Ubatuba — S/V Oroboro

Ubatuba, April 2019

Our first sail out of the bay of Ilha Grande was to Ubatuba, some 30 nautical miles south west. It was a very nice sensation to get Oroboro in blue ocean waters again.

Praia do Sobrado

We stopped here to avoid getting in Ubatuba after sunset. This anchorage is very well protected and we saw an incredibly beautiful rainbow here.

Ubatuba

Ubatuba is a lovely little town, with an interesting historic center.

The town has charming streets and a canal crossed by a wooden footbridge — perpetually occupied by egrets who seem to own the place.

The footbridge in Ubatuba town center, shared with resident egrets

Yuka crossing the footbridge in Ubatuba with egrets alongside

Interestingly, Ubatuba is located on the Tropic of Capricorn. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn on the other side of the ocean during winter solstice, in Namibia. And now we are crossing it again on foot, during the Autumn equinox. What are the chances?

Ilha Anchieta

Approaching Ilha Anchieta by sea, the island looks like a paradise — two green hills cradling a white sand beach.

The Ilha Anchieta anchorage between green hills

It's hard to imagine that this beautiful island was once a penal colony — the Brazilian version of Alcatraz.

Yuka on the beach at Ilha Anchieta with SUP board

The jungle trail and beach at Ilha Anchieta

The prison was built in the 1930s and under an architectonic point of view is very interesting.

The prison courtyard at Ilha Anchieta, ruins of cell blocks with jungle behind

Yuka walking through the prison ruins at Ilha Anchieta

The ruins of the Ilha Anchieta prison, 1930s

Some of the most vicious criminals from across the nation were imprisoned here. The prison was deemed impossible to escape due to the fast moving current between the shore and the nearest town Ubatuba. In June 1952, there was a big riot which resulted in the deaths of 118 people (110 inmates and 8 officers). Three years later, the prison was shut down.

Historical mugshot of a prisoner at the Ilha Anchieta prison museum

During WWII this prison was also used to imprison 172 Japanese immigrants — just like Japanese internment camps in the US, perhaps even more cruel. The museum documents their stories in both Portuguese and Japanese.

Francesco reading the exhibit about Japanese prisoners at Ilha Anchieta

The island today has a terrific beach where we anchored for a few days. On the way back to Ilha Grande we had to dodge a cold front, anchoring in front of a little island called Ilhote de Couves. During the night we had strong winds up to 26 knots. We saw many fishing boats finding refuge there, so we were sure it was a good place. But the next day we had a beautiful sail back to Ilha Grande.

Oroboro anchored between two small islands near Ilhote de Couves

S/V Oroboro GPS track — Ubatuba, Brazil — Apr 2019 • GPS data from Raymarine chartplotter • Map © OpenStreetMap contributors

Every anchorage — Ubatuba, Apr 2019

Two anchorages along the stunning São Paulo state coastline.

Stop	Date	Notes
Praia do Sobrado	Apr 2019	Beautiful rainbow · well-protected overnight stop
Ilha Anchieta	Apr 2019	Former penal colony · 1930s prison ruins · spectacular beach anchorage

Anchorage maps

Zoomed charts of each Ubatuba anchorage, with GPS track overlay.