It was a Sailing Tour of the Algarve that left a mark and that, as soon as it was over, was missed. A total of 21 boats and around 120 sailors competed in the race that ended on Saturday, July 22nd, and it was «a success».
The Volta ao Algarve started in Lagos, but also passed through Sagres, Albufeira or Faro.
In the end, there were three winners: Paulo Marta, from the Ginásio Naval de Olhão, with the boat “Miss Joana”, in the Platu 25 category, Rui Raimundo, from the Clube de Vela de Lagos, aboard the “Yellow Bird”, in NHC, and Sebastian Keeping, from the Clube Internacional da Marina de Vilamoura, with the boat “Leonardo”, in ORC.
This year, there were no foreign crews, but that did not affect the «quality of this Volta ao Algarve à Vela».
To João Marques, president of the Clube Naval de Faro, organizer of the race, the balance is «really very positive».
«I think it was a Tour that marked and everyone already missed it so they could participate in the next one», he said, in an interview with Sul Informação.
According to the person in charge, there was a «great spirit of camaraderie», throughout the race.
«That was noticed in the award ceremony in the final regatta. Everyone was satisfied », he exemplified.
This year, the Volta ao Algarve à Vela also had a great help… the wind.
«We were presented with what is most important in this sport. If there is wind, as it happened, there is a good regatta. If not, the regattas become a little more boring», explained João Marques.
This year, there was also a novelty: the possibility to follow the race online, live, through a website.
«It was a modern factor that brought another competitiveness, allowing people, lovers of sailing, to follow the Tour again. I think it was interesting to be able to check the name of each vessel and the speed at which they go», considered this official.
This is a race that also involves «immense logistics».
«We are in the summer period, when the marinas are practically full, so there was a great favor here from the Marinas of Lagos, Albufeira and the recreational port of Olhão so that we could pack the boats», said João Marques.
«This was a Tour that gained a lot compared to the previous one, mainly because, on land, everything was very well organized and because there was a great spirit of satisfaction. You could see, at the end of each stage, that there was great satisfaction", he added.
For the year, the idea is to continue to «reinforce this, which is the biggest regional sailing event».
«What we want is to maintain the quality standards and reinforce what are then the initiatives, making the Tour more appealing», he concluded.
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