12 ports in 11 countries and over 10,000 nautical miles. In 2022, a great bunch of tall ships from Latin America will once again meet to sail around the southern part of the continent together. We know the route of Velas Latinoamerica 2022.

Krzysztof Romański, December 7, 2021

 

This is the fourth edition of the world’s largest cyclical tall ship event. The first edition took place in 2010 under the name Velas Sudamerica. The success of the event encouraged the organizers – the navies of Latin American countries – to repeat it at 4-year intervals. Since 2014 the festival has been called Velas Latinoamerica.

 

For some time, it seemed that the coronavirus pandemic might hinder the event. The scenario of moving Velas Latinoamerica to 2023 was seriously considered, but the current situation in the region is stable enough, so it was decided to run the event on the original schedule. Compared to the 2018 edition, however, the number of ports and its duration have been reduced. During the tall ship gatherings in different cities, you will of course have to take into account the restrictions resulting from local regulations regarding the COVID-19 virus.

The vessels will meet in Rio de Janeiro, as usual. This time they will call there in February (February 13-2022), and not in March as it was 3 years, to avoid sailing in the far south in stormy winter waters. The stopover in Brazil will be particularly solemn as the country celebrates its 200th anniversary of independence in 2022. This is why the honor (but also the duty) of coordinating Velas Latinoamerica 2022 has been entrusted to the Brazilian Navy.

 

 

From the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain, the fleet will head south to Uruguay (Montevideo) and Argentina. This time, however, it will not stop in Buenos Aires, but at the Argentine Naval Base in the port of Mar del Plata. The end of March 2022 the Velas Latinoamerica participants will spend in the Chilean Punta Arenas, surrounded by the waters of the Strait of Magellan, which in 2020 celebrated the 500th anniversary of its discovery. The tall ships will not attempt to sail around the stormy Cape Horn, but will immediately head to the Pacific via the Beagle Channel. On the western side of the continent, they will visit Valparaiso in Chile, Callao in Peru and Guayaquil in Ecuador. Before crossing the Panama Canal, the fleet will stop at Balboa, Panama, and then carry on to visit Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Willemstad in Curacao. This Caribbean-Dutch port in the previous edition proved itself a great host, organizing a number of accompanying events (see our coverage here). The final of the entire series is scheduled for June 23-28, 2022 in Veracruz, Mexico.

 

Which tall ships will participate in Velas Latinoamerica 2022?

Almost all school tall ships of the navies of the American countries will take part in the event, as they wont to do. The following vessels have already confirmed their participation: Cisne Branco from Brazil, Cuauhtemoc from Mexico, Capitan Miranda from Uruguay, Libertad from Argentina, the largest sailing ship in America – the Peruvian barque Union, the Colombian Gloria (read our report from the cruise on the Gloria during the previous edition of Velas Latinoamerica – here), Ecuadorian Guayas and Simon Bolivar from Venezuela. A novelty is to be the participation of Juan B. Cambiaso from the Dominican Republic. The Chilean Esmeralda, which is awaiting renovation, will be the great absentee of next year’s Velas.

 

Below is the full list of ports where the rallies are planned:

 

1. RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) / February 13-20, 2022
2. MONTEVIDEO (Uruguay) / 3-6.03.2022
3. MAR DEL PLATA (Argentina) / March 9-15, 2022
4. PUNTA ARENAS (Chile) / March 25-28, 2022
5. VALPARAISO (Chile) / April 7-13, 2022
6. CALLAO (Peru) / April 22-27, 2022
7. GUAYAQUIL (Ecuador) / May 3-6, 2022
8. BALBOA (Panama) / May 13-16, 2022
9. CARTAGENA DE INDIAS (Colombia) / May 19-26, 2022
10. SANTO DOMINGO (Dominican Republic) / May 31 – June 4, 2022
11. WILLEMSTAD (Curacao) / June 7-12, 2022
12. VERA CRUZ (Mexico) / June 23-28, 2022

 

The event, which in the tall ship world is perceived as the event of the year, will of course be reported on our pages, as it was in 2018. Check out our coverages i.e. from Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

 

Krzysztof Romański

12/7/2021

Header photo: Armada de Chile