Atlantic seamounts: Mythical creatures – Madeira – Spain

Cabin charter

Atlantic seamounts: Mythical creatures – Madeira – Spain

1,485 €

LLAS e.V. Brigg ROALD AMUNDSEN

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Atlantic Seamounts: Legendary Figures – From Porto Santo to Vigo
Saturday, 6 March – Tuesday, 16 March 2027

Reduced: €1045 | Adults: €1485

Ten days from the subtropical Atlantic island to the green coast of Galicia. A passage across one of Europe's most mysterious sea areas – where mountains that no one has ever seen lie beneath the keel, and where myths of sunken kingdoms live on to this day.

When you let your gaze wander over the deep blue on a chart between Madeira and the Iberian coast, at first you see nothing. Just ocean. Yet what the chart shows in detail is one of the most spectacular landscapes in Europe – only underwater. Vast seamounts rise from the sea floor here, some several kilometres high. Some reach almost to the surface, others remain hidden forever. And around them swirl stories that reach back to antiquity. On this trip we sail right across this hidden mountain world – accompanied by the legendary figures that have dwelt there for millennia.

Departure from Porto Santo
We start on the golden beach of Porto Santo and set a course north-east. The island gradually disappears behind us on the horizon, and after a short time one of the deepest waters in Europe lies beneath the keel: the Iberian Abyssal Plain and the Madeira-Tore Plain. The sea here is over 5,000 metres deep in places. Ahead lie around 900 nautical miles of open Atlantic – a true blue-water passage that will carry us to the green rías of Galicia.

Over the mountains no one sees
Halfway along we pass one of the most geologically fascinating areas of the North Atlantic: the Gorringe Ridge (Banco de Gorringe). A massive underwater mountain whose peaks – the Gettysburg and Ormonde Banks – lie only about 25 to 40 metres below the surface. From here the mountain range drops to over 5,000 metres. For comparison: the Gorringe Ridge is thus higher than Mont Blanc. And no one sees it.

Life gathers above such seamounts. Upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water brings plankton upward, plankton attracts fish, fish attract larger predators. Whales, dolphins, tuna and seabirds come together here. A sailing vessel passing over the Gorringe Ridge has an increased chance of special encounters – and does so without the people on board noticing anything if they didn't know it.

The ancient legend of the sunken realm
In precisely this sea area, some suspect, Plato's Atlantis might have lain. The idea is not new: the Greek philosopher described over two thousand years ago a mighty island realm that lay beyond the Pillars of Heracles – that is, west of the Strait of Gibraltar – and sank into the sea in a single night. Modern scientists usually consider the whole thing a metaphor, yet the notion of sailing over the ruins of a sunken civilisation still has power today. The Gorringe Ridge is mentioned in some publications as a possible candidate for "Atlantis" – quite simply because it is one of the few places in the Atlantic where a sinking would actually be physically conceivable.

For us on board it remains fantasy. But when we sail over the Gorringe Ridge on a clear night, with water that stands kilometres deep beneath the keel, and with the knowledge that beneath us stand mountains that no human eye has ever seen, for a moment that space opens up in which legends are born.

Legendary figures of the coast – mermaids and sea creatures
The further north we sail, the closer the old coastal myths draw. Galicia and the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula are a land of legends — a land where the Mouras live in caves along the coast, where mermaids warn the fishermen and where the wind itself has a voice. The Celtic-influenced cultures of this region have left behind a dense, atmospheric mythology that remains alive to this day. When we finally enter the Rías of Galicia, we leave the open sea behind and immerse ourselves in a land where the fog is sometimes so thick that you understand how legends could ever have come into being.

Arrival in Vigo
Vigo lies on the deep inlet of the Ría de Vigo, one of the most beautiful sea bays in Galicia. The city is Spain's most important fishing and commercial harbour on the Atlantic coast — lively, honest, with a tradition closely bound to the sea. In the bars of the old town there's fresh pulpo á feira, grilled fish and the cool, tart white of Albariño from the vines above the bay. An arrival harbour where you can let the trip wind down beautifully.

"Atlantic Deep-sea Mountains: Legendary Figures" — the title
This title is a small homage to what makes this passage special: the interplay between real, hidden geology — those incredible deep-sea mountains that hardly anyone knows about — and the myths that have entwined themselves around this part of the Atlantic for millennia. Atlantis, mermaids, sunken cities, the end of the world: all of this lives in a sea that on the surface simply appears blue and empty. But anyone who knows what lies beneath and what people have been telling each other about it since time immemorial sails a different voyage.

Sail Training on a Long Passage
On this trip we sail throughout in the classic three-watch system. You're part of the crew — with everything that entails: setting and striking sails, taking the helm, lookout, navigation, night watches beneath the clear Atlantic sky. The passage from south to north in March is varied weather-wise: sometimes still trade wind influences, sometimes already fresh spring weather from the west. A trip for everyone who wants to gain or deepen genuine blue-water experience. An experienced core crew will teach you everything you need. Prior experience is helpful but not essential — curiosity, a willingness to pitch in and enthusiasm for life on board are enough.

What to expect
Ten days on one of Europe's most geologically and mythologically exciting Atlantic routes. Deep-sea mountains beneath the keel, legends in your head and the open ocean all around you. Possibly encounters with whales and dolphins over the upwelling areas of the seamounts. Cape Finisterre as a classic highlight of the Iberian Atlantic coast. And at the end a city that lives from the sea — and where you can reflect on all those miles under the keel over a glass of Albariño.

Come aboard. Sail over the mountains that no one sees. Experience the legends of the Atlantic.

Pictures by Anton Blanke https://antonblanke.de/
Book via www.sailtraining.de
Prices are inclusive of accommodation, meals, harbour fees and everything the ship costs. We organise your sailing trip, you organise your travel between home and harbour.
All prices plus annual membership of LebenLernen auf Segelschiffen e.V.: €70 for adults, €40 for young people. The fee is only due once a year, regardless of how many sailing trips you do.

Offered by

LLAS e.V. Brigg ROALD AMUNDSEN