- créneau
- Best window is early morning, before the afternoon sea breeze and the swimmers. Best visibility in summer and early autumn.
- marée
- Little tidal dependence (depth drops away fast off the point); low water makes the slippery-rock entry trickier.
- abri
- Madeira's south coast is sheltered from the prevailing N/NE trades by the island mass; the cove at Ponta da Cruz is further screened by the rocky headland. Open to S and SW swell.
- danger
- Main danger is the exit over sharp volcanic rock in shorebreak: as swell builds it's easy to get cut or slammed against the wall. Swimmers and snorkelers around — keep the gun unloaded at the entry. Deep water right off the shore — a solo blackout with no buddy is fatal.
- accès
- Rua da Ponta da Cruz 66, western Funchal seafront (between the Lido and Praia Formosa). Steps down to the natural-pool complex, then direct access to open sea over the rocks. Showers, changing rooms and parking up top.
The westernmost Funchal entry — clearly OUTSIDE the Garajau reserve (whose west edge is Ponta do Lazareto, east of the city), so hunting is legal here. But it's a guarded bathing complex — don't shoot near the entry; move off the pools onto the rock reef.
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