Madeira
While Madeira is a massively popular tourist destination, there are limited harbours for yachts and it’s not really suitable to explore by yacht.
Funchal is limited marina wise and has a bad reputation for swell. Don’t despair ! Marina Quinta Lorda (main photo above) on the Eastern end of the island is a well protected marina with friendly staff and a large toilet/shower block. The downside is its location and the onsite mini market and restaurant are limited to basics. There is a big hotel complex adjacent but the options for marina users to use it seem restricted. For provisioning or to see the island you’ll need a hire car or a taxi and the marina will help you. Funchal is worth a visit; with a cable car and botanical gardens amongst other sites. Madeira’s scenery is spectacular. The hillsides, with temperate rain forest at the top are often cover in mist. The hillsides and gorges are precipitous like miniaturised Himalayas. And the famous levadas, irrigation channels, contour around the hillside irrigating the varied crops clinging to the narrow terraced slopes. The levadas are popular walking trails and while they can get very busy, if you get away from the most popular you should have at least some of the time to yourself.
With such lush green greenery, there are more cattle than I expected to find on an island and means the meat in the restaurants was, in my view, better than the seafood. The waters surrounding Madeira are so deep, that the fish caught are not like species we are used to eating. Equally the depth means mussel farms are limited and prawns etc are likely to be frozen. All said you will still eat well and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from.
The Azores are rough 500 miles from Madeira and that was my destination. The Canaries are much closer and another popular stepping stone on a trans-Atlantic passage. If you want to leave your yacht on Madeira, the unique hardstanding under the airport runway is a good, if rather unusual, choice.
A Dragon's Tale 