Madeira: Incredible Wrecks and Poncha Power

Stuart Philpott completes a whistlestop tour of some of the best dive sites and topside locations on Madeira and Porto Santo, fuelled by the local fruity alcoholic brew.

In mid-April, Madeira Promotion Bureau organised a FAM trip for a small, select number of industry professionals flying in from the USA, Sweden and the UK. Hosted by Arlindo Serrão, the owner of Portugal Dive, the idea was to visit Madeira’s best dive sites and spend several days on neighbouring island Porto Santo following the same plan. There was even time for land-based activities, which included sampling the local rocket fuel called Poncha!

Just to set the scene, most days we experienced some cloud cover and patches of rain. Adding to my woes, the sea temp was a tad chilly 16-17 degrees C, so definitely no shorties or free-flowing hair on this occasion. Everybody was wrapped up in 7mm suits, hoods and extra neoprene vests. Later in the season, temps rise to a much-cosier 24 degrees C, and with more sunshine and calmer seas, I’m sure my pictures would have been far more enticing. Our dive quota was also limited to eight dives, which didn’t give us much underwater time for exploration. Basically, this was a ‘tasterteaser’ just to get a feel for what Madeira has to offer.

Sadly, we wouldn’t be visiting the Bom Rei wreck. Originally named the Bowbelle, the 80 metre long, 1,486 ton dredger gained infamy during the Thames River boat disaster back in 1989, when she collided with and sank party boat Marchioness, killing 51 young, aspiring people from the fashion industry. She now lies upright and reasonably intact off Ponto do Sol at a max depth of 32m. But there were several exciting new artificial reef/wrecks on our itinerary which would hopefully satisfy my insatiable lust for rust.

Madeira is an extremely popular venue for Brit tourists. Direct flights are available from almost every regional UK airport to Funchal. Flight times are around four hours door to door. This makes the island a very attractive option for divers who can choose anything from a long weekend to several weeks.

I booked a flight with EasyJet departing from London Gatwick and the service was faultless.

We began with an island tour offered by Green Devil Jeep Safaris. This was a great way to get a feel for the island and on one section, we really did go off-piste where only proper 4x4s could venture. Some of the natural highlights included volcanic rock pools, waterfalls and Laurisilva forests. Bananas seemed to be growing everywhere. Our guide, Nuno, turned out to be an oracle of information and talked non-stop throughout the tour. Among the interesting titbits, he mentioned the island had 180 mountain bike trails and 716 hiking trails.

We concluded with a visit to the Quinta de Barbusano Winery. Perched on a hillside overlooking the valley and sea beyond, they offer a wine-tasting experience sampling six varieties of wine for around €20. It’s also possible to book up a traditional Madeiran lunch which includes chunky meat skewers, heaps of salad and garlic bread. After lunch we had a tour of the grounds. Although the wineries have their own vineyards, this is complimented by around 4,000 privately owned small holdings who sell their grapes to one of the eight wine producers. I bumped into two Brits who had booked on an earlier tasting session. They were in fine form, sprawled out on the terrace polishing off the dregs of all six tasting bottles!

“We explored the bridge complete with ship’s wheel and then finished our dive at the foredeck gun. Large jackfish frequently photo bombed my compositions,,

We were booked into the three-star, 263-room Dom Pedro Hotel at Garajau. The rooms were quite basic, more suited to students and budget-minded tourists. Facilities included an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, bar, restaurant and my room had a sea view, which was a nice touch.

Our hosts, Cipreia Dive Club, were based at the four-star Vidamar Resort in Funchal, around 15-minute’s drive from the hotel. If you are planning a stay in the capital, you’ll find there is plenty of fun to be had in Funchal both on land and in the water. Owner Nuno Mendez Maria began as a humble instructor some 30 years ago and had now grown the business to encompass four dive centres based at Lisbon (mainland Portugal), Funchal, Reis Magos on Madeira, and another on Porto Santo.

The Vidamar resort was an ideal spot for a dive centre offering shop facilities, outdoor pool for training, onsite jetty and wet and dry storage areas. Instructor guides Jesi Rivera and Hernán Ludueña sorted out all our equipment needs before we sped off on the RIB towards the first dive site, located inside the national marine park. I paired up with Swedish dive tour operator, Annette, who didn’t mind doubling up as my model.

Our first dive called Arena mainly consisted of a huge rocky outcrop. Annette’s bright red mask really did stand out in the bleak-looking surroundings. Fish life included bream, wrasse and triggerfish. There was also a possibility of encountering rare and elusive monk seals that frequently patrol the coastline. Jesi guided us around the site, which included one or two swim-throughs.

After a short surface interval, we headed off to Praia Do Garajau for our second dive. Jesi explained that two large grouper called Rocky and Elvis used to be the superstars at the site, giving divers extremely close encounters. But last year they were both found floating on the surface, presumably dying from natural causes.

“It’s possible to penetrate deep inside and explore the galley, bunk rooms, engine room and bridge area.”

A new batch of grouper had now taken over the mantle. I managed to get reasonably close with Annette swimming along in the background, but they were still a little wary of us.

We stopped off at Poncha de São Vicente on the way back from the dive centre. This was our first encounter with the local drink, Poncha, which is made from Aguardente de Cana (sugar cane rum), honey, sugar and fruit juice. I’m guessing any kind of fruit juice can be used, but lemon seemed to be the most-common flavour. Other exotic varieties chalked up on the board included kiwi, mint, lime, tangerine and passion fruit. This was becoming a right boozy week!

On day two we were taken to the 84-metre-long Corveta Alfonso Cerqueira, which sits upright at a maximum depth of 32m. The ship was intentionally sunk in September 2018, south of Cabo Girão, and was located five minutes boat ride from the dive centre. Jesi recommended we spend two dives at the wreck covering the bow area on dive one and the stern on dive two. The wreck is totally intact including guns fore and aft. It’s possible to penetrate deep inside and explore the galley, bunk rooms, engine room and bridge area. I followed Jesi down through the funnel and into the galley area, where there are still rows of tables mounted to the floor. We explored the bridge complete with ship’s wheel and then finished our dive at the foredeck gun. Large jackfish frequently photo bombed my compositions.

The taxi driver said in the summertime when Madeira becomes too busy with tourists, all the locals head for Porto Santo (direct flights are available from the UK). Porto Santo Line ferries offer a daily service to Porto Santo. Journey time is around two and a half hours covering a distance of approximately 43km. I was surprised at the choice of facilities onboard, which included several comfy lounges, self-serve restaurants, cinema and games room for children. There was even a classy restaurant offering a three-course dinner, which we managed to sample on the return journey.

We were picked up by Dunas Travel at the jetty and taken to the four-star, 66-room Torre Praia Hotel located along the beach. This turned out to be a plush boutique-style hotel offering a swimming pool, restaurant and beachfront bar. The only downside was their Poncha servings were not overly generous!

Porto Santo’s most-striking feature is the 9km stretch of yellow sandy beach, which fronts the main town. With a population of only 5,000, the pace of life seemed far more chilled than Madeira. Apart from scuba diving, activities include jeep safaris showing off the island’s breathtaking cliff-top scenery. We stopped off at dunas de porto santo, aka the sand dunes, and at a bizarre historical property complete with a menagerie of farm animals. On the far side of the island there is the ultimate 27-hole golf course designed by 1980s golf pro Severiano Ballesteros.

The main town offers a good selection of restaurants, bars and cafes and within a few hours of arriving, we were back on the Poncha trail. Boutique da Poncha served up a ‘tasting’ tray of flavours, which was well received by myself, Jesi and Alicia. The girls preferred the passion fruit version. The locals were keen on the tangerine although this received a unanimous thumbs down from our experienced panel of divers!

A music festival was in full swing on Saturday night. Most of the town turned out to watch a variety of local bands and, of course, Poncha was free flowing at a variety of stalls! I crashed and burned around 11pm, leaving Jesi and Alicia partying until the small hours.

Cipreia Dive Club were based at the harbour roughly 5 minute’s drive from the hotel. Dive guides Carls Ramos, Emanuel Agostino and Susana Rico sorted out our equipment and gave us a briefing on the dive sites. Once we were kitted up it was just a short walk across the road and down to the marina, where the RIB was moored up ready and waiting.

Arlindo had planned our first dive on the Madeirense wreck, which happened to be his favourite. The 70-metrelong cargo ship sank in 2000 and now lies broken in two at a max depth of 34m. Susana said the stern was the best part to explore at a depth of 24m. We spent a good ten minutes taking pictures and exploring the deck area. I caught sight of a number of good-sized grouper, but couldn’t get close. When we arrived back at the jetty our equipment was quickly off-loaded, making way for a group of Spanish divers who were also visiting the island. During the break we all sat outside the marina café warming up in the sunshine sipping hot chocolate and eating freshly baked pastries.

The next day we made plans for two dives on the Corveta Pereira D’eca, which was intentionally sunk as an artificial reef project in July 2016. She sits upright in the marine park area at a max depth of 30m and is located about ten minute’s RIB ride (1.5km) from the marina. The wreck was very similar in layout to the Corveta Alfonso Cerqueira that we visited a few days earlier on Madeira. I followed Susana down to the foredeck gun and then we made a sweep of all the best features, finishing off in the engine room. There were several large grouper watching us throughout. I had no idea one was hovering right behind me while I was taking pictures.

This really had been a cultural road trip taking in the best sites Madeira and Porto Santo has to offer, above and below the waterline. We even stopped off to see football superstar Ronaldo’s bronze statue, which I must say was well worn around the hands and crotch area! My thanks to Madeira Promotion Bureau and Arlindo Serrão from Portugal Dive for making all the arrangements. Cipreia Dive Club looked after our group very well and kept us smiling throughout. The grouper and wrecks were definitely worth seeing. Late season is probably the best time to organise a dive trip, September or October. I really did take a shine to Porto Santo and loved the atmosphere of the place. The unpredictable weather and tepid sea temps hadn’t quelled our spirits; we could always rely on Poncha to perk us up. But beware, don’t be fooled by the sweet, fruity flavour – this is a proper grown up’s drink and has quite a punch!

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