Brazil (Abrolhos Archipelago)

The Abrolhos Archipelago sits roughly 70 kilometres off the southern Bahia coast, and getting there already feels like a commitment. The crossing from the mainland port of Caravelas takes the better part of a day, typically motorsailing in light and fluky onshore winds before you pick up steadier south-easterly trades further offshore.

The sea state can be lumpy and confused in the shallower coastal shelf, so time your departure for early morning and expect your crew to earn their sea legs before the islands appear low on the horizon.

Once inside the marine park, the pace shifts entirely. The five islands and their surrounding shoals and patch reefs are managed tightly by IBAMA, Brazil's environmental agency, and anchoring is restricted to designated zones — mostly around Santa Bárbara and Siriba, where the lighthouse and ranger station sit. You will need a park permit arranged well in advance, and rangers board regularly to check compliance.

It is genuine bureaucracy, but it keeps the place extraordinary. Between July and November, humpback whales use these shallow waters as a calving ground, and encounters at anchor — flukes clearing the surface fifty metres off your stern — are genuinely arresting. Penguins occasionally appear this far north, tired migrants from the Falklands current.

Chartering typically starts from Caravelas or Salvador, three hundred kilometres north. Salvador offers better provisioning, yacht services, and international flights, making it the more practical base port. Liveaboard charters are the sensible format given how remote Abrolhos is; there is nothing shoreside beyond the park infrastructure. Provisioning must be completed before departure.

Experienced bluewater sailors or confident coastal cruisers only — the shelf shoaling, permit complexity, and distance from services make this unsuitable for novice charterers.