Porto do Moniz (harbour)

This harbour enjoys the reputation of being one of the best in the archipelago, and it is unquestionably the safest and most sheltered on the whole north coast of Madeira. It has even been claimed that embarking and landing are always possible there, whatever quarter the wind blows from. The truth is that, although communication with the shore is often easy, it is equally certain that at times it is genuinely impossible to make for the inner harbour, and entering it is very risky and dangerous. The coastline stretching from Ponta do Tristão (‘Tristão’s point’) to beyond the islet of Porto Moniz (‘Moniz’s harbour’) is battered by frequent storms, especially in winter, and the sea there is not infrequently very rough and turbulent.

The harbour lies to the NW, almost at the western extremity of the island. Although it is very sheltered, it is nonetheless exposed to north-westerly winds. When winds blow on the south coast that make all movement and traffic in the ports impossible, many coastal vessels, and even ocean-going ships, seek safer shelter there.

Because of the relative safety and ease of landing that this harbour offers, there has been no shortage of people wishing to turn the parish (freguesia) of Porto Moniz, with its natural landing place, into a small town and port of call for times when the winds blow from SSE to SSW and the harbour of Funchal (Porto do Funchal) and the other ports on the south of the island are sometimes closed to shipping.

In 1914 the Agricultural Council (Junta Agrícola) commissioned the naval lieutenant Francisco de Aragão e Melo to carry out various hydrographic studies at Porto Moniz, whose results never became widely known. We find only the following words, in the report of the inquiry that Dr Francisco António de Mendonça conducted into the actions of the Agricultural Council:

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Once the studies had begun, difficulties of various kinds arose, chiefly in fixing the hydrographic zero, which the caprice of the waves several times tore away, so that whole nights had to be spent working in order not to prolong the studies endlessly. The solar observations with the sextant on board small boats, and the corresponding soundings, carried out with the help of inexperienced staff, were also exhausting and slow work. Once the triangulation of the land with the islets surrounding that harbour had been established, a plan of the bay was drawn up, which accompanies these lines.

There is a natural landing place there, but it requires substantial engineering works to serve its purpose fully. Around 1901 the local Municipal Council had some essential works carried out, and in 1909 the District General Council (Junta Geral) had a flight of steps built giving access to the branch of the existing quay, all of which improved the natural conditions of the site. Around 1916 more substantial works were undertaken there, with the construction of a quay that serves this locality well.