The Passage Back

Caribbean to the Azores via Bermuda

From the windswept dusty anchorages of Cape Verde to nights spent amongst flamingos in mangrove-lined rivers of Brazil to the turquoise waters and coral sand beaches in the Caribbean, it felt as if the best bits – all that we had come to see – were past. There had been very long passages, and plenty of adventure, but these passed in a blur after nine months of touring the tropics. Nearly 5000 miles lay between us, in Antigua, and the prospect of starting a life on land at home. Somehow the finality of the passage magnified the distance, so it felt very significant when we hauled up the anchor in Jolly harbour bay. Our toughest challenge lay ahead.

Reading up on routing advice and studying the pilot charts, we elected to take the traditional route. We would refrain from turning East for the Azores until making 35 degrees North, the latitude of Bermuda. After the crossing, chatting at dockside parties in Horta, I got the impression that the field was split; many sailors followed the shorter, direct route from the Caribbean. However, the windless Horse latitudes haven't changed since ancient times. You need to be prepared to make progress in very light airs, either with specialised sails or by carrying enough diesel. We were rafted with a heavy French steel yacht that had neither. Due to their desire to take a short cut en route to Europe, they were stuck for 35 days, static in the Sargasso sea.

Brazilian Bureaucracy

What follows are a few tales of our trials with Brazilian bureaucracy. Stressful at the time, amusing in the reminiscing. Maybe you’ll enjoy them, but if any sailors happen across this later while planing a voyage to Brazil maybe our experiences will provide food for thought. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.

A Flight In, A Boat Out

Brazil technically requires a tourist, on arrival, to have proof of onward travel. Stating “I plan to leave your country on my yacht” is unusual enough to cause confusion. An onward flight ticket is what the bureaucrats would like you to present. Giulia was lucky to come across this by chance, having already booked a one way flight a month prior.

The Brazilian consulate in Milan were able to confirm this requirement but were unable to help further on the phone. What follows was a wild goose chase for Giulia. Calls to the Brazilian embassy in Rome suggested contacting the federal police in Brazil (the guys in charge of immigration). Sadly this was futile in practice, every officer Giulia reached spoke only Portuguese and hung up after a few lines of English or Italian. Calls to the Italian consulate in Rio or the embassy in Brazillia were also fruitless.

It was apparent that the rule existed, but officials were clueless about how it would be applied in practice. For example, would a very cheap bus ticket across the boarder be sufficient? The most reliable solution was the prohibitively pricey option: buy a flight home as well.