........................................................................... Desertas Islands trip 1 day ........................................................................... Desertas Islands trip 1 ½ days ........................................................................... Ponta de S. Lourenço trip 1 ½ days ........................................................................... Evening trip ........................................................................... Selvagens Island Trip ...........................................................................
price per person: 80 €
Includes guide, insurance, lunch, drinks, and a
2 € donation for the Monk-seals Conservation Program
Minimum: 6 persons Máx.: 20 persons
On the remarkable one day trip to the Desertas Islands you will have many chances to watch close some extraordinary marine birds and wild marine mammals in their natural habitat. After a complete briefing about the trip, made by the crew, the journey will start and will last 3 ½ hours, where you can enjoy the beautiful islands of Madeira Archipelago and their natural heritage. On Deserta Grand Island we will anchor in a shelter bay, Doca, in front of the warden's research station that belongs to the Madeira Natural Park. There you will have the opportunity to swim in a very enjoyable clear water. A nice and traditional lunch will be served on board, fallowed by pleasant guided tour in the island with about 45 minutes. We return to Madeira in a journey with the same time, experienced good and new observations, arriving Funchal by the 19:30 pm.
Species like the Cory's ShearwaterCalonectris diomedea borealis, the Bulwer's PetrelBulweria bulwerii, the Fea's PetrelPterodroma feae deserta, and with lucky the endemic Zino's PetrelPterodroma madeira, are some of the most common. It is also normal to have the company of the Common DolphinDelphinus delphis, the Atlantic Spotted DolphinStenella frontalis, the Bottlenose DolphinTursiops truncatus, the Pilot Whale Globicephala machrorhynchus and the Bryde's WhaleBalaenoptera edeni. Our skilled pelagic tour leader and main skipper will help you with any uncertainty in the identification and will provide good and safe observations. There are also good identification field guides onboard for you make use of.
The Desertas Islands belong to the Madeiran archipelago and are located 11 miles SE of the main island (Madeira) and 21 nautical miles from Funchal harbour. Ilhéu Chão, Deserta Grande and Bugio comprise this sub-archipelago. In 1990 the Desertas became a Nature Reserve, comprising the islands themselves and the surrounding sea to a depth of 100 metres. The reserve is divided into two protected zones of which the southern half of Deserta Grande and Bugio are strictly forbidden to visitors even by boat. On Deserta Grande there is a permanent research station with tree wardens, who are the only human inhabitants of the islands today. Since 1992 Desertas became part of the European Biogenetic Reserves, mainly because of all the marine birds that breed there and the population of monk seals that uses this island for resting and breeding.
All weeks between May and September (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
10.30 am - 13.30 pm of the 2nd day
price per person: 125 €
Includes guide, insurance, dinner, breakfast, and a
2 € donation for the Monk-seals Conservation Program
Minimum: 6 persons Máx.: 11 persons
This is a tour for serious birdwatchers. On this extraordinary one and a half day trip to the Desertas Islands you will have numerous chances to watch close some extraordinary marine birds and wild marine mammals in their natural habitat. Some of the most common species are the Cory's ShearwaterCalonectris diomedea borealis, the Bulwer's PetrelBulweria bulwerii, the Fea's PetrelPterodroma feae deserta, Great ShearwaterPuffinus gravis, the Manx ShearwaterPuffinus puffinus, and if we are fortunate the Little ShearwaterPuffinus assimilis baroli and the endemic Zino's PetrelPterodroma madeira. It is also normal to have the company of the Common DolphinDelphinus delphis, the Atlantic Spotted DolphinStenella frontalis, the Bottlenose DolphinTursiops truncates, the Pilot WhaleGlobicephala machrorhynchus and the Bryde's WhaleBalaenoptera edeni, some times in groups together with marine birds, feeding on large schools of fish. Our skilled pelagic tour leader and main skipper will help you with any uncertainty in the identification and will provide good and safe observations. There are good identification field guides onboard for you make use of. The journey will start after a complete briefing about the trip, made by the crew, and will last 3 ½ hours, to the Desertas Islands where you can enjoy the beautiful islands of Madeira Archipelago and their natural heritage, birdwatching from the boat. On Deserta Grand Island we will anchor in a shelter bay, Doca, in front of the warden's research station that belongs to the Madeira Natural Park . There you will have the opportunity to swim in very enjoyable clear water. A pleasant guided tour in the island with about 1 ½ hours will take place, visiting areas where are some nests of Bulwer's Petrel and Cory's Shearwater, fallowed by a nice and traditional dinner will be served on board. Around 7:00 pm we will do a small pelagic trip (2 hours) until the sunset, giving the chance to observe the returning of the marine birds to their nests in the colony. Back to the Doca, where we will spend the night and the opportunity to heard the calls of the Madeiran Storm-petrelOceanodroma castro. We return to Madeira in the next day, leaving by 9:30 am after a nice breakfast, experienced good and new observations, and arriving Funchal by the 13:30 pm. On this tour is essential to bring your own sleeping bag and lunch for the first day.
The Desertas Islands belong to the Madeiran archipelago and are located 11 miles SE of the main island ( Madeira ) and 21 nautical miles from Funchal harbour. Ilhéu Chão, Deserta Grande and Bugio comprise this sub-archipelago. In 1990 the Desertas became a Nature Reserve, comprising the islands themselves and the surrounding sea to a depth of 100 metres. The reserve is divided into two protected zones of which the southern half of Deserta Grande and Bugio are strictly forbidden to visitors even by boat. On Deserta Grande there is a permanent research station with tree wardens, who are the only human inhabitants of the islands today. Since 1992 Desertas became part of the European Biogenetic Reserves, mainly because of all the marine birds that breed there and the population of monk seals that uses this island for resting and breeding.
All weeks between May and September (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
10.30 am - 13.30 pm of the 2nd day
price per person: 125 €
Includes guide, insurance, dinner, breakfast
Minimum: 6 persons Máx.: 11 persons
This is a tour to the most eastern peninsula of the island of Madeira, with 9 km long and 2 km wide, including the two islands Ilhéu da Cevada and Ilhéu da Ponta de São Lourenço, for all that enjoy a close relation to the nature. On this surprising one and a half day trip to the peninsula, that was declared Natural Reserve in 1982 with the objective of preserving its fauna, flora and geological heritage, you will have numerous chances to watch close some extraordinary marine birds and wild marine mammals in their natural habitat. Some of the most common bird species are the Cory's ShearwaterCalonectris diomedea borealis, the Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii, the Fea's PetrelPterodroma feae deserta, Great ShearwaterPuffinus gravis, the Manx ShearwaterPuffinus puffinus and if we are fortunate and the endemic Zino's PetrelPterodroma madeira. It is also normal to have the company of the Common DolphinDelphinus delphis, the Atlantic Spotted DolphinStenella frontalis, the Bottlenose DolphinTursiops truncates, the Pilot WhaleGlobicephala machrorhynchus and the Bryde's Whale Balaenoptera edeni, some times in groups together with marine birds, feeding on large schools of fish. Also, Ponta de São Lourenço's vegetation is very special and unique within Macaronesia, not because it is untouched but for the presence of important groups of endemic flora that are confined to this area. Our skilled pelagic tour leader and main skipper will help you with any uncertainty in the identification and will provide good and safe observations. There are good identification field guides onboard for you make use of. After a complete briefing about the trip, made by the crew, the journey will start and will last 2 ½ hours, to the Ponta de São Lourenço where you can enjoy the beautiful islands of Madeira Archipelago and their natural heritage, birdwatching from the boat. On the beautiful bay, Baia d'Abra, we will anchor and there you will have the opportunity to swim in very delightful clear water. A small and pleasant guided tour in the island with about ½ hour will take place, visiting a field station, manned by wardens from the Madeira National Park, fallowed by a nice and traditional dinner served on board. Around 7:00 pm we will do a small pelagic trip (2 hours) until the sunset, giving the chance to observe the returning of the marine birds to their nests in the colony. Back to the Baia d'Abra, where we will spend the night, we will have the opportunity to hear the calls of the several marine bird species that breed in this area. We return to Funchal in the next day, leaving by 9:30 am after a nice breakfast, experienced good and new observations, and arriving Funchal by the 13:30 pm. On this tour is essential to bring your own sleeping bag and lunch for the first day.
To find out more about the Ponta de São Lourenço Peninsula click on: Madeira Natural Park
price per person: 35 €
Includes guide, insurance, free drink
Minimum: 4 persons Máx.: 20 persons
This is a special seawatching and birdwatching pelagic trip on south Madeira Island between Ponta do Garajau, located only a few miles north-east of Funchal and well-known area for Madeiran Storm-petrels which breed here with several pairs, and Ponta da Cruz, the southernmost point of Madeira, located at the west side of Funchal. Here an eastward movement in the evening is visible expressive by birds travelling to and from their breeding grounds on Desertas, with Bulwer's PetrelBulweria bulwerii in high numbers and few Fea's/Zino's PetrelsPterodroma feae/ Pterodroma madeira. It is also common observe some species of dolphins and whales like the Common DolphinDelphinus delphis, the Atlantic Spotted DolphinStenella frontalis, the Bottlenose DolphinTursiops truncates, and the Bryde's Whale Balaenoptera edeni. On last season (2005) we had been very successful with these trips, consult our trip reports. After a comprehensive briefing about the trip, made by the crew, the journey will start in direction of Ponta do Garajau, turning there to south, about 4 nautical miles off shore, and ending near Ponta da Cruz, close to the sunset period. Our skilled pelagic tour leader and main skipper will help you with any uncertainty in the identification and will provide excellent and clear observations of the marine life. There are, also, good identification field guides onboard for you make use of. We will arrive Funchal harbour by 9.00 pm.
To consult our trip reports click on: Trip Reports
Dates:
28 May 2007 - 2 June 2007
18 June 2007 - 23 June 2007
2 July 2007 - 7 July 2007
price per person: 880 €
Days: 6 days tour
Màx.: 8 persons
Includes: Meals, drinks, insurance, licenses, taxes, fuel,
dinghy (to disembark), snorkelling equipment, bird and
cetaceans book guides for consultation, and all non
mentioned expenses related with the boat.
Ventura do Mar managed to get a license to visit the Selvagens Islands "Seabirds Sanctuary" in 2007 for 6-8 pax.
Objective: Sailing trip to Selvagens Islands to observe and photograph wildlife, with particular interest on seawatching and birdwatching.
Selvagens Islands:
At about 165 nautical miles south the Madeira Island , it is composed by Selvagem Grande and Selvagem Pequena, are classified Natural Reserve and Net Natura 2000, and they are under the protection of the Madeira Natural Park -NPM. A permanent research station with two wardens is the only human inhabitants on the islands.
Due to its isolated geographic localization, the Selvagens Islands are a wonderful region for marine life, flora and fauna, especially for seabirds, which is known by "Seabirds Sanctuary".
About marine life, Jackes Costeau referred to these Islands as one the best spots for diving on the planet, especially due to non-human impact and crystal waters that allows 30 meters visibility. The scarce benthic life is rewarded by many pelagic fishes. Concerning birds, there are at least 10 species that breed regularly on the islands. All are seabirds, except one landbird: Berthelot's Pipit. The seabird numbers are quite high, with about (numbers of pairs breeding annually) 19000 Cory's ShearwaterCalonectris diomedea borealis, 2000 Little ShearwaterPuffinus assimilis baroli, 5000 Bulwer's PetrelBulweria bulwerii, 60000 White Faced Storm PetrelPelagodroma marina, 1500 Madeiran Storm PetrelOceanodroma castro, and few Yellow Legged GullLarus michahellis atlantis, Roseate TernSterna dougalii and Common TernSterna hirundo. Many other vagrant birds have been also recorded on these Islands. One of the greater experiences in life is to be at the Baía da Cagarras (means: Cory's Bay) in Selvagem Grande at sunset: it is amazing to be between thousands of cory's. Due to its noise, you can hardly sleep during night!
About the fauna is also nice to highlight the 2 species of reptiles that can be seen. One is the Madeiran Wall LizardPodarcis dugesii (perhaps a valid subspecies), and the other is the Selvagens GeckoTarentola boettgeri bischoffi, with this form endemic to the Selvagens.
Concerning the flora, Selvagens host 150 species, mostly small and stunted, of which ten are endemic. Some have an important role on the island ecosystem, like the Ice PlantMesembryanthemum crystallinum and Egyptian Fig Marigold Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum that are fixers of the soil on the islands' sandy plateaux, and important for the seabirds (especially the White-faced Storm-petrel) that dig their nest holes in this habitat.
During those trips at sea and around the islansd there are many chances of seeing turtles, diferent species of dolphins or whales.
To see a complete trip report of a previos trip (July 2005) clik on: Trip Reports
To find out more about the Selvagens Islands click on:
