Madeira is known for its hill walking, volcanic landscapes and sub-tropical climate. It also has an excellent wreck, says photographer Mark O’ Connor
WRECKREVIEW
Approaching the bows of the Corveta
Pearl of the Atlantic
Madeira is known for its hill walking, volcanic landscapes and sub-tropical climate. It also has an excellent wreck, says photographer Mark O’ Connor
On what was my first trip to Madeira, I’ d booked two days diving with a local dive centre, Azul Diving. Our first dive was at Garajau Marine reserve, in the hope of seeing dusky groupers and manta rays among its rich diversity of marine life. Unfortunately, strong currents made for a challenging first dive, and boat problems lead to the cancellation of the second one.
A better second day offered a chance to dive the wreck of the Corveta Afonso Cerqueira, an 85m-long former Portuguese Navy warship built in 1973, decommissioned in 2015 and scuttled as an artificial diving reef in September 2018. It lies to the south of Cabo Giraro, around four miles west of Madeiran capital city Funchal, on a seabed varying in depths between 12m and 30m.
Conditions were favourable. The site was sheltered, had minimal current, 22 ° C water and around 15m visibility, all making for a relaxed dive. We had the time and ease to focus fully on the wreck.
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Finning along the wreck’ s 85m length