind gusting up to 35 knots and an uncomfortable sea state. Not funny. After a day and a half the wind eased some and shifted into a broad reach, still a lot of squalls with rain and wind.

Even if it was uncomfortable we were doing quite good speed and reached Porto Santo after 4 and a half days, with an average speed of almost 6 knots. We arrived just after dark and anchored close to sy Capella.

It was very windy and we dragged anchor and had to move before we felt safe enough to go to sleep. The next morning we dragged anchor again. The anchorage was very crowded and we did not feel safe so we decided to sail to Madeira instead.

Sailed distance 632,2 nautical miles.

After a couple of days in A Coruna it was time to continue south. We left at dawn after a stop at the fuel dock.

Our plan was to go to Camarinas but when we got there we decided to continue south to Porto, motoring all night.

We arrived at Porto after 31 hours at sea. Really nice to be back in Porto, we have been here quite a lot even if it was a long time ago. The marina is located close to the river mouth and a few kilometres from the city centre but it is a nice walk into town. We walked around in Porto the whole next day.

We got together with old friends, thanks for your hospitality!

Not far from the marine there is a shopping mall with a big supermarket and we went there twice to get provisions as we were planning to go from Porto to Porto Santo, just over 600 nautical miles away.

Sailed distance 177,0 nautical miles.