33:03.5N 16:18.8W Lagos to Porto Santo
Gaudeo
John and Prue Quayle / John Quayle
Fri 14 Sep 2007 06:36
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10 - 13th September: Lagos to Porto Santo (464M):
Departed during lunch of navajas (razor clams) and grilled fresh sardine
(and a little Alverinhos) with a moderate NW breeze, clear vis. but were soon
taking in 2 reefs. By midnight the wind moderated and remained a steady 12-22
knts giving one of the best passages ever - a reach averaging almost 7 knts - to
arrive before lunch at Porto Santo just under 3 days later.
Much philosophising and badinage together with
superb concoctions from the galley added to the pleasure of the 4 on :
4 off watches which were uneventful apart from each member of the crew
mistaking a loom of light beyond the horizon for Porto
Santo instead of a floodlit fishing boat!
The island of Porto Santo which lies 40M east of
Madeira - only 5% of its size - is renowned for its long, beautiful, sandy
beach, and for the temporary residence and marriage to a local girl of
Christopher Columbus. Indeed, after an obligatory and refreshing
swim we were privileged to "meet" the great man and his bride as
we had arrived at the beginning of a festa celebrating this
event. It involved a pageant with a replica of the Santa Maria sailing in
and anchoring off the beach to which numerous elegant women attired in
period costumes were escorted by a procession of similarly clad
inhabitants, accompanied by several bands music playing folk music, and by
fire-eaters and jugglers. A number of lieutenants
disembarked first to acquire partners, and after sunset Columbus
came ashore amid a flood of ultra violet light which
dramatically followed the betrothal. Worth every yard of our 464 miles
passage. |
