You hear a lot of people waxing on about the benefits of travel – that it helps open your mind to new cultures, that it helps you appreciate different ways of living, and that it helps to get you out of your comfort zone. It does all of that, for sure. But it also simply helps you with geography. Maybe because the United States is so big, Americans often rate very low in their knowledge of world geography. So, it was our goal when we started this project in 2017 to not only have fantastic days of sailing but also to expand our world knowledge. And arriving in Madeira fit right in with that mission. A short while ago I might have been able to tell you that Madeira was a type of cooking wine. That was it. Was it a island as well? How cool is that!


Madeira lies far out in the Atlantic, approximately 400 nautical miles from the nearest mainland of Morocco and 500nm from its home country of Portugal. We had set our sights on Funchal, the capital of the island where, reportedly, plenty of stores would welcome our euros as we restocked groceries and shopped for other items – some necessities, others less so. With Enseada da Abra as the exception, Madeira lacked, with its even, round shape, a harbor protected from the motions of the Atlantic Ocean. Waves from any direction have a nasty habit of curving around an island, especially one more round than linear, causing boats to roll back and forth even when you are on the downwind side. And the wind, watching how its friend the water behaves, curves around these islands as well. As we sailed down the coast from Enseada da Abra to Funchal, we had 25 knots of wind from behind us, then no wind, then a stiff headwind as we approached the capital, all along one side of the island. Also in this area, we passed the airport, an impressive work of engineering with half of the runway built on top of towering columns extending along the shore.

Other sailors had warned us how difficult anchoring can be in Funchal, owing to lots of swells and the officials who seemed to want to shoo anchored boats away. We had neither issue, settling in near the waterfront occupied by a few strolling tourists and the hint of gentle music wafting over the tree tops from the city center.
After clearing in with customs and immigration – a pleasant experience initiated first by a friendly outstretched handshake from the gun-holstered officials – we rustled up some lunch, headlined by the local speciality of scabbard fish topped with bananas. Those of you that know me well know I get weak in the knees when a ripe banana is placed in front of me. Adorning a fish with one was a new idea that spawned many other dining ideas in my head.

Readers of this blog will also be familiar with the important role that food plays in our travels. We took that to a multi-tasking twist by riding the gondola car over the city while snacking on a few of Alex’s surplus pastel de nata, a palm-sized cheese custard harkening back to Madeira’s roots with Portugal.

Madeira, with its mountainous interior full of hiking trails, quaint little fishing villages, and rugged beaches, is definitely an island worthy of a complete vacation. But with ocean still between us and our destination of the Canary Islands, we opted for a full-day driving tour of the island, captained by our host, self-named Dennis The Menace. I really wanted to give him the name Dennis the Deft Driver, as he took our mini-bus down numerous steep driveways to pick up other patrons at their hotels perched as they were on the edge of the sea. This was not an island fit for a full-size conventional tour bus, which was fine by us as we get a bit twitchy in the company of large tour groups. I’m sure there’s a medical term for it, and proper medication we should be seeking, but alas, off we headed on a whirlwind let’s-get-a-one-day-glimpse-of-an-island tour.








Other sailors had recommended a stop at the vibrant open-air market in downtown Funchal, and as luck would have it, we were in dire need of fresh fruits and vegetables after many days at sea. All the colors of the market stands can be mesmerizing. In fact, so mesmerizing that you don’t notice the cagey merchants stuffy more fruit in the bag than you asked for, and not the kind of fruit you would hand select for freshness. We were directed to a backroom behind the storefront where the frontman’s wife stood behind the cash register, with shelves behind her laden with our purchases. These merchants go through the motions, carefully weighing each bag, tapping numbers on a keypad, and then adding these totals to the register til. When our total came to over 100 US$, we chalked it up to another ‘world knowledge’ experience – we will be much more careful next time!

On a bright note, an employee of the marina, seeing us getting ready to depart in our dinghy to Sea Rose, pleaded with us in broken English to wait for a minute. This time, there were no sneaky moves. Offered for free by the marina were several small paint cans. He wanted us to paint a message on the long breakwater of the marina, a time-honored tradition for sailors making landfall on these off lying Atlantic islands. We had read about other boaters adding their creativity with colorful drawings of their boat name. We were worthy enough to lay our name next to these accomplished sailors? We had sailed 11 days from Ireland to get here. I think we qualify!

It was time for us to bid adieu to Madeira, holding its beauty in our hearts as we raised the anchor and continued our journey south. Onward to the Canaries!
(Also, check out our latest YouTube video of our start this past Spring in Norway!

Wow!! This looks amazing. I had left a comment on your YT Mallorca episode that my wife and I are headed there this summer. My step daughter, a world traveler in her own right, suggested we stop in Madeira on our way home. I think this blog just sealed the deal. Really enjoy and learn from all your content, thank you.
Jim and Jill