Youngsters living on the Ria Formosa island of Culatra soon will have a sailing school, courtesy of Faro council.
The Ginásio Clube Naval in Faro, the Culatra island residents’ association and the council are signing an agreement on Wednesday to enable this project to go ahead.
The development will encourage young sailors in their enjoyment of the sport but also, perhaps more importantly, teach them how to navigate the tricky Ria Formosa lagoon area and the open sea to the south.
The Culatra residents' association will be in charge of storing the equipment, as well as a providing a room for training and administrative support.
One seasoned sailor, born and bred on the island and who attended a similar sailing course to develop his skills, commented that there he had thought he knew all there was to know about safety issues on the water, but in fact learned protocols and techniques that later had kept him out of trouble.
Other good news for the island includes the recent refurbishment of the harbour entrance pontoon which now has been fixed as it had become increasingly dangerous and was long overdue for maintenance.
Ana Paula Vitorino, Minister of the Sea, visited the Ria Formosa island in July and work on the pontoon started at the end of August, taking just a week to complete.
In June, two further projects were announced by Vitorino - the construction of a new floating pontoon and the building of a raised walkway.
Now that islanders' homes no longer are slated for demolition, (here) life is looking alltogether more positive.
