Land ahoy!
After 5 days at sea we see Porto Santo on the horizon, the first island of the Madeira archipel.
Because we want to arrive before sunset we start the motor to support the sails. Still, we are to slow. “What a weird current here in front of the island.” Something is off here. We turn off the engine to see how fast we are without it. Nothing changes. No speed. We check the gear, all good. The only explanation left would be a missing propellor. But what are the chances?
Anyway, we need to figure out how to enter the marina, because this is getting us nowhere. We call the marina, 300 euros to be towed inside. That is if we are there in an hour. They close at 5pm. No way. We’ll just have to get to the anchorage by sail and see what we can do.
One last try. We ask in a sailor’s chat whether someone happens to be there and could help. In a few minutes a whole group is alert awaiting us outside the entrance. They tow us inside with two dinghies and we can moor next to another boot. Lucky us because the harbour is full normally and many boats are waiting to get in. After a beer for everyone we now know the whole Dutch community. Everyday there is a drink in the marina café and they say it never rains here. Took us about two days to learn that they were wrong. Another week to say they were very wrong!
That same evening Annabelle jumped in to check the propeller and indeed: an empty sail drive. How that happened, we have no idea.
Three weeks later a new prop is mounted by our diving instructor. Yes we actually learned how to dive! We are now certified open water divers and can enjoy all the underwater life when we reach the Caribbean. For now, we leave the island and many friends behind. So many new memories were made here. We hiked a lot, went to the local Columbus festival, and had a few to many ponchas 😊 What a life!
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