Fortaleza/Mucuripe - General Info
Description:
This is the most important city on the north coast of Brazil and is also a busy fishing harbor.
For the unsuspecting, the bay is littered with wrecks (those not buoyed show above the water), and the water shallows quickly, so care should be taken on entry. Lights on the buoys can be undetected from over 50m away.
Security:
This port is probably best avoided unless absolutely necessary. Fortaleza has a long history of armed robberies against cruising boats, normally very shortly after arrival (see below). Visiting cruisers warn that parts of the city (including areas around the Park Hotel) are not safe, recommending to travel in groups and use a taxi instead of public transport. In contrast, much of Fortaleza is fairly upscale with nice shopping and dining.
September 2018: Anchored close to the Navy and Yacht Club a yacht was boarded shortly after arriving at 04:00 by 4 men armed with knives. The owners were tied up and the boat was ransacked with many items stolen.
February 2018: A Swiss cruising couple was anchored overnight when their locked yacht was boarded, broken into and they were subjected to being tied up and beaten whilst their boat was robbed and ransacked. Read the report here.
February 2015: A boat was boarded within minutes of arriving by knife-wielding attackers. See this cruisers’report. The previous night yet another yacht had been boarded and robbed.
April 2014: A cruising boat was boarded, the crew attacked, beaten and robbed within moments of anchoring here. See this report
Credit card fraud is a problem here, so take extra care if using one.
Position:
03°42’S, 38°30’W
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Related to following destinations: Brazil, Fortaleza/Mucuripe, Northern Coast (Brazil)
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Fortaleza is not worth stopping, unless you need to. One of my Brazilian friends told me that a boat that anchored in front of Macuripe was robbed twice in the same night.
The only safe place in Fortaleza is the Marina Park Hotel.
What Michel Ballette in his Pilot Book describes as a Luxury Hotel it’s in reality a rundown hotel that maybe was luxurious back in the 60s. Today, is a dodge place where you only see a few customers. I spent there a week and I’m not sure how they stay in business.
The marina does not have pontoons, and to get water or electricity is a real pain. But it’s the only safe place in town and they know it, so they charge premium fees for it.
If you really have to stop somewhere along this stretch of coast, you’d be better off in Jacarè, a few miles south.
Had to spend 10 months here due to vessel undergoing repair. The marina is derelict, has no facilities, the absent marina manager speaks no English and the water and garbage floating within the marina are disgusting.
There are no walk-on slips and you will need to moor med-style to concrete pillars and dingy in. The WiFi does not reach the marina and the surrounding area outside the ageing hotel is not safe. While there is security in front of the hotel, there is no visible security at the marina and people from the favelas outside the hotel often swim within the marina breakwater some 50m from your vessel.
Cruisers would be far better served at Cabadelo.
Agree completely with georgier below.
From 2020 the IATA sailing club will get new and bigger pontoons and security. Good alternative for Marina Park and better service. Only when you anchor your boat now in front of the club, you and your boat get robbed!!
We were at the Marina Park Hotel for 3 days. Their VHF is broken, they don’t answer email and the phone number on Noonsite is incorrect. The number is +55 (85) 4006-9595. Unfortunately, the gentleman who runs the marina does not speak any English, so it is impossible to get information before you get there. Mooring is very difficult as there are lines running all over the marina from boat to boat and the pontoons are in very bad condition.
We arrived on a Sunday and there was no-one to help us until Monday morning. You need the one guy who works at the Marina to run your lines from your boat to others and to the concrete pillars on his dinghy. We ended up anchoring in the middle of the marina!
We were charged US$40 per day. The pricing seems a bit random as a smaller boat was charged US$45 per day. There is no water, electricity or diesel. They do have wifi at the pool. They do have security and we were told numerous times by the hotel staff that Fortaleza is very dangerous.
Marina Park Hotel is the only place to moor in Fortaleza but I would avoid it if at all possible. Clearing in and out was fairly easy. Our taxi driver took us to Immigration office (Police Federal), Customs (Receita Federal) and Port Captain (Capitania dos Portos). There were no costs for clearing in or clearing out. It took us 2 hours for each. Offices are open 24/7.
Posted on behalf of SY Flow
We paid no fees for clearing in and out. Taxi was 110R due to slow officials in Capataineria. This was in the weekend and nobody could speak English there, nor know how to handle the situation, so it took three hours in total. Clearing out was 55R and much quicker. We cleared in on a Saturday. No overtime. I was told every office is open 24/7.
Harbor facilities:
We stayed in Marina Park, and the harbor facilities are poor. It is Med-mooring, and the pontoons are moving a lot in the swell, and there is a lot of rusty metal everywhere, so you need some help with the lines as you need about 2 meters between the boat and the jetty. Most yachts use their own dinghy as a gangway. The rest of the facilities (the hotel facilities) is very good. You have access to the pool, gym with air condition, pool bar, showers, and everything. The fees for a 40-foot boat is about 90R a day, but it is possible to negotiate the price a bit. We paid 500R for 7 days.
Internet:
Very good wifi included in the price at the pool bar.
Posted on Behalf of Miki Barzam of SY Two Oceans.
If you are in the Marina Park Hotel marina in Fortaleza, Brazil and you need laundry service – beware! Armando, the marina manager, sent over a nice guy to collect our stuff. When he came back with our 13 kg load he demanded 240 R$ saying they calculate by the item, not by kg or number of machines.
That’s about 100 US$! After some talking, he reduced it by 10%. The name of that company is Roupa Limpa and the man is Joab Freitas da Cunha. Avoid!