Florianopolis - Docking
NOTE: Beware of the bridge heights marked on the charts. The lower of the two bridges linking the island to the mainland town of Sao Jose has a clearance of less than 17m.
Yacht Club
The yacht club ( ICSC-Veleiros da Ilha) is approximately 1.6 kms (one mile) south of the bridges, on the island side. Anchor in front of the club, or pick up one of their moorings, and land at their dock.
Anchorages / Moorings
If you can get under the bridge there is an anchorage with free moorings off the seafront on the island side soon after passing north under the old suspension bridge. Apparently, the moorings were laid by the ICSC in 2014 for a racing event. This is a better place to be in southerlies than off the yacht club.
The ICSC also has a base near the northern end of the island at Praia de Jurere. There is no option to moor at the end of jetty here, other than perhaps short term. There’s a large field of mooring buoys. On arrival, you will likely be approached by a club boat asking if you want a mooring.
Yachts can also anchor closer to the main beach at Jurere and dinghy ashore. This is a good spot for strong southerlies, good holding in thick mud.
The beach of Jurere is covered in resorts which can be crowded, but there are some undeveloped islands and nice anchorages close by. Protection from winds can be found in various anchorages in the north part of the canal.
There is also a small marina at Santo Antonio de Lisboa, where many locals keep their sailing boats on moorings. The owner (Mr. Cid) doesn’t speak English but is friendly and helpful. Anchor here in about 3 meters in soft mud. It gets uncomfortable and untenable in strong southerlies when you should go to Jurere.
Also off the north of the channel is the bay of Enseada de Ganchos which has several anchorages and a small jetty belonging to the Iate Clube de Caioba who also have several mooring buoys there. The bays provide good shelter from the south and east but are open to the north. They are quite busy with fishing boat activity and shellfish farming buoys line the sides of the bays.
Shore services
Floripa is a modern city with shops, restaurants, and services to suit all tastes. Transport options are also good: local and long-distance bus services are efficient and reasonably priced. Taxis and hire cars are also affordable. Santa Caterina has a good road infrastructure and it’s well worth exploring inland.
Last updated: January 2018
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Related to following destinations: Brazil, Florianopolis, Southern Coast (Brazil)
Port Navigation
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October 2018: We found Florianopolis as a city not worth the detour (as we couldn’t pass under the bridges, it was quite a detour). If you need to check in or out here, you may as well stay in Jurere or in the south (very good protection from southerlies at Praia Caiacanga, excellent holding in cement-like clay) and bus/uber into town. At the Iate Clube, the first two nights on a mooring and use of the facilities are free. At high tide the water level in the bassin of the Iate Clube was just about 2m.
Formalities update October 2018: The Policia Federal officer in charge of clearing in and out has moved to an annex office (called NEPOM). It is located between the two bridges on the continent side, next to the Capitania dos Portos. Lunch break from 12-1:30pm.
Visit him first, then the Receita Federal on the other side of the bridge (they wanted to see the form from the Policia Federal). Then back across the bridge to the Capitania (who needed to see our Receita Federal document).
Posted on behalf of Dan Stroud
There are two bridges to go under approaching from the north. The chart says 17m and 28m clearance. I reckon my clearance to be about 14m so figured all was fine. It turned out that the 28m clearance bridge was actually LOWER than the 17m one. Proceed with caution!
The ICSC-Veleiros da Ilha has visitor moorings. The first 2 days are free then we paid 109 Riais per day. This includes courtesy boat. They use VHF channel 16 ‘Bravo vinte’. Few staff speak any English but they are all very friendly.
There is customs in Florianopolis, close to the center at the corner of Av Paulo Fontes and Rua Hoepcke. The man in charge, Ricardo Krzyzanowski, speaks good English and is very helpful. It’s fairly easy to check in and out at Floripa, though the 3 offices – Policia Federal, Customs and Capatania are spread out so you need to use buses or taxis.
Even though Itajai has been one of the Volvo Ocean Race main stops in recent years, I emphasize what Noon Site already cautions Sailors about. Be careful of the youth, they are the most likely to do you harm. The basic profile of the common Itajai outlaw is young men between 15 to 25 years of age.
Skinny golden tan, loose clothing, baseball cap, cheap Colorful Sunglasses, and sandals. Drugs in Itajai are a frequent problem ever since I was a young boy, today nothing has changed. Corruption is present between Military and Civilian Police. I highly recommend a point of contact so your stay can be pleasant.