Podcast Maré Sonora ® · video

What this video covers

Cristian Yanzer, a commercial pilot from Vila Farrapos, Porto Alegre, built a Miller 315 with a retractable keel — named Viking — specifically to navigate the shallow waters of the Rio Guaíba and Lagoa dos Patos, where average depths run 2.20 meters and 6 meters respectively.17:15 Using Navionics' Sonar Charts feature, he has systematically recorded bathymetric data across more than 150 small rivers and channels in the region, uploading sonar readings to update the app's nautical charts.22:38 A circumnavigating Italian-flagged catamaran used his bathymetry to navigate the complex Canal da Feitoria and anchor at Farol Cristóvão Pereira — a passage the crew said they would not have attempted without his data.27:32 Yanzer also founded Velejadores Solidários, which began as a community outreach effort donating old Optimist dinghies to NGOs in underserved riverside communities; the group grew to organize the Velejar Solidário event, assembling 240 vessels — roughly 210 of them sailboats — on the Guaíba.9:07 During the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods, the group coordinated rescue operations across Porto Alegre's northern districts, deploying boats donated by clubs and private individuals.45:37 Separately, Yanzer located a Brazilian Air Force aircraft wreck submerged for 40 years using his sonar equipment, prompting a joint FAB-Marinha recovery operation.38:28

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