Fw: 32:30.01N 16:31.02W Ilhas Desertas
Lotus
Thu 15 Oct 2009 08:33
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We left Machico and sailed to the Ilhas Desertas in
steady winds. Upon our arrival at this bleak looking, rugid island we were
surprised and a little disappointed to see a mast in the anchorage which the
pilot book had discribed as a strictly one boat only anchorage. However to
our relief we found a spare mooring buoy as we pulled up alongside a whale
watching tourist yacht. We moored up, pumped the dingy up and made our way
ashore to a rough landing and an even rougher pebbled beach. The
tourists from the yacht where just assembling on the beach to leave, so we were
left with the island to ourselves, well us and the two park wardens, Juan and
Miguel. They gave us a little guided tour around the only really
accessible part of the island which had been formed by a series of land
slips. They had had to move their accommodation hut 4 years previously as
rocks the size of cars had fallen a few feet from the door from the
mountainside 400m above. On showing us around they pointed out a new
species of plant that one of their collegues had recently discovered, it looked
like a hundred other, bits of shrub, still it was new to science.
After our tour they said goodbye and invited us to
sit around on the beach for a few minutes and then to get back on the
boat. We had discovered that the mooring buoy we were using belonged
to the Navy but they thought it would be okay for us to stay the night unless of
course some uniformed sailors came a knocking in which case we'd have
to move.
 Unfortunately, the indigineous monk seals failed to
make an appearance so I'm afraid you've all been deprived of youtube video
number 2, it will come one day.
The sail to Funchal the next morning was
superb, we had in excess of 7knots the whole way, reaching 9knots at one
point. We are now anchored in the bay
at Funchal.
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