Circuito Paulista de Maratonas Aquáticas — Ilhabela (novembro)

In the island municipality of Ilhabela, open water swimmers plunge straight into the sea from Praia do Perequê. The November edition of the Circuito Paulista de Maratonas Aquáticas unfolds across these subtropical waters on the northern coast of São Paulo state in Brazil. The gathering forms part of the Circuito Paulista de Águas Abertas, recognized as one of the premier open water swimming championships in the state of São Paulo. The competition is staged by the Associação Aquática with the institutional backing of the Federação Aquática Paulista and the Ilhabela municipal government. On the shoreline and out on the safety boats, the technical direction has been steered by Igor de Souza, a former world champion and inductee of the World Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame who has served as the circuit's general referee during its stops in Ilhabela.

Over the years, the circuit's stops across the archipelago have delivered courses structured for every category and stamina level. Past editions have laid out sprint sprints of 400 meters and 900 meters alongside middle and long-distance courses over 1 kilometer, 2 kilometers, and 4 kilometers, in addition to team relay formats. The broad sweep of the bay gives organizers ample room to position navigational buoys, allowing athletes to settle into a rhythm away from the breakers.

The São Sebastião Channel and Ilhabela's shipwrecks

Ilhabela is a rare marine archipelago municipality anchored by the massive island of São Sebastião, surrounded by 19 islands, islets, and ocean slabs including Búzios and Vitória. The waters of the archipelago have long carried a reputation for being demanding, battered by rough seas, powerful currents, and sudden submerged rocks. Yet this treacherous maritime topography has not created a hazard for beachgoers, as the race zone at Perequê enjoys gentle swells between half a meter and one meter. Over fifty historic ships met their fate across these rocky headlands and hidden reefs over the centuries. Today, six of these historic wrecks lie at depths accessible to recreational scuba divers, giving visiting swimmers the chance to pair their weekend race with an expedition into maritime archaeology.

From sambaqui shell mounds to the sugar mills of Feiticeira

Human connection to these waters runs far deeper than colonial trade routes. Indigenous sambaqui shell-mound peoples lived in the archipelago for at least two thousand years before the arrival of Portuguese navigators. On January 20, 1502, an expedition that included Italian cosmographer Amerigo Vespucci made the first documented European landing on the island. As European settlement expanded, the maritime economy exploited the island's coastal geography, leading to the construction of the Captaincy of São Paulo's first whaling station at Ponta das Canavieiras in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Engenho São Mathias is located about nine kilometers from the race area. The estate preserves an elegant colonial-style manor house connected directly to the historic millworks, complete with its water wheel, distillery, and aging vats.

Ilhabela State Park: Atlantic rainforest, waterfalls and reef life

What gives Ilhabela its atmosphere is the sheer scale of its wilderness. Established in 1977, Ilhabela State Park encompasses 27,025 hectares, protecting 84.3 percent of the entire municipality across twelve islands, two islets, and two offshore reefs. Along the island's coastal fringes, meandering rivers snake across flat plains and nourish mangrove systems that offer essential shelter and foraging grounds for migratory birds.

Praia do Perequê: promenade, capybaras and fresh catch

Back on the race course, Praia do Perequê provides an inviting and reliable aquatic arena. Stretching along 2,400 meters of shoreline, the beach features a consistent sandy seabed and gentle waves that generally roll in at half a meter to one meter, occasionally climbing to one and a half meters during lively tides. At the mouth of the Água Branca stream, fish still migrate inside to spawn. The tidal flow drives small fish and crabs into the stream mouth during high water before flushing them back into the channel as the tide drops. This tranquil estuarine environment creates unexpected wildlife encounters right along the edge of the swim zone. Otters, wild capybaras, and an assortment of coastal birds frequent the banks of the river, while a small freshwater waterfall trickles down the rocky left headland of the beach.

Natural rock formations and meandering stream mouths break the 2,400-meter strand into distinct sections, creating quieter pockets alongside livelier watersports sectors where equipment kiosks rent out kayaks, windsurfs, kitesurfing rigs, and stand-up paddleboards. Along the perimeter of the beach runs a paved waterfront promenade and bike path spanning the entire length of the sand, bustling with runners, cyclists, and families soaking up the sea breeze. After the final swim caps are pulled off, there is no better way to recover where you spent your morning swimming.