Lagos Sailing Club wins Liga Vela Portugal - Lusiadas Saude
by António Barros 23 Sep 2020 06:18 BST
18-20 September 2020
Liga Vela Portugal - Lusiadas Saude © neuza aires pereira / BBDouro
The Sailing Club of Lagos was the big winner of the Liga Vela Portugal - Lusiadas Saude, played this weekend on the Douro River, next to the banks of Gaia and Porto, qualifying for the Sailing Champions League.
The main regatta between clubs that takes place in Portugal had 11 crews on the water, a total of 44 sailors, who over the course of two days held 18 races.
The four best ranked teams competed on Sunday in the final, with the winner to be found at the end of four more races.
The new champions are the sailors of the Clube de Vela de Lagos, with the ex-420 world champion and one of the best national sailors - Martinho Fortunato - at the helm, with his sons Marta and Martinho Fortunato and Frederico Batista as crew.
The team was very consistent and regular throughout all the races and, in the final, won the two races that allowed to win.
"My crew behaved exceptionally on board, which made my task as a rudder easier. It was great to share the same boat together and it also helped them, who are very young, to understand how to manage the pressure on board. So it was learning, it was a weekend with the family on the crew and we still won. It was fantastic", said Martinho Fortunato.
Sport Algés de Dafundo finished in second place, led by the Olympic hope that is trying to reach the qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games in the Laser class, Carolina João. The third position went to Clube do Vela do Barreiro.
Along with these crews, teams of reference sailors from Club Naval de Cascais, Club de Vela Atlântico, Yate Club do Porto, Sport Club do Porto, Sport Algés and Dafundo, Associação Náutica da Madeira, Club do Vela do Barreiro, Club de Sailing from Viana do Castelo, Club do Vela do Sado and We Do Sailing.