Line-up · On the water

Corrida de Jangadas

The traditional jangada race of Ceará, live at Praia da Baleia

It's confirmed: the fishermen of Praia da Baleia sail their jangadas in a real race during the festival. No motors, just wind, wood, a big triangular sail and generations of knowledge about the sea. Come and cheer them on from the beach.

When: TBA Festival weekend · exact time to be announced
Where: At sea off Praia da Baleia, watch from the beach
Follow: @mzada_silva11 ↗

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The exact time depends on wind and tide and will be announced soon.

How the race works

The boats
Jangadas are the fishing rafts of Ceará: a flat wooden hull, a mast and one big triangular sail, no motor. The boats at Praia da Baleia are big: large jangadas and paquetes, which race in their own classes, such as the paquete grande.
The crew
A crew of two to four sailors. The mestre steers with a long oar at the stern, the others trim the sail and shift their weight. One of them, the aguador, splashes sea water onto the sail with a bucket on a stick: a wet sail catches more wind.
The start
All boats start together at the signal. Getting the sail up and the jangada through the surf fast is already half the race.
The course
The boats round marks at sea and race back to the beach. Distances vary per regatta: at Caponga in 2023 the winner sailed 11.5 km in about an hour and a half. The course at Praia da Baleia will be announced soon.
The finish
The first jangada across the finish line wins. Start and finish are close to the shore, so the beach is the best grandstand. Bring a hat and your loudest voice. The winners are honoured at the award ceremony on Sunday 1 November at 16:00.

Praia da Baleia · © Macílio Gomes · CC BY 3.0

History: more than a sport

The jangada is the symbol of Ceará's fishing culture. Its story is one of skill, courage and the fight for a dignified life.

Jangadeiros — © Ricardo (Fortaleza) · CC BY 2.0

Before 1500
Rafts of piúba wood
Indigenous peoples of the coast already fished from rafts of light piúba logs. The Portuguese added the triangular sail and gave the boat its name, a word they brought back from South India.
1881
The Dragon of the Sea
Jangadeiro Francisco José do Nascimento led the jangadeiros of Fortaleza in refusing to carry enslaved people to the ships. Ceará abolished slavery in 1884, four years before the rest of Brazil.
1941
61 days to Rio
Manoel “Jacaré”, Tatá, Jerônimo and Manuel Preto sailed the jangada São Pedro about 2,700 km from Fortaleza to Rio de Janeiro, without compass or charts (14 September – 15 November 1941). They went to ask President Getúlio Vargas for pension rights for fishermen.
1942
Orson Welles films the story
Hollywood director Orson Welles read about the voyage and came to film it for It's All True. During the shoot off Rio, Jacaré drowned. The film was never finished; the footage only came out in 1993.
Today
Regattas along the coast
Jangada regattas keep the tradition alive all along Ceará's coast: Caponga held its 26th edition in 2023, Canoa Quebrada sails the Regata Dragão do Mar, and in July 2026 Fortaleza held its first Regata Cultural with twelve jangadas and paquetes.
2026
Praia da Baleia joins in
At the first Baleia Wellness Festival the fishermen of Praia da Baleia sail their own Corrida de Jangadas, right in front of the village.

Local heroes: the Alanzin

Dione and Carlos with their boat Alanzin, 1st place in the paquete grande class. Who will beat them at the festival?

Praia da Baleia: a village that lives from the sea

Praia da Baleia is a fishing village. Every day boats leave from the beach and come back with the catch, and the knowledge of wind, currents and waves passes from father to son. The Universidade Federal do Ceará even studied how artisanal fishing in the community has changed over the decades. With this race the festival puts these families and their craft in the spotlight.