Author: Rafael Bortoloti

By Rafael Bortoloti

One of the notable players of Brazilian offshore is Aleixo (born Alexey) Belov, for his work as an engineer. However, his relationship with the oceans doesn’t end there: the Ukrainian settled in Brazil has traveled five times around the world in a sailing boat.

He arrived in Salvador, Brazil, at the age of six, in 1949. He and his parents left Ukraine due to the Second World War. It didn’t take long for him to be called Aleixo, an easier name to be pronounced in Brazil. 

In conversation with WSB, he says that he fell in love with sailing at 16 years old, when he received diving  mask from a friend as a gift. He started playing with the object and soon became interested in oceans. In 1965, he decided to travel around the world in a sailing boat for the first time.

It took Aleixo 15 years to execute the plan, leaving Salvador on March 16, 1980. Belov was motivated to travel alone to avoid intrigues aboard the boat Três Marias.

“My first trip around the world was the shortest, because I didn’t have a lot of money and I was also afraid the boat could  run into problems. It  lasted 14 months and I  called  at 16 ports: Natal (Brazil), Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Panama, Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Tahiti, Rorotonga, New Caledonia, Torres Strait, Bali, Cape Town, New Zealand, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Salvador,” Belov said.

He landed back in Salvador on May 23, 1981 with relative fame and was received by  a few dozen people.  A short time after, Belov received from the Brazilian Navy the title of the “first Brazilian navigator to make a circumnavigation of the Earth alone.” Also in 81, he released his first of ten books: “A Volta ao Mundo em Solitário” ( Around the World Solo in free translation). Still that year, he founded the engineering company Belov Engenharia, one of our customers. 

Second and third trip around the world

With a better financial situation, Aleixo made his second trip around the world between March 15, 1986 and December 19, 1987. To be able to do it, he left the company in hibernation. This time, again alone in the Três Marias, the route passed through 47 ports. Until Bali, the route was the same. He then ventured into places like Sri Lanka, India, South Yemen, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and Cyprus.

“I intended to leave India and  sail to Ukraine, my home country, but I was denied entry by authorities. At least it was good to get to know Russia. On this trip, I couldn’t miss  visiting French Polynesia, my favorite place in the world”, revealed Belov.

Back in Brazil, Belov divided himself between work and a trilogy of books that told of his second trip around the world: “Em busca do Oriente” (1989), “Em busca das Raízes” (1989) e “A caminho de casa” (1990),  “In Search of the East”, “In Search of Roots” and  “On my way home”. 

Again, Aleixo took about ten years to  sail for  his third journey. This was between September 23, 2000 and March 2, 2002. Once again, he went alone aboard Três Marias. However,  he met his children  that were traveling by plane in some of the stopover cities.

Bye, Três Marias; Welcome, Fraternidade

After, as always, he wrote another book, the fifth of his life published  in 2003: “Terceira Volta ao Mundo do Veleiro Três Marias” (Third World Tour of the “Três Marias”, in free translation). 

 The Três Marias became obsolete so he built the Fraternidade as a sailing school  boat and opened expeditions to young people who were interested in the journey. Belov announced that he was looking for people interested in learning navigation and with the courage to travel around the world. There were hundreds of registrations, with dozens selected. 

“I paid for everything, including the plane tickets for them to return from where they stayed. The Fraternity  weighs 80 tons and I  selected the students who didn’t know how to sail and were eager to learn. The trip was between January 16, 2010 and October 22, 2011”, says Belov.

In 2012, he received the title of Knight of the Order of Naval Merit and published his sixth book: “4ª Volta ao Mundo: a Bordo do Veleiro Escola Fraternidade (2012)’,  ( Fourth Tour of the World: On board the  Fraternity school sailboat in free translation). Excited, he made his fifth expedition, the second with students  on the Fraternidade,  between December 3, 2016 and August 4, 2018. On this trip, he left Salvador and  headed to Alaska, passing through the Caribbean and Hawaii.

As expected, he returned and recorded everything in three books: “O Veleiro Escola Fraternidade na Antártica” (2014), “Alaska: muito além da linha do horizonte” (2019) and “Minhas viagens com outros comandantes” (2021). (In free translation  “The Sailboat School Fraternity in Antarctica”, “Alaska: far beyond the horizon” and “My trips with other commanders” . 

Ten books… and more to come

Between February 5 and November 12, 2022, Belov, even  at 79 years of age, ventured out and made the Northwest Passage, considered one of the most difficult routes in the world,  accross North America.

“It was the most difficult trip I’ve ever made. I took a lot of food because there was a risk of the sailboat getting stuck in the glaciers. I was afraid of dying but luckily everything worked out.”

In the same year, he released his tenth book: “Passagem Noroeste 2022” (Northwest Passage 2022). Still active, he is writing his 11th book that could be divided into a new trilogy. In this work, Belov will detail his life stories. 

Other projects: engineering and museum

While writing about his life, Aleixo Belov still runs Belov Engenharia, a company that manufactures modules for FPSOs, builds ports for large ships among other port engineering services, underwater and offshore support services in Brazil.

Aleixo Belov developed a technique that allows concrete to be made at  sea with the same quality as that made on land. The company currently has around 1.600 employees, including divers who support oil and gas vessels. 

He is also the owner of the Aleixo Belov Sea Museum. Opened in 2021, the place has free entry on Wednesdays and collects the businessman’s personal items  including the Três Marias and Fraternidade boats. 

“During all these years, I always had my passport update and got a Visa when I disembarked at each port of call. According to the International Maritime Law, you can stay up to three days in the place, but there are places that will even  allow you to stay without a Visa. You have to do a lot of research before going traveling… I spent 12 million Reais to build the museum, which is located in Salvador, Bahia state and has three floors. I spend an average of R$ 100.000 per month to  maintain i, but, unfortunately, one day I will run out of money”, he says.