Leaving Madeira

Ile Jeudi
Bob and Lin Griffiths
Tue 28 Aug 2012 12:44
30:50.40N  14:44.55W
 
Tuesday 28 August 2012  12.30pm
 
Distance Run  142 nautical miles
 
We left Quinta do Lorde Marina at 12.30pm on Monday after settling the bill and saying our goodbyes to some boats we have met.  We are heading for Isla Graciosa which is a small island off the northeast tip of Lanzarote, about 274 miles southeast of Madeira.  The wind was forecast to be 10 knots from the north east which would be just about enough to sail (we need about 12 knots to sail get moving properly) but the sea should be relatively calm.  Unfortunately these winds didn't materialise so we continued under engine.
 
There are three volcanic islands, the Ilhas Desertas, which lie on our track about 15nm south of Madeira.  They are about 10 miles long and a mile wide and are a Madeiran National Park and therefore protected.  There is a warden who ensures that nobody disturbs any of the nesting birds and prevents anyone landing ashore unless they have a permit.  We had no plans to visit but we obtained a permit from the marina before we left as a precaution in case we had to stop for some reason.
 
Approaching , the Ilhas Desertas.  More barren rock:-
 
 
 
 
There is a vertical pillar of rock at the north point which looks like a lighthouse but was just formed by erosion.  The lighthouse sits on top of the cliff to the right of centre of the picture:-
 
 
 
 
We sailed about 2 miles off the island and passed the 'approved' anchorage - you can just about see two boats at anchor under the cliff.  Sorry about the picture quality which was taken on full zoom:-
 
 
 
We continued under engine throughout the night doing just under 6 knots and started our 3 hours on, 3 hours off watch system from 10pm.  We had a good moon so the horizon was visible all around us for most of the night.  Lin saw two ships during the night, one being a 200 metre cargo ship which passed about 1.5 miles ahead of us.  She was bound for Port Elizabeth in South Africa and due to be there on 10 September.  None of this is very interesting but the information on the AIS does provide a distraction on passages.
 
During the first couple of nights we don't usually manage to sleep for much of the 3 hour 'off watch' periods so we are aften not awake when we should be.  Here is Lin resting her eyes when we were both on duty this morning ( we both do this but I got the camera first):-
 
 
We managed to turn the engine off and set sail at 11am this morning and have sailed (and motored) 142 miles in the first 24 hours.  We like to average over 5 knots, which would be 120 miles in 24 hours, so we were happy.