Marina Quinta do Lorde, – 32°44.40 'N, 16°42.80 'W Calheta – 32°43.11 'N, 17°10.60 'W Porto do Moniz – 32°51.92 'N, 17°09.65 'W Ilhas Selvagens – 32°28.00 'N, 16°30.00 'W Carga da Lapa anchorage – 32°30.71 'N, 16°30.53 'W Ilha Deserta Grande - main anchorage – 32°30.71 'N, 16°30.54 'W Porto Santo – 33°03.60 'N, 16°18.81 'W
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This is an update on the marinas in Porto Santo and Madeira.
The marina in Porto Santo is good with friendly staff and very good protection. Berths can be limited at popular times.Funchal remains crowded and the second marina seems no nearer fruition. The marina at Calheta suffered a rock fall a couple of years ago and this destroyed some of the infrastucture. I used it in 05, pre-rock fall, and it was excellent but I understand it has not yet fully recovered. It has a very good supermarket practically on the marina.The only other usable marina is Quinta do Lorde at the extreme Eastern end of the island. This is owned by the same company that runs the Porto Santo marina and it offers OCC members a very useful 30% discount. Water and electricity are included Quinto do Lorde marina is set in a new, gated development which is reminiscent of the TV programme The Prisoner and is a long way from anywhere. However, the staff are extremely friendly and helpful and will go to considerable lengths to facilitate the supply of chandlery and other goods. There is a free minibus service to a supermarket and entertainment every evening. Taxis are prohibitive but hire cars are reasonable, eg, a one-way taxi to Funchal is 50 Euros; hire of a car for three days is 123 Euros.The marina is well protected but, with the wind in the S or SW, there is some scend. Parts of the marina are shallow but there is plenty of room. Gas bottles can be changed and wi-fi is available.
Marina Quinta do Lorde, – 32°44.40 'N, 16°42.80 'WOlá! Bem Vindos! - 31 Dec 2009My name is Catia Carvalho and I have the honour of having just been appointed as the OCC Port Officer for Madeira. I work as the Operations Director at Marina Quinta do Lorde, which is located on the southeast coast of the main island in the Madeira archipelago. It is about 32km from the capital, Funchal.Whilst we have several ports, there are three fully serviced marinas in the main island of Madeira. These are Porto de Recreio da Calheta, Funchal and here at Quinta do Lorde. Calheta is in the far west, Funchal marina is in the port of the capital and QDL is in the east, just round the point of São Lourenço and likely to be the first stop for those arriving in Madeira Island from the east and the Portuguese mainland.Marina QDL This sheltered marina, built below the extinct Piedade Volcano, is a good place for a brief stopover while discovering the beauty of Madeira or even for a lay-up during the winter. (We do not really have a winter here with mild temperatures all year round and predominant winds from northeast.) Entry to the marina is easy and there are no hidden obstacles.The mouth of the port lies to the SW with the marina itself easily seen as soon as you pass round point of São Lourenço. You will see the commercial port of Canical to the west with its four large yellow ship-mooring buoys identifying it and we are below the eroded volcano of Piedade, easily identified by the chapel on the top. If you call us on VHF Ch 16 or 9, then we will come out with a RIB and escort you in just to make sure you don’t get lost.Support Services We have a wide range of support services here to address any repair or service issues you may have and there is an excellent bus connection to Funchal or I can arrange car hire at attractive rates for you to explore the island. If you leave your boat here for a lay-up or to visit home then we will take excellent care of her, including emailing you photos just to reassure you that your pride and joy is happy and well.The marina is less than 10 minutes away from the airport, which has regular flights to Lisbon, Paris, London, Gothenburg, Barcelona, Brussels and others. I am based at Madeira, but the company I work for also runs the marina at our smaller neighbour to the east – Porto Santo – and we are able to offer OCC members a discount in both marinas.
History The Islands were discovered by João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira in 1419 and the first place they landed was Machico Bay just five miles from the marina. The Islands of the archipelago have been visited by sailors for centuries. Charles Darwin referred to Madeira in the Origin of Species, Jacques Cousteau was here, as was Roald Amundsen, and Columbus married the daughter of the governor on Porto Santo and is said to have been inspired to sail east by all the strange plants he found washed up on the beach.Although Porto Santo is dry, the main Madeira Island is a real example of an exuberant nature and often called ‘the Floating Garden’ or the ‘Pearl of the Atlantic’. The Laurissilva Forest, classified as World Heritage, covers 75 per cent of the total area. The Gardens, the Mountains and the Levada Walks are simply incomparable.Social Activities On the social side, Madeira offers a cosmopolitan environment with international music shows, art exhibitions and much more. You can choose from the Atlantic Festival fireworks exhibitions, the Flower festival, to the Funchal jazz festival, the Rally Portugal event and much more that makes for a very exciting visit. In August you have the major festivities all around Madeira Island, which offer the best opportunity to experience our gastronomic culture.Particularly on this side of the Island, you have the Gastronomic Festival in Machico City in the first week of August. The second weekend of September is marked by the Festa da Nª Srª Piedade – the Sea Festival – which brings colour and music to Caniçal bay. Local fishing boats gather and sponsor the traditional festivities in honour of the Virgin Mary, protector of fishermen and sailors, that is kept at the white chapel above the marina. A procession is held on the sea with all the fishing boats and yachts. Join us. Local Sailing If there is enough time left after the busy social life then don’t miss out on the local sailing.We have many protected bays and small caves where you can dive and discover. Also, five miles away, you have the Ilhas Desertas, which are a natural reserve and are the home of several protected and endemic species. You will need a special permit to go there, but I can arrange it for you. If you intend to visit the Ilhas Salvagem, then I can arrange the permit for there as well. Websites http://www.markosweb.com/www/madeiratourism.org/; www.madeiranature.com; www.quintadolorde.pt. Contact Please contact me if you visit here. Mobile +351 965 560 274[attachment=352]QuintadoLourde.jpg[/attachment]Calheta – 32°43.11 'N, 17°10.60 'W
The western marina, south side of Madeira.This is a fully-developed marina with all facilities but suffers from swell. Some of the winter wave action being severe enough to dislodge stone blocks from the breakwaters and effectively block-off the marina entrance. Several attempts have been made to eliminate the swell but as of summer '08 some conditions still allowed an uncomfortable wave action to work into the marina and holding gear had been fitted to the western most pontoons to hold yachts off and the 'A ' pontoon was missing altogether.Staff helpful and deal with all formalities but on occasion only Portuguese spoken.The reception berth requires a sharp turn to starboard on entering (see attached photo or the much better panorama in the current corrections to 'Atlantic Islands '). The reception berth doubles as the fuel dock and the large fishing boat is moored to it in the photo. It is often full. Since maneuvering away from the berth (having found it full) would be a difficult operation for a long-keeled yacht a better plan is to follow the east/west southernmost breakwater to the west where a pontoon has been added to its westernmost half and a temporary berth can be found easily here and then report to the marina staff. The pontoon I am talking about is not in the picture but can be seen in the 'Atlantic Islands ' corrections.[attachment=353]Calheta_Marina.jpg[/attachment]
Porto do Moniz – 32°51.92 'N, 17°09.65 'WPorto do Moniz on the north east of Madeira is rarely visited but the new northwest/southeast breakwater provides considerable protection from the swell and anchoring in its lee or berthing alongside should be possible for an over-night stay in settled weather. The port is to the east of Ilheu Mole (see photograph taken from the hills above and facing northeast). The seawater pools to the west of the town are well worth a visit.[attachment=350]PortoMonizandIlheuMole.jpg[/attachment][attachment=351]NewbreakwateratPortoMoniz.jpg[/attachment]
Ilhas Selvagens – 32°28.00 'N, 16°30.00 'WRECENT CHARTING ERROROn no account should Selvagem Grande, Selvagem Pequena or any of their offlying rocks and islets be approached in darkness or poor visibility, when they should be allowed an offing of several miles. Both have extensive off-lying dangers and the two lights are unreliable. In addition, the position of the entire group is believed to be inaccurate on many charts. Older charts were not based on WGS84 but on the islands’ own (and unique) datum, with positions often expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds rather than the more usual decimal minutes.After a period in the early 2000s when most charts, including electronic, gave the islands ' correct position, early in 2010 a new error of 0?08M (148m) towards 192°T appears to have been introduced across the board, including many of the more popular electronic charting systems. This error will doubtless be corrected in due course, but it may not always be made clear when this has been done. Meanwhile, a correction of 0?079 minutes NORTH and 0?026 minutes EAST is required for positions on affected charts to comply with WGS84 (and the plans in these pages).Many thanks to Harald Sammer, OCC, of yacht Taniwani for identifying and reporting this error.
Carga da Lapa anchorage – 32°30.71 'N, 16°30.53 'WIlha Deserta Grande - main anchorage – 32°30.71 'N, 16°30.54 'WPorto Santo – 33°03.60 'N, 16°18.81 'WA popular place to visit on the rhumb line from southern Portugal to Madeira.The marina is run by the same company as that which owns Qunita do Lorde marina in Madeira and the OCC discount arrangement is available but you need to ask for it and produce your membership card.The large mooring buoys on the approach to the harbour had been removed as of summer '08 and it did not appear that they would be replaced. If you arrive in office opening times then all formalities are dealt with by the marina officials - turn to the east at the end of the pier, pass the ferry (to Madeira) offices and the marina office building is on your left surrounded by a small boat yard. If you arrive outside office hours the GNR may wish to see you - their office is in the group of ferry offices and appears to be manned 24 hours.The moorings in the harbour and the pontoons are now run by the same company.The photo shows the approach to Porto Santo from the north east with the off-lying Ilheu de Fora . The port is behind the shallows joining Ilheu de Cima to the large island.[attachment=348]PortoSantoApproach.jpg[/attachment]The second photo is the marina approach having entered the harbour. The pontoons are behind the inner wall which has a shallow patch off its seaward end - pass with a boat length of clearance and then turn to port - there is a long reception pontoon inside and parallel to the inner wall.A 'Pingo Dolce ' supermarket is within the marina complex.[attachment=349]PortoSantoMarina.jpg[/attachment]
This information has been contributed by and is intended for use by competent amateur yachtsmen as general guidance solely to supplement research of their cruising plans.It has not been checked or verified by the OCC. The Information may be inaccurate or out of date and is NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION.