Metre-long dusky groupers that swim straight up to you, the result of forty years of full protection. Boulder reef and sand…Metre-long dusky groupers that swim straight up to you, the result of forty years of full protection. Boulder reef and sand from 5m to 30m with barracuda, eagle rays, octopus and moray, and a Christ statue on the clifftop above watching over it. Portugal's oldest marine reserve. Protected since 1986 as Portugal's first fully no-take marine reserve, and the grouper recovery is the textbook example of what that does, the fish here behave the way big predators do when nobody has hunted them for a generation. Madeira also has whale and dolphin watching year-round offshore. Anchorage: Anchor off Garajau in settled weather; Funchal and Quinta do Lorde are the marinas. Hazards: Pebble shore entry can be awkward in swell. Meer