Porto Santo, Portugal
A Rolly Anchorage, But Worth Every Moment
Apart from being a rather rolly anchorage at times, Porto Santo was a delight from the moment we dropped the hook. The sea was warm and impossibly clear — so clear, in fact, that we could actually see our anchor resting on the seabed below us. There’s something magical about watching it sit there, steady and sure, through water as transparent as glass.
We stayed here for nearly two months, splitting our time between the outer anchorage, the inner anchorage, and a few days tied up at the dock. The marina turned out to be exceptional value for money — we paid around €7 per day at anchor, while the dock was closer to €35 per night (depending on vessel size) but included electricity. Both options came with access to showers, water, and even a free washing machine — small luxuries that feel huge when you’ve been at sea for a while!
Diving Into Crystal-Clear Water
With the sun shining and the water calling, we made the most of the perfect conditions and spent hours scuba diving straight off the boat. The visibility was incredible even several metres down. There was a couple small rocky reefs near the anchorage, perfect for snorkelling. We saw trigger fish, barracudas, damselfish and groupers
The boys loved diving down to explore and surfacing with huge grins each time. October doesn’t get much better than this — clear water, sunshine, and time to simply enjoy it together.
The Steep Climb to Fenda da Dona Beja
One morning, we swapped fins for hiking shoes and set off to explore Fenda da Dona Beja, a sandstone fissure tucked into Porto Santo’s northeastern cliffs near Porto dos Frades.
The trail started innocently enough but soon turned into a steep climb up loose sand — the sort of walk that has you sliding back half a step for every one you take forward! But the effort was absolutely worth it. At the top, we found ourselves standing before a narrow canyon carved by centuries of wind and sea. The walls were golden and warm, glowing in the sunlight, and the air inside was cool and still.
Nearby, a shallow rock pool shimmered in the sun — an irresistible spot for a post-climb swim and a bit more scuba diving. The boys were straight in again, exploring underwater crevices and watching tiny fish dart around their masks.
Before leaving Porto Santo, we took part in a long-standing sailors’ tradition: painting our boat name on the Porto Santo sailors’ wall. The wall stretches for more than 300 metres and is covered in colourful murals, boat names, and artwork from those who’ve visited before us.
Every day we’d spot new names we hadn’t noticed before — some dating back years, others freshly painted and bright. Adding our own mark felt like joining a global community of travellers who’ve shared this beautiful place and carried on their way.
Celebrations at Anchor
We also had plenty to celebrate during our stay in Porto Santo! We marked Michael’s 12th birthday in true sailor style — a day full of laughter, walking the plank, wakeboarding, and of course, a big homemade carrot cake.
Later in the week, the anchorage came alive again for Halloween. The boys dressed up and set off trick-or-treating from boat to boat, planning to hand out sweets but somehow returning with an enormous haul of them instead! It was one of those moments that reminded us how special the cruising community can be — no matter where you drop anchor, there’s always fun and friendship floating nearby.
Neptune decided to keep things interesting. We had a rather dramatic afternoon at the beach when a rip tide nearly carried us off! Thankfully, though a bit bruised from the rocks, we all made it back to land — apart from Mike’s prosthetic leg 🦿, which got wedged in the rocks and was too dangerous to retrieve in the swell.
At low tide we searched again, but it seemed the sea had claimed it for good. Although Mike had a spare leg onboard, we were gutted to lose it. Just as we’d given up hope, a lovely group of fellow boaters offered to help snorkel the area once the sea calmed down — and would you believe it, the rescue mission succeeded! The leg was found toes-up in the sand, discovered by one of the divers. Thankfully so — it might have given an unsuspecting swimmer quite a fright! 😬
While Mike’s ribs recovered, the boys had fun on the go-karts and we went to watch the Porto Santo car rally — the busiest event we’ve seen on the island! Lots of drifts, spinning cars, tyres blowing, but thankfully no crashes.
The boys have also been practicing their wakeboarding and foil boarding with other boat kids. Loki managed to stand for a bit before performing an accidental but impressive backflip, while Michael is honing his carving skills and even attempting small jumps.
Got to love the boating community ♥️
A Tradition Written on the Wall
