After sailing more than 1,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic from Dingle, Ireland, to Terceira in the Azores, we reached the “TOP of Portugal” together with Andrina and all six children. Good winds, a fin whale that accompanied us for several days, and a freshly caught tuna that fed us for five days made the crossing an unforgettable family adventure.
Thanks to our excellent “Henri Lloyd” sailing gear, we stayed dry even in changing Atlantic weather. And thanks to our chef Andri, we enjoyed delicious meals every day. In Praia, we received a warm welcome from Ramos of the immigration authorities and the police—a wonderful start to our time in the Azores.
Portugal’s highest TOP
From Terceira, we sailed on to Pico Island. There, we climbed Mount Pico, at 2,351 metres the highest mountain in Portugal. Salina, Andri, Noé and Alegra did it in 1:50 hours.
The ascent across the black volcanic rock was challenging, but the view from Portugal’s highest TOP made every effort worthwhile. On the island, we also explored impressive lava tunnels and discovered Pico’s unique volcanic landscape.
During our clean-up, we found very little plastic. The islands were exceptionally clean—bravo, Azores! After a warm farewell to Adriana in Madalena, we sailed back to Angra and Praia on Terceira, with many more whale sightings along the way.
Sport, friendships and celebrations
In Praia, we enjoyed ten days of festivities and sporting events. Alegra won the individual triathlon, while our family finished third in the team triathlon. Noe achieved an excellent second place in an Optimist regatta in which adults also took part. We also celebrated his 17th birthday—with a big party, of course.
Thanks to Rodrigo Avila, we were able to explore Terceira in depth. Noe and Alegra learned to wingfoil in record time. Fabian came to visit us and checked our batteries and solar panels. Unfortunately, we discovered that the batteries are defective.
In Angra, we met Michele again, whom we had first got to know in Greenland in 2018. He wants to help us obtain a new Max-Prop propeller.
We said goodbye to Terceira at the end of the celebrations with a spectacular fireworks display.
Sustainable projects on Santa Maria
Our next stop was Santa Maria. Diva, Portugal’s U16 canoeing champion, accompanied us to the island. Together, we climbed Pico Alto, at 587 metres the highest point on Santa Maria. From the summit, we could see large parts of the island and, in good visibility, far out across the Atlantic.
On Santa Maria, we discovered two particularly inspiring sustainability projects:
– the ecological gardening project run by Franziska and Christian;
– the Mobulas project of “Manta Catalog Azores“, dedicated to observing and protecting manta rays.
These encounters once again showed us how important local initiatives are for protecting the oceans and island ecosystems.
Porto Santo: old friends and new adventures
Around 500 nautical miles farther on, we reached Porto Santo, where Christopher Columbus lived for a long time. During the passage, Vital, who was eight years old, burned his hands when the genoa sheet slipped through them. Fortunately, he was able to receive treatment quickly.
On Porto Santo, we climbed Pico Juliana. Once again, we found very little rubbish on the mountain and the beach. A particularly moving moment was meeting Sophie and Alain again on their sailing yacht “Patago 50”. We had first met them in 2013 north of Kodiak Island in Alaska. Alain is now over 80 years old, which made this reunion after 13 years even more special.
We celebrated Vital’s ninth birthday together with Justin and Chrissi from the sailing yacht “Out of the Blue”, as well as the family of Thais, Mael, Regis and Marion from the sailing yacht “Siwa”. Celebrating on a sailing yacht in the middle of the Atlantic made it a truly special birthday.
Madeira: environmental projects and our wedding anniversary
After another approximately 30 nautical miles, we reached Madeira. Miguel showed us his island, and we discussed future environmental projects together in Cape Verde and the Bijagós Islands of Guinea-Bissau.
In Madeira, we even made the front page of a local newspaper. The journalist Iolanda reported on our “TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition” and helped us establish contacts with schools on the island efficiently. This will enable us to share our experiences and our message about climate and nature conservation directly with many schoolchildren.
On 25 August, we celebrated our 25th church wedding anniversary in an anchorage on Madeira’s eastern tip. It was a quiet and very special moment, with the ocean, mountains and our family as the backdrop.
Claudio and Armanda from “Marina Quinta do Lurde” gave us a warm welcome. Thanks to the marina’s excellent support, we were able to organise our TOPtoTOP project on Madeira very efficiently. They also put us in contact with two outstanding projects:
– “MARE LAB”, including Dr João Canning-Clode, which is dedicated to researching and protecting Madeira’s marine ecosystems;
– The VECLAM project – in english “Mediterranean monk seal conservation status surveillance in Madeira archipelago”, developed by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, IFCN, IP-RAM, and funded by the “Monk Seal Alliance”, started in 2021, and its main goal is to continue the monk seal’s conservation work in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, through a set of conservation actions in the entire archipelago of Madeira, including the implementation of the Strategy for the Conservation of the Mediterranean Monk Seal.
Mountains, canyoning and protecting nature
On Madeira, we also climbed the island’s highest mountain: Pico Ruivo, at 1,862 metres. It is also the highest point of the Madeira Archipelago and the third-highest mountain in Portugal.
Through “Remote Azores”, we want to encourage people to spend time in nature, discover mountains and landscapes, and thereby develop a stronger desire to protect them. Together with the canyoning guides Marcus and Abi, as well as other nature enthusiasts, we enjoyed a wonderful canyoning adventure.
Yesterday, together with Silvia from the sailing yacht “Fabule”, we also visited Madeira’s eastern cape. Once again, we found very little rubbish there.
Today, we are sailing approximately 170 nautical miles farther to the uninhabited Selvagens Islands. We are curious to see whether we will find more plastic and other rubbish there—or whether this remote island group will be as clean as the places we have visited along our route.
Our journey from the Atlantic to Portugal’s highest TOPs combines mountains, ocean, sport, friendship and practical environmental work. Every summit and every encounter reminds us:
“Those who learn to know and love nature will also learn to protect it.”
Note: Members who like to join us in the next legs to the Canaries – Capo Verde – Senegal – Bijagos – Brasil, please contact us.