Madeira Island has excellent spots for bodyboard, as well as for surf. Adding the marvelous weather of the island plus the sea temperature all year around to the nice left waves of Jardim do Mar, Paul do Mar, Lugar de Baixo or Fajã da Areia in São Vicente, Madeira is known as the Hawaii of Europe due to its powerful waves.

On the photos you can see a bodyboarder playing in the waves of Lugar de Baixo, Ponta do Sol, on the 29th of December 2006 under a warm shining sun with sea temperature of 18º Celsius. The sequence of the photos show a bodyboard 360º maneuver.

Photo by: Catarina Fagundes

Jumper: Mário Prado
Date: May 4th, 2006
Location: Cabo Girão, Madeira Island

The Garajau Maritime Natural Reserve, which is considered to be one of the world’s main amateur diving destinations, in 2005 issued over 3,000 diving licenses, 75 percent of which were requested by tourists.

This Natural Reserve has some characteristics that make it competitively advantageous. The low depth at which some of the most sought-after species can be found, such as the grouper and the fact that divers can access diving sites from land are some of the factors that make a difference. The passivity of the fish which, since 1985, became used to the divers is also an attraction which makes it possible to swim between the fish and provides the best opportunities for underwater photography.

An increasing number of tourists have been using Madeira as a diving destination in several areas, the most popular of which are Garajau Maritime Natural Reserve, Machico coastal area, Lido and Porto Santo Island which has an artificial reef created in 2000 by sinking the ship “Madeirense”.
Taking into account this new reality, the Madeira Regional Government is preparing a legal framework to attract and encourage diving as leisure, scientific and tourism activity, thus creating another competitiveness factor for Madeira Islands.

Source: Madeira Tourism Board – Newsletter May

Founded in 2002, BMW Club Madeira is one of the most recent regional enthusiastic clubs, reporting only and exclusively to the models of that automobile mark.

The Official BMW Club Madeira was recognized by BMW Club Europe (umbrella organisation of the BMW family club in Europe) on August 2005, with on official certificate that registered it on a world-wide level with number 342.

The BMW Club Madeira is independent of any commercial company and aims a sustainable growth with the support of all club members, as Marco Pestana, the project mentor said.

Since 2002 the Club organizes some strolls. There is a hard nucleus that always appears, but each time more fans join them. The strolls are several and they carry the German mark models all around Madeira Island. On the road they can’t pass by without calling the attention of people, as they cover Madeira roads with luxurious and colourful cars that complete the landscape harmoniously.

Photos by Marco Pestana