Brazil (Paraty & Green Coast)

The stretch of Brazilian coastline running southwest from Rio de Janeiro toward Paraty is one of those passages where the scenery quietly overwhelms you before you've had time to check the barometer. The Atlantic Forest comes all the way down to the water here, dense and improbable, broken by granite headlands and the kind of small white-sand beaches that require a dinghy and a willingness to get your feet wet.

Arriving in Paraty by sea is the right way to do it — the 18th-century colonial waterfront reveals itself slowly as you thread through the shoal-draft approach, and the town's cobbled streets flood at spring tide, which the locals treat as entirely normal.

Day sailing along the Green Coast runs roughly northwest to southeast under the influence of southeasterly trade winds, which blow persistently enough between May and October to make upwind work unavoidable on the outward leg. Expect 12–18 knots most afternoons, building occasionally to the mid-twenties around headlands. Night passages are generally calm and straightforward, though the shipping traffic out of Santos demands attention.

Star anchorages include Ilha Grande's Lagoa Azul, the bay at Paraty-Mirim, and the quieter coves off Saco do Mamanguá — a fjord-like inlet that somehow nobody talks about until you're already in it.

Charter bases sit mainly in Angra dos Reis, with a reasonable selection of bareboats and skippered options from established Brazilian operators. Provisioning in Angra is workable; Paraty's markets are charming but light on passage food. Paperwork for foreign-flagged vessels requires a Brazilian port captain clearance at each new state, so keep your crew list neat.

Cachaça is available everywhere, which is either a warning or a promise depending on your disposition.

Best months are June through September; first-time charterers unfamiliar with Portuguese bureaucracy should book a skippered boat.