After looking at the pass into Tibau do Sul, the lagoon north of Pipa, at low tide, we decided it would be a bit too much for our 9 foot draft. The pass is just to the outside of the rocky point, not more than about two boats in width. At low tide there looked to be about a foot in the shallowest point, meaning we would need at least an eight foot tide, which will not be for another two weeks, and even that would be a pretty dicey entrance.

There were two boats anchored in the lagoon with who had been led in by a local fisherman. They said that the pass should be no problem for boats with up to a 6 foot draft and would help put us in touch with a fisherman to help us in. The conditions are idyllic within the lagoon - extremely protected with a few small beach bar/restaurants, a great area for kayaking and windsurfing/kitesurfing, a nice beach to run on and only a five minute bus ride into Pipa for some fun nightlife. It is most definitely an undiscovered gem. It's not one for the timid, but I think would be well worth the effort.

Not being able to explore some of the shallower places that we might have liked to is the one big drawback of a deep keeled boat, but it makes up for it when in big seas and when sailing on the wind. I feel infinitely safer knowing we have almost 12,000 pounds keeping us upright.