Sailing Cape Verde

São Vicente and Mindelo – the sailors’ harbour of Cape Verde

Mindelo, on the wide bay of Porto Grande, is the maritime heart of the archipelago and the start or finish harbour for many sailing holidays. The town is regarded as the cultural capital of Cape Verde – the singer Cesária Évora was born here, morna drifts from the bars in the evening, and the São Vicente carnival rivals its Brazilian cousin. From the water, Monte Cara and the island’s bare slopes frame the harbour. São Vicente itself is arid and wind-scoured, yet Mindelo, with its colonial façades, its fish market and its sailing scene, is the liveliest place in the islands.

Santo Antão and São Nicolau – green mountains in the trade wind

Only a short leg north-west of São Vicente, Santo Antão rises almost vertically from the Atlantic. The second largest island of Cape Verde is its greenest corner: in the Paúl valley, terraced fields of sugar cane, mango and coffee tumble down to the sea, while the jagged ridges stand in the trade wind. São Nicolau continues this mountain world – dragon trees grow around Monte Gordo, and the old main town of Ribeira Brava shelters in a narrow gorge. Both islands show the other face of Cape Verde, far from desert and beach.

Sal, Boa Vista and Maio – dunes, salt and Atlantic beaches

To the east, Cape Verde flattens into desert islands. Through the harbour of Palmeira you reach Sal with the salt crater of Pedra de Lume, where you float in the brine of an old volcanic caldera. Boa Vista lives up to its name: the pale dunes of the Viana desert, endless beaches and, in summer, the nesting of the loggerhead turtle. Quiet Maio, barely visited, strings salt pans between palm-fringed bays. Off these islands the Atlantic shows its turquoise, shallow face – ideal for anchoring and swimming.

Santiago and Fogo – Creole roots and volcanic fire

In the south, the Sotavento group, lies Santiago with the capital Praia. Cidade Velha holds the oldest European town in the tropics, with its fortress and the ruin of the oldest colonial church – a UNESCO World Heritage site and the cradle of Creole culture. Opposite, Fogo rises straight from the sea, all volcano: Pico do Fogo climbs to 2,829 metres, and in the caldera of Chã das Caldeiras vines ripen on black lava soil into a wine all of its own. Nowhere else in Cape Verde brings the volcanic origin of the archipelago so vividly before your eyes.

Which ship for Cape Verde?

In the steady trade wind of Cape Verde, ivent-sailing offers three very different ships – from the classic tall ship to the private luxury sailing yacht. We organise and book every voyage for you:

• Sailing cruise aboard a tall ship (Oosterschelde) – a classic three-masted topsail schooner on which you work between the islands under full canvas in the trade wind.
• Luxury sailing yacht with private-yacht feeling (Chronos) – an elegant large yacht for up to 24 guests with a crew of ten, captain and chef, mooring off quiet anchorages and offering personal service of the highest order.
• Boutique cruise (Le Ponant) – an intimate ship of French elegance and fine cuisine for those who wish to combine comfort with a sense of space.

So the trade-wind sailor who does not (yet) wish to charter the large yacht finds the right ship in the same waters – and so does anyone who wants to travel entirely privately under sail.