Porto Santo is a special place for me as it was landfall after my first offshore ocean passage. It had been an uneventful and enjoyable three and a half day trip with crewmate Alan. Accompanied by Altantic spotted dolphins and with an arrival to match some scenes from Life of Pi, it was a great trip and we were delighted to arrive at this perfectly formed destination. “They don’t make diamonds the size of bricks”. And we found this was true of Porto Santo. Just X by Y miles wide and largely volcanic, we didn’t expect to discover a long sandy beach on the south coast. Something neighbouring sister, Madeira, lacks. The beach attracts day trippers from Madeira but as we were out of season in May, it didn’t spoil the atmosphere and meant we had a choice of bars and restaurants to choose from.

You’ll find there are just a few spaces to tie up at Porto Santo with all other boats anchored inside the harbour or outside. I counted more than 20 boats, Dragon II included, anchored inside. I was impressive that there was not one crossed anchor or angry word spoken. You will need to check in ashore with the friendly officials and there is a small fee for anchoring but then you get to use the toilets and showers ashore. There’s a small café with great coffee and pastries. For everything else you’ll need to go to the nearby town. However, you can get a small hire car delivered if you would like to explore the island. Well worth doing. This delight of an island is a highly recommended stop on route to Madeira or a destination in its own right.