Brisa Elegante: The Sail Cruiser in Marina Pez Vela

February 7, 2022

Fun Facts

Brisa Elegante has now been sailing in Quepos’ waters for some three months. Many of our readers have seen her cruising along the beach of Manuel Antonio, or lying at anchor in the bay off Playa Tulemar. Her silhouette with her solid hull, her two masts, and sleek bowsprit, together with the sails, are making her distinctive. She is a Gulet and built in Turkey in a traditional shipyard in Fethiye. Ships have been built there for more than 2000 years, so it is safe to say that the ship carpenters over there know their trade.

Did you know that Brisa Elegante is larger than Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria? With 100ft in length, Brisa Elegante exceeds Santa Maria by 40ft, and with a beam of 22ft, she is 4 ft wider than Santa Maria. Just imagine crossing an ocean to an unknown destination on a vessel of this size! One has to appreciate the courage and bravery of the sailors these days. By the way: if you find a new continent on your cruise with Brisa Elegante, please let us know. We will feature this in one of our future editions of Quepolandia.

Brisa Elegante has a good spirit who is protecting the vessel. Her name is Raquel, and you can find her under the bowsprit. She is the figurehead of our cruiser, and always observing our course and protecting us from harm and misfortune. Raquel is carved out of one solid piece of wood and a piece of art. Make sure you don’t miss her when sailing on Brisa Elegante.

The cruise on Brisa Elegante takes you along rocky island off Manuel Antonio and the National Park. Observe the birds sitting on the islands and escorting us on our cruise. Especially the Brown Boobies are very curious and fly around the bowsprit. Quite often, dolphins can be seen playing under the bowsprit. It seems that they are observing us on the vessel. When surfacing, they have fun spraying water at us through their blowhole. We are sure that we have seen them smiling at us!

A really cool thing is the water toys on board! Next to the snorkeling gear, there are stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, surfboards, and a floating mattress. Snorkel to the reefs nearby our anchor spot, and observe the thousands of colorful reef fishes, octopuses, and lobster. Test your skills on the paddleboard, it is more challenging than it appears. Float on the water mattress and enjoy a Mojito or two. These are the moments where you feel that you really are on vacation!