As yachts prepare to make the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, they would do well to consider a pitstop at Funchal on the island of Madeira.
Crossing the Atlantic Ocean between the Caribbean and the Mediterranean and visa versa is a rite of passage for many superyacht.
Often called the Milk Run by yachts that make the crossing each year it enables a superyacht to participate in two charter market seasons a year, cruising the Mediterranean in the summer and the Caribbean during winter.
It helps to have a good agent booked in advance to handle the paperwork and organise the call before arrival and travelling aboard the 65 metre superyacht Triumph we were lucky to witness the efficient way in which Funchal Maritima handled those responsibilities on behalf of the Captain when we made the call in Funchal this month.
Funchal with its easy to enter port fast and efficient immigration services offers yachts the ability to top up bunkers and fresh food stuffs quickly and professionally.
Madeira is the largest island in a small archipelago of the same name in the Atlantic Ocean. This Portuguese possession lies on the parallel of degrees 33 North, roughly the same latitude as Casablanca and Bermuda. Some 775 nautical miles distant from Gibraltar and just 500 nm off the west of the coast of north Africa, the island is the perfect pitstop to top off fuel for the remaining 3,000 nautical mile journey to Antigua.
The island is 57 km long (East to West) and is, at its broadest, 23 km wide (North – South), with a total area of 736.8 square kilometres making it comparable in size to Rhodes or Minorca.
Located in the south of Madeira, on its sunniest coast it sits amidst banana plantations and wonderful gardens Funchal is often described as Europe’s most picturesque and cleanest capital. It is nestled in a great natural amphitheatre, facing the blue Atlantic with a backdrop of dramatic mountains. Here flowers bloom all year round in the shelter of the verdant mountains, making it an extremely lush, green and relaxed city
Funchal Maritima offer visiting superyachts a range of services such as, Shipping Agents, Bunker Contracting, Ship Chandler and General Technical Surveillance.