The country’s first training and education centre for adaptive and inclusive sailing, one of just a handful in the world, will open at Portimão Marina in November and should be fully up and running from January 2027, the Vela Solidária association, the project’s promoter, has announced.
The centre will be “dedicated specifically to adaptive and inclusive sailors from around the world”, said Vela Solidária, believing Portimão to be “a diamond in the rough” that is waiting to be tapped.
“We will offer the world, and especially Europeans who cannot sail at home during the winter, the chance to come to Portimão and enjoy unique conditions: infrastructure, accessibility, sailing waters, and climate. Here, you can sail every day of the year. We will sell Portimão as the world epicentre of adaptive and inclusive sailing,” said Luís Brito, president of Vela Solidária.
The centre will undergo a certification process under the watchful eye of World Sailing, which will “guarantee the quality and compliance with every requirement of adaptive sailing”.
“Switzerland, Norway, France and Austria are among the countries that have already signed agreements with Vela Solidária to send athletes to Portimão for winter training camps,” the association added.
Portuguese sailors will also benefit from what the association calls “a powerful lever for performance and improved results”, without having to travel far to train with international crews.
“This project is simply incredible. The fact that it is the only one of its kind in the world makes Portugal and Portimão undisputed benchmarks in adaptive sailing. It shows our worth, which goes far beyond the competitive side. For me and for all Portuguese sailors, it’s going to be very good,” said Pedro Câncio Reis, one of Portugal’s most decorated sailors and currently European runner-up in the RS Venture Connect class, alongside Teodoro Cândido.
Alongside the centre, Vela Solidária is developing a “Winter Circuit” with several countries: a series of regattas designed to prepare Portuguese and international sailors for major competitions.
“It is similar to what is done in the Olympic-class programme for adaptive sailing, which we hope will return to the Paralympic Games at Brisbane 2032,” said Brito.
Adaptive sailing was part of the Paralympic programme from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016, but was dropped from Tokyo 2020 onwards for failing to meet the criteria for worldwide reach.
The pioneering centre will begin to take shape as soon as the World Sailing Inclusion Championships end. Billed as the biggest adaptive and inclusive sailing event ever held, it runs until Saturday at Portimão Marina. The championships are organised by World Sailing and Vela Solidária, with the Portuguese Sailing Federation and Portimão Town Council as partners.
Source: Sul Informação
Photo credit: World Sailing
