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Scuba diving at Corveta Afonso Cerqueira (F488) in Madeira
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Corveta Afonso Cerqueira (F488)

GREAT
MadeiraBoat
About This Site
Madeira's marquee wreck dive: the Corveta Afonso Cerqueira (F488), an 85-metre former Portuguese Navy corvette of the Baptista de Andrade class, scuttled south of Cabo Girao on 4 September 2018 and immediately declared a national park. She sits largely intact and upright on a sand seabed, with the superstructure topping out around 18m and the keel resting near 33m. The hull is open for guided penetration of the engine room, bridge and interior, and the site hosted the 2022 European Underwater Photography Championship, earning a reputation as one of the best wrecks in the Atlantic.

Difficulty

Intermediate

Max Depth

34m

Type

Boat

Typical Visibility

20m

Conditions Summary

Best time today

6AM - 12PM

GREAT

Best day in forecast

Friday

GREAT

2026-07-17

Community-reported visibility

n/a

Warnings for today

None

The wreck lies off Madeira's south coast below Cabo Girão, on the leeward side of the island, so it is sheltered by the landmass from the dominant W-NW-N Atlantic groundswell. The main exposure is the open-ocean southern arc (S-SSW-SE), where southerly swell and locally generated wind-wave can build and reduce visibility or stir up the surrounding sand. Conditions are calmest in summer; winter southerly storm swell is the limiting factor for boat access.

NNEESESSWWNW
Protected
Partially Exposed
Exposed
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