Last Passage of 2018!
$5,000
We've added one last passage in 2018! Join Isbjorn in Lagos, in the beautiful 'Algarve', the south coast of Portugal where we'll depart for 500 miles of offshore sailing towards Funchal on the island of Madeira. We'll explore a few days ashore there before sailing 500 miles back to Portugal!
Photos below show the last time we were in Lagos, Portugal, in 2012 aboard KInship, the Saga 43 we delivered across the Atlantic & back! The south coast of Portugal is spectacular. Food's not bad either ;)
The Route
Use the map controls top right to zoom in & out. Click on port names for a popup with more info! It's a fully interactive map!
Planned Itinerary
$5,000
Before we lay up Isbjorn in Portugal for the fall - when Mia & Andy will return to the US for the Annapolis Sailboat Show in October, and to host another Celestial Nav workshop - we'll do one last passage out to Madeira & back! It'll be 500 miles of nonstop sailing in each direction, with a few days to explore ashore from our base in Funchal on the SE coast of the island.
We've never been to Madeira before, so it'll be new territory for us, so it'll be especially exciting. After a summer in the frozen north, we're already looking forward to the warm breezes blowing off the Sahara that will take us out to Madeira and back again.
Tentative itinerary will look like this, but is always subject to change (it is ocean sailing, after all...)
Sept. 16: Crew to join Isbjorn in Lagos midday on Sept. 16. Dinner aboard with chart & safety briefing. Watch rotation will be assigned & emergency action plan roles assigned.
Sept. 17: Breakfast & a leisurely morning getting Isbjorn shipshape in the harbor. If the weather's good, we'll depart for the high seas!
Sept. 17-18-19: At-sea
Sept. 20: Expected landfall in Funchal, Madeira, on the island's SE coast.
Sept. 21-22-23: Exploration ashore in Madeira (& possible coastal cruising)
Sept. 24-25-26/27: At Sea
Sept. 28: Latest planned landfall back in Lagos, Portugal.
Sept. 29: Crew depart Isbjorn by midday in Lagos.
Depending on how the winds and weather is, and how fast of a passage we make, there will be more or less time ashore in Madeira, or potentially time for some coastal cruising. Crew will be welcome to sleep onboard Isbjorn while in port in Madeira, but we encourage you to look into accommodation ashore to get the 'full experience' of living like a local. In the Azores at least, renting an Airbnb for a few days was very reasonably priced and gave us another side of the island we wouldn't have seen if we'd stayed on the boat.
The time in Madeira will be extremely flexible - the trip is first & foremast about the ocean sailing, so we won't rush it. If the wind is light, we'll enjoy sailing slowly under spinnaker, stopping to swim and enjoying the time at sea. If it's breezy and we make a fast passage, we'll have plenty to do in Madeira during the short stopover!
