Azores - Yachting Essentials
Electricity
Voltage: 220V / Frequency: 50Hz (standard throughout mainland Europe)
Mainspower available in all island marinas.
Voltage: 380V 3-phase current is available in some areas of Horta Marina and Ponta Delgada.
Water
Water is available at all the ports except Corvo.
Fuel
Fuel is available at Horta, Lajes das Flores, Vila do Porto, Vila das Velas, Ponta Delgada, Vila Franca do Campo, and Praia da Vitoria.
Large quantities of fuel can be arranged for delivery in Horta and Ponta Delgada. In harbors where there are no fuel pumps available (such as Lajes do Pico) the same may be arranged, however normally there is a minimum quantity and it may take several days to organise.
Note: Diesel is gasoleo, and, petrol is gasolina.
LPG
Only butane is available on all the islands and only GALP cylinders can be exchanged.
Bottles can be exchanged at Ponta Delgada, and Praia da Vitoria.
All other bottles, including Camping Gaz, must be sent for re-filling. Bottles can be re-filled at Horta (Faial), Ponta Delgada (Sao Miguel) and Praia da Vitoria (Terceira). This usually takes at least 2 working days.
Note: most ports/marina which has repair services also supply LPG. Make sure you have your correct fitting for European bottles. Old and rusty bottles will be refused.
Chandlery
Chandlery is expensive in the Azores and limited in availabililty. In general you can find, or order, most things in Horta and Ponta Delgada and hardware stores on all islands tend to have rope, paint and possibly fenders due to the local boating/fishing community. No duty is paid on anything ordered in the EU, but bringing things in from elsewhere can incur additional costs. See Customs for more info.
Repairs
There are boatyards with lift out and repairs at Horta (20 tonne), Vila do Porto (75 tonne), Vila das Velas (crane & limited repairs), Ponta Delgada (25 tonne), Vila Franca do Campo (80 tonne), and Praia da Vitoria (35 tonne) and Angra do Heroismo (50 tonne).
Laying Up
If wanting to leave your boat ashore in the Azores, the marina at Praia da Vitoria, Terceira is best suited for this purpose, although Vila do Porto has recently expanded. There are good flight connections to Horta from Lisbon as well as frequent service from Boston to Sao Miguel and/or Terceira; all with Azores Airlines.
While Horta is not suitable for laying your boat up ashore, many cruisers leave their boats in the water here over the winter. Praia de Vitoria is also a good option, plus Angra do Heroismo and Vila do Porto. Be sure to organise a yacht caretaker in your absence.
Anchoring
Horta and Flores Marinas now charge an anchoring fee of 50% of the berthing rate. A rate sheet will be supplied on arrival. Other Azores marinas may well start doing the same.
Many inlets are now protected by breakwaters making viable anchorages.
Marinas
All marinas in the Islands are under the jurasdiction of Azores Ports (https://portosdosacores.pt/en/), as are all commercial and fishing harbors. The only exceptions are Praia da Vitoria (Terceira), Vila Franca do Campo (Sao Miguel) and Cais da Barra (Graciosa – new marina 2021), which belong to the local City Council (Camara Municipal).
https://portosdosacores.pt/en/ has details of all yachting marinas and their facilities. Berthing fees are standard across all marinas, irrespective of facilities. Approx. cost for a 12-15m yacht in 2021 – 18 Euros including water and electricity. Payment can be made by most cards, except American Express. Normally showers are paid as extra.
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The Island of Sao Jorge is having a seismic episode at the moment – some 20,000 tremors in the last two weeks. No-one really knows what, if anything, this portends – earthquake or lava effusion – however visiting yachts should be aware. The tremors are mostly in the Velas area where the main town and marina are.
You can come directly to Santa Maria – Vila do Porto !
We arrived in Horta June 17th. The COVID test is free and results back in 24 hours. All very organized and the marina, maritime police, and Peter Cafe Sport all doing an amazing job to support boats. With a negative test result document we went to Velas, São Jorge and Angra de Heroismo, Terceira; cleared in through the local marinas and anchored in both places free of charge. Ponta Delgada is not requiring COVID test for entry.
Please note – the above comment is not true. Horta and Ponta Delgada remain the only open ports of entry and at BOTH PORTS a SARS-Cov-2 test will be required on arrival, unless the regional health authority waives it in view of the non-stop travel time and the absence of symptoms. A passage time of more than 14 days is seen as voluntary quarantine. If test results are negative you will be given permission to go ashore.
s/v DellaMyra departs today, 22nd June, 2020, for Horta and Falmouth,UK
lone sailor . MMSI235102055
Hurricane Lorenzo struck the western Azores in October, destroying the breakwater at Lajes, Flores. Until repairs are complete, this port is unusable.
Ponta Delgada is a convenient place to enter the Azores : nice city, facilities for provisioning, skilled professionals if repairs are needed. But there are some issues :
– the local police considered me as highly suspect because I stopped in Ponta Delgada and not Horta like everybody ! So I had a complete police search, including drug search with dog.
– the professionals like the famous Thomas and JB Electronica don’t accept payment with credit cards, only cash or bank transfer. Cash is not possible beyond a small amount, so bank transfer is the only solution, which implies delays and possible errors on the bank apps. It is what happened to me and at my next stop in Gibraltar my mail box was full of complaining and threatening e-mails, saying I would be designed to all ports as a robber ! Visitors should make a strong pressure on these people for accepting credit cards like anywhere in the world (and in Sao Miguel by all shops and restaurants) to avoid such problems.
Just spent a fortnight here in ponta delgada marina in unsettled weather,in my opinion it is untenable in any strong south,south east or southwest winds.We had so many boats break lines and fenders.I bought a pump from Thomas through bank transfer,he put it on ferry to Santa Maria(€4.80) and the total time took 2 days.
I just watched a you tube video of a couple who were charged an engine tax based upon the weight and power of their engine. They had an electric engine which should have been exempt but were forced to pay upon threat of their boat being impounded. They were also charred a lighthouse tax. Neither are mentioned in the formalities section. Report here:-
https://youtu.be/PSm5SbcBHUQ
The old page was perfect, This is useless
couln not agree more
Must do’s if you have time on Terceira:
1. Go to the local town where there is a “running of the bulls” that particular evening (they move them from town to town). The reason to go is more to observe the way the locals commune around this event than to see the bulls themselves, who are given stimulants and then downers when they are still in their bright red boxes before being released to put on their show.
2. Terceira has several interesting caves that are worth visiting, donning the requisite hard hats, and exploring on a guided tour.
3. Lastly, driving across the island and enjoying the miles of hydrangeas lining the roads is another not-to-miss experience on Terceira in the spring/summer.