Costa do Sul (southern coast)
Original title: Costa do Sul
Describes the southern coast of Madeira, from Ponta do Pargo to Ponta de São Lourenço, which is milder and more sheltered than the north coast and offers more anchorages. It lists the municipalities it contains and quotes Mousinho de Albuquerque's description of the coastline's directions and hazards.
The southern coast
The southern coast of Madeira, commonly called the Costa do Sul (‘south coast’), stretches from the sharp projection of the shoreline known as Ponta do Pargo (‘sea bream point’) to the tip of Ponta de São Lourenço (‘St Lawrence Point’). The southern region is very mild and picturesque, with more inlets and landing places. This, together with the shelter that the general mass of the island provides against the prevailing winds, means that ships and boats find on this coast the safety that the northern coast denies them, as in the bay of Funchal. This southern coast contains the parishes (freguesias) of the municipalities of Calheta, Ponta do Sol, Ribeira Brava, Câmara de Lobos, Funchal, Santa Cruz and Machico, with the exception of the parish of Porto da Cruz (‘harbour of the cross’) and the northern shore of Caniçal (‘reed bed’), which belong to the last of those municipalities.
Mousinho de Albuquerque, already cited, says of the seaboard of the south coast (Costa Sul): ‘Starting from Ponta do Pargo, the southern coast of the island runs SE as far as Ponta do Jardim (‘garden point’), presenting along this stretch some small shoals and rocks very close to the coast, particularly off Paul do Mar and Jardim itself. The coast then follows an ESE direction as far as Ponta do Sol, and from there to Ponta da Cruz (‘point of the cross’), the southernmost point of the island, it runs in general, disregarding the lesser bends and points, in the direction ESE ¼ E. From Ponta da Cruz to Cabo Garajau (‘tern cape’), where the bay of Funchal lies, the direction of the coast is approximately E ¼ N; past this cape and as far as Ponta dos Picos da Atalaia (‘point of the watchtower peaks’) it becomes roughly ENE, and from there to Caniçal, at the root of Ponta de São Lourenço, the general direction of the coast is NNE ¼ E. Along almost the whole length of this coast the sea is deep and free of shoals, with the exception of the Ilhéu do Gorgulho (‘weevil islet’), the Baixa do Carneiro (‘ram shoal’), the fortified islet and the tip of Ponta de São Lourenço, which is surrounded by a number of isolated rocks and small rocky heads that the waters cover.’
In this article
Place
Places mentioned · 21
- Costa do Sul · Subject
The Costa do Sul is the traditional and popular name for Madeira's southern coast, from Ponta do Pargo to Ponta de São Lourenço. It is milder and more sheltered than the north coast and offers more anchorages, and its directions and hazards were described by Mousinho de Albuquerque.
- Baixa do Carneiro
Machico. Shoal listed as a navigational hazard.
Baixa do Carneiro is a partly destroyed shoal near the Ilhéu do Gorgulho, west of Funchal. It is listed as a navigational hazard on the south coast.
- Bay of Funchal
Funchal. Example of a safe anchorage on the south coast.
The Bay of Funchal, between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz, is the widest bay in the archipelago and the island's main anchorage, whose exposure to southerly gales caused many wrecks. The Elucidário notes it was surveyed by Vidal in 1843, that the Surprise was torpedoed there, and that it had never been studied oceanographically.
- Cabo Garajau
Santa Cruz. Headland at the eastern end of the Funchal bay stretch.
Headland marking the eastern limit of Funchal bay, rounded by ships entering Funchal from the east. It is one of Madeira's two capes and was named after the terns found there by the first explorers. It is a southern buttress and viewpoint of the island, a site of Lotus macranthus, and in 1919 a limit of the restricted sea zone.
- Calheta
Municipality on the south coast.
Calheta is a town and municipality in western Madeira, created by royal charter of 1 July 1502. It later became the seat of a countship granted to the captains of Funchal and was reorganised as a concelho in 1835.
- Câmara de Lobos
Municipality on the south coast.
Câmara de Lobos is a municipality of Madeira whose seat was historically a 'lugar' rather than a vila. The Elucidário quotes Gaspar Frutuoso's description of it and outlines the creation of the concelho in 1835 and later changes to its parishes.
- Caniçal
Machico. Its northern shore is excluded from the south coast, and it marks the root of Ponta de São Lourenço.
Isolated fishing parish at the eastern tip of Madeira, at the root of Ponta de São Lourenço. It originated as a Moniz entail and João Teixeira's hunting reserve and became a parish around 1561. It holds a Piedade feast with a boat procession and has a fort built after a pirate raid.
- Funchal
Municipality on the south coast.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Ilhéu do Gorgulho
Funchal. Listed as one of the few hazards on the south coast.
Ilhéu do Gorgulho is a small islet off the Gorgulho locality in São Martinho, Funchal, near Ponta Gorda and the Baixa do Carneiro shoal, east of Ponta da Cruz. It is listed as one of the few hazards on Madeira's south coast.
- Ilhéu Fort
Funchal. Fortified islet listed as a hazard.
The Forte do Ilhéu is a fortified islet at Funchal, listed as a hazard on the south coast. Acursio Garcia Ramos was first imprisoned there, and waves reached its esplanade in 1842.
- Machico
Municipality on the south coast, except for its northern parts.
Machico is a town and municipality of Madeira set in a valley. The Elucidário traces its municipal history from its probable creation around 1451, through the loss of territory to Santa Cruz, São Vicente and Santana. It also records its arms, its privileges and its new town hall of 1929.
- Paul do Mar
Calheta. Shoals and rocks lie close to its shore.
Paul do Mar is a parish on Madeira's south-west coast, created in 1676 from Estreito da Calheta. It is a fishing port watered by the old Rabaçal levada, where malvasia is grown and trachoma was reported to be very frequent. It had the Santo António fortress, a band, and salt works from about 1865 that were later abandoned for lack of profit.
People
People mentioned · 01-
Author quoted for his description of the bearings and hazards of Madeira's south coast.