Porto Santo A33 04 N 16 20 W
Gryphon II
Chris and Lorraine Marchant
Sat 5 Sep 2009 17:15
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Arrived at 04.30 a.m. after 4 days and nights with
variable winds but plenty of frustratingly light wind. The landfall, in the
dark, was very dramatic as Porto Santo is a series of dry, sharp, volcanic
peaks when approach is made from the North East. Rounding a huge rock/small
island with the lighthouse atop we came to the long, long sandy beach with the
harbour in one corner under the highest peaks. None of these peaks are
mountainously high.
  We were soon anchored in the harbour out of the Atlantic
swell and slept for 5 hours.
On waking we started to discover how much this small
island has changed in the 28 years since our last visit. Then we were the only
boat in the harbour which was still under construction, now it is busy with
ships and yachts. At night a disco next to the marina started at 12 midnight and
one night went on until 07.00 a.m. in the morning, to add insult to
auditory injury the music was appalling!
 The island has become a tourist resort in its own right. However it
maintains a lot of its old charm, especially in the centre of town. There was a
fiesta during the weekend in honour of the saint of fishermen. The Church and
the streets were decked with flowers and branches of pine and fir trees, it
looked wonderful.
  Christopher Columbus lived in Porto Santo and his house is now a museum,
but sadly it was closed when we found it but we were able to see the garden
which was minimalist, cool and tranquil. We spent an afternoon on a bus
ride around the island visiting some of the tourist sights, including these old
windmills and this classically shaped volcanic peak.
      Whilst in Porto Santo we did some boat jobs including spending a day
restoring the outboard motor to good health after it was dunked in a strong wind
one night. We lost the dinghy oars at the same time and have not yet managed to
replace them. However we did manage to add this modification to Beneteau's
specification....... a set of ankle protectors!
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