Brazil - 2007

Salvador de Bahia  & Baía de Todos os Santos

This is the first instalment of some hopefully useful info on Brazil based on our experience in 2007.  Before we arrived we had the two RCC/Tom Morgan Pilots (South Atlantic Circuit & Havens and Anchorages) these are both excellent, but now a little out of date.  Cruising the Coast of Brasil – by Marçal Ceccon a Portugues sailor, but available in English is first class, in many cases contains more detail than the RCC books and is generally more up to date (revised 2006).  There are also a number of Brasilian guides (in Portuguese) details of which I pass to George Curtis for inclusion on the OCC web site as we find them.  For the area around Bahia, Helio Magalhaes’s pilots are really useful.  All the waypoints and navigational info spot on, even if the descriptions of locations and photos lean a little to the over positive – he got some sponsorship from the tourist board. 

First, just to give you an idea of scale etc.  Salvador is a huge sprawling city of about 3 million inhabitants – roughly the size of Greater Manchester.  It has all the problems of large cities worldwide, but magnified on the one hand because of the huge social differences that are a fact of life in Brasil and on the other because the middle classes tend to live, work, shop and play in secure locations with conspicuous security and travel between them by car ie they don’t walk in the streets where you inevitably will.  All that said, most Brasilians deserve their reputation as friendly hospitable people and with a little common sense, security need not be an issue.  As is often the case it is out of the cities (and you don’t have to go far) where people live a much simpler life, where this friendliness and hospitality is the most evident. Here we found that security became a non-issue, where the worst one might suffer would be a little petty theft from the dinghy – in one village we lost a couple of old spanners we left in the dinghy and strangely the small piece of plastic that acted as the emergency start key for our Johnson O/B.  Since all the locals generally paddled dugout canoes the thief could equally have been another cruiser! 

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 We arrived in Salvador in June 2007.  The first anchorage listed by the RCC Pilot is in front of the Iate Clube De Bahia (13° 00.20’S – 038° 32.02’W).  This is no longer much used, the majority of members having moved their boats to the new Bahia marina about a mile north.  The anchorage is perfectly good and the club water taxi will still collect you.  It would also be easy to enter at night as long as you could spot any empty mooring buoys.  

The club is predominantly power boat/social with swimming pool, etc and very upmarket.  We didn’t visit it ourselves, but we were told it wasn’t particularly welcoming to visiting yachts.  The cruisers we spoke to were offered one day free and then US$10 per person per day (this is for full use of the club facilities).  We suspect though, (as is often the case here) if when you first visit you are reasonably smart and look as if you might be someone that they would be happy to have as a member, your reception may be warmer.  It’s not though particularly convenient for town, etc. 

Next stop listed is Bahia Marina (12° 58.60’S – 038° 31.30’W).  As you might imagine, since it houses most of the members boats from the Iate Clube, this marina has excellent facilities and protection (travel lift, chandlers, all services, wifi, 4 restaurants, etc).  It’s also not cheap - c. R$70 per night for a 45 ft boat (about £20) when were there.  Big discounts for long stays.  It’s a taxi ride to town – you could walk, but you will be advised not to - you pass through a quite unpopulated area where muggings are relatively common even in daylight. 

Next stop in the pilots is another half a mile north is the main commercial harbour.  The first point of call for most cruisers is the marina is Centro Nautico de Bahia (12° 58.37’S – 038° 31.00’W), which has two pontoons here and is run by the local authority.  It has a number of pros and cons: – 

Pros

Cons

In spite of the cons, most cruisers end up in Centro Nautico for a while, just because it’s so convenient. 

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There are other possible mooring/anchorages in and around the harbour:    

First, you can pick up a buoy in the harbour, just outside the marina.  The owner will turn up and normally be happy to let you use it, and even ferry you ashore – it’s just a question of agreeing the price – do this first. 

Or you can anchor in the harbour between the fort and the fuel barge.  Perfectly safe though pilfering, particularly at night may be a problem.

And then you can anchor outside between the harbour and Bahia Marina - good anchorage, but further to get ashore.  I suspect that this will become more popular now that the old wharf is being gentrified (several new restaurants have opened).  The note above on pilfering also probably applies, though there are a lot less small boats moving about.  This would be a very easy place to drop the hook if arriving at night.

There are also other possibilities just a little further afield, and we’ll return to them a little further down the page, but first:

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A bit on formalities:  Since many for many yachts Salvador is the port of entry, and clearance will be done from Centro Nautico, this is a good point to divert of into the bureaucracy.  Finding out exactly what the regulations are with regard to visas etc. is very, very difficult.  A few foreign yachties are just not at the forefront of the authorities minds and the regulations are often not applied – for example, in spite of the regulations below, many people fly in and out of Brasil on tourist visas many times a year and have a new visa issued each time without anyone batting an eyebrow. 

All of this is mainly because unlike Europe and the USA, Brasil does not have an immigration problem, so it’s all quite relaxed, many of the offices aren’t open at the weekend, and no one will be too upset or even notice if you take a couple of days to recover from your trip before you clear in.  We actually know many boats that have been here for many months without clearing in and many others who have cleared out and remain here.  We are neither condoning nor criticising this, just reporting the situation.

At the time of writing we understand the actual regulations to be –

 When you arrive you will be granted a 90 day Visa.  This can be extended before it expires, for a further 90 days.  (NB You may not be able to extend your visa in the same office that issued it – extensions are entered onto a central database to which not all offices have access.)  Whether you extend it or not you are only entitled to one visa in any 12 month period.

 On entrance the boat is temporarily imported for 180 days.  This can be extended to up to two years, but to do so you will need to visit the Receta Federal in the jurisdiction where you will be leaving the boat, with a letter/contract from the marina where you will be leaving the boat (it cannot for example be left at anchor), a statement that the boat will not be used in your absence and evidence of how you will be leaving the country (eg air tickets).

 There is also the option if you are retired and are in receipt of a pension in your own country, to apply for a retirement visa, which allows you indefinite residence in Brasil.  This must be applied for at the Brasilian consulate in your own country (see their web pages).  A major fly in what would otherwise be a very convenient ointment is that as a resident you cannot then import a second hand boat (eg yours).

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Clearing in at Salvador: First, before you start, it is worth dressing a little smartly, nothing over the top, but long trousers and an open neck shirt will be enough to show that you are taking them seriously.

 In the order you need to visit them Policia Federal (Immigration), the department of health and Receta Federal are all found in the buildings of the commercial harbour just north of Centro Nautico on Avenida da França.  (It’s best to assume that all of these are closed 12.00 – 14.30) The entrance to the first two is on the inside of the compound and for Receta on the outside.  You’ll pass the entrance to Receta as you walk north trying to find a way into the compound.  Make a mental note of this as you pass it because you have to come back to it later, but also because Policia Federal is the building behind and although you can’t get into it from this side, this gives you an idea of how far to walk back south once you find a way into the compound.  This will be helpful as there is no obvious sign on the Policia Federal building!  There are also no signs on any doors in the Policia Federal building.  The office you want is at the end of the corridor on the first floor. Policia Federal in the Port of Salvador have a reputation for being a bit grumpy.  Just remember that they have a mind-blowingly boring job dealing with foreigners who speak not one word of their language (it is important to try and learn).  Smile a lot and just remember after this all the other offices will be much nicer.

There are a couple of entrances into the compound, but the first and most convenient is labelled as embarcation for cruise ships. If you say you are looking for Policia Federal and show your passport they will let you through. 

 Once you’ve dealt with the Policia, the next stop is the department of health which is still inside the compound and about as far north of the compound entrance as Policia was south.  A few forms to complete denying plague, death on board etc, but also the opportunity of a free yellow fever innoculation if you need one.

After that it’s back to Receta Federal (the office on the right as you go in) where they’ll probably fill in all the forms for you and ask you just to sign them.  Some staff speak English.

Finally you have to visit Capitania Dos Portos (open 12 to 4 – if you go at twelve when most Brasilians are at lunch you’ll probably avoid queuing).  The office is adjacent to the naval school, which is the impressive castellated white building that you can’t fail to miss directly behind Centro Nautico.  You’ll probably already have been woken by the seemingly continual stream of orders issued over the Tannoy system accompanied by much blowing of Bosun´s pipe.

The Marine on the gate will point you in the right direction – look for a large anchor outside the building.  Turn right as you enter the office and you need almost the last window, conveniently next to the office that sells local charts.

That’s it!  You’re legal!

Your only additional obligation is to clear out with the Capitan Dos Portos each time you leave an administrative juristiction and then in at the next one. (Bahia to Espirito Santos for example – ask at the Capitania where the next boundary is).  And don’t forget to renew your Visa BEFORE the 90 days expires – you may not be able to do it at the same office as you cleared in (in Salvador you must visit the airport) so leave yourself enough time.  If the 90 days expires you cannot then extend!

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And one more thing -  If you do stay In Centro Nautico you will undoubtedly come into contact with Marcello.  He will certainly make contact with you!  He’s a Brasilian guy, of Italian extraction, who lived in the US for several years and therefore speaks very good English.  Marcello is what we call in England “a bit of a lad”.  He can be extremely useful, but comes with a health (and/or wealth) warning.  Marcello knows his way around Salvador, is a sailor himself (which is how he’s picked up what skills he has), so knows where to find things. He’s expensive (very by Brasilian standards), but will often spend hours ferrying sailors around trying to find things, for which no additional charge is made, so there is a balance here.  This helpfulness is fantastic when it’s on your behalf, but can be frustrating when he’s dropped everything to help find something for another sailor, and he’s supposed to be up your mast and you’re waiting to leave.  It will happen! 

As to quality of work, remember he’s a practical guy, but not a professional.  The work he does himself is OK, but he can be a bit sloppy.  Much supervision (as well as constant chasing) will be required!

Marcello’s great claim to fame is in helping to import stuff tax-free. He charges a hefty R$500 for this (twice what a customs agent will charge) and you will probably have to spend a couple of days at the airport with him.  On the plus side he can normally negotiate pretty good discounts with the likes of West Marine (which he will pass directly on to you) and in your trips to the airport with him you can generally divert him off to do other things whilst you’re in his car – including going off to the excellent Peroni supermarket where he gets a discount.  All of which can make the $R500 good value especially if you’re ordering a lot of stuff.

On the other hand if you chose not to use him, make sure you contact a customs agent first to make sure that absolutely every detail is correct before the order is shipped.  If there are any mistakes, in labelling the package for example, there will be no way of avoiding the duty, and it’s roughly 100%!  Labelling the package “Yacht in Transit” does not work – we know this to our cost!

A good way of making contact with a bona-fide customs agent is via the local office someone like UPS, FedEx, etc.  They all have English speaking staff in the call centres. 

And finally, however you decide to source any stuff you need, just remember that even though Salvador feels like a chandlery desert, once you leave and head south, you’ll find almost nothing until you reach Rio.

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Back to Pilotage. 

 After that just 4 miles north of the main harbour, but still part of Salvador is the bay of Ribiera.  The entrance (12° 54.15’S – 038° 29.70’W) is quite shallow and a boat with 2 metres will need to go in close to high water and at neaps there may not be enough even then.  Once you’re inside though it’s completely protected, like a millpond.  An industrialised, polluted millpond with the odd favella (shanty town), but you can’t have everything.  You can anchor, though security could be an issue or you can chose one of the 3 marinas.  Pier Salvador, the middle one comes particularly highly recommended.  They have a small chandlery and a stock of second hand boat parts that they sell on commission for the owners.  There’s an inox workshop across the road and really the staff can’t do enough for you.

 Ribiera itself is an old down-market residential area.  There are small shops and small supermarkets locally and loads of buses to take you down-town or you can treat yourself to a taxi back with the shopping without breaking the bank. 

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 After Ribiera you start moving a bit further away from Salvador and out into the Baia de Todos os Santos where there is quite a bit of cruising and exploring to do.

 The island of Itaparica is just 6 miles from Salvador, with ferries and lanchas running to the mainland every half an hour - a lot of Bahians go over for the weekend.   It’s the natural first stop for many cruisers and probably the place you’ll visit first once you’ve finished exploring Salvador.  The anchorage is around the top of the island on the northwest side (12° 53.32’S – 038° 41.16’W), about 12 miles from Salvador.  There are always a few cruising boats here, but it’s a big anchorage.  The wind generally picks up in the afternoon, which kicks up a bit of a chop (particularly at high water when the sandbanks offer less protection), but the holding is good. However, southerlies do funnel up between the island and the mainland and if a winter front goes through there are better places to be.

 There’s also a small marina, which is run by the same outfit as Centro Nautico.  It was out of commission when we were there, having been damaged in the same winter storm which broke our mooring lines.  You could still take your dinghy ashore on their floating pontoon though.  You can fill with water from the marina for which there may be a charge or with mineral water from a local spring behind the marina for free. You can even pay one of the local boat boys a few Reis to do the job for you.

There are plenty of small supermarkets, bars, internet cafes (one bar in the marina with wifi) and also a big supermarket at Bom Despacho, a R$2 bus ride away – though you’ll probably need to get a taxi back, as the return buses only come after a ferry has arrived and are therefore inevitably full.  Or you can take a R$2.30 bus to Mar Grande (30 min) and catch a $2.70 Lancha to Salvador (45 min) arriving next to Centro Nautico.

In spite of this proximity to the 3 million people sprawl that is Salvador, Itaparica still has a really nice feel.  The bus rides are a must – Volkswagen microbuses so seat 12/13 very intimately and presumable the conductors are bred that shape (you’ll see what I mean).  Also being on board a lancha as the skipper tries to negotiate his way over the reef at dusk on a falling spring tide is an “interesting” experience. 

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5 mile north of Itaparica is Ilha de Frade and several other smaller islands where you can find protection from any weather.  The only problem with anchoring north of Frade (12° 46.00’S – 038° 38.13’W) is the view of the oil terminal, but if you simply look in the other direction you're in the forest next to an old fishing village.  Here you would be completely oblivious to a howling gale blowing on the other side of the island.  As I say there are several other island anchorages, but also a lot of shallow water, so it’s worth getting hold of a copy of Helio Magalhaes’s pilot to the bay before you leave Salvador.

There are quite a few other places to explore; some of our favourites are below:

·         Up the river Paragaçu to Maragojipe (12° 47.10’S – 038° 54.41’W). This has a big produce market on Fridays and in spite of what is written in a very well respected pilot there is absolutely no need to get there at 6am.  There’s still more than enough to buy even when they’re closing at lunchtime.

From Maragojipe you can take the bus up to Sao Felix/Cachoeira (bridge between the two towns.  Visit the cigar museum/workshop and sponsor a tree! We know one couple that have taken their yacht this far, I believe at high water it’s possible to carry 2 metres all the way and there are local pilots, but we caught the bus –about an hour.

·         Right at the top of the bay of Todos os Santos is the town of Sao Francisco do Conde (12° 37.92’S – 038° 40.90’W), where you can anchor off the town or a little further round the bend of the river for better shelter.  It’s not much visited, though there’s a well buoyed channel through the sandbanks, which is quite scary to look back at, at low water!

This area is a big source of the smoke-dried prawns used in Bahian cookery and for us it was just remarkable to sit and watch the skill of the prawn fishermen and to marvel at just how may prawns one man in a dugout can take out of the water.

·         And finally, back towards Salvador, there’s Aratu (12° 48.20’S – 038° 28.00’W), This is an enclosed bay some 12 miles north of Salvador and again completely protected.  There are two marinas here and a lot of foreign boats are left in Marina Aratu, whilst their owners travel.  Most boats though are anchored off. 

Iate Clube Aratu is a private members club and you will need an introduction to get a berth there (it only has one or two spaces for visitors), but it’s a pretty friendly place and you’re welcome to anchor off and use the facilities.

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There are lots of other anchorages around the bay, but this is I hope a fairly good overview of some of the best.  We’ll file another instalment on the coast further south when we get chance.

Fair winds

Barry & Lindy Bullen

SY Samarang

Guarapari

November 2007