Porto and Gaia host Lusíadas Saúde Porto Sailing 2023
by Lusíadas Saúde Porto Sailing 15 Sep 2023 15:01 BST
XIII Regata Do Infante by Lusíadas Saúde © Neuza Aires Pereira / BBDouro
One of the main sailing events in the north of Portugal took place this past weekend: Lusíadas Saúde Porto Sailing.
The event, organized by Lusíadas Saúde in partnership with BBDouro, featured two important sailing regattas - the Women on Water Portugal and the 13th edition of the Regata do Infante - and several sailing trips from Lusíadas Saúde's "Todos a Bordo" program and the "Lusíadas Comunidade" project, for Lusiadas Employees and people with special needs or disabled.
Regata do Infante brings together 52 boats on the banks of the Douro
Lusíadas Saúde Porto Sailing 2023 also included in its program the traditional Regata do Infante, which is the largest regatta for bigger boats in the north of Portugal. The regatta was held in the waters of Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia and Matosinhos, arriving on the Douro River near the city center on the first leg, returning to Leixões Harbour on a second leg that departed from inside the river.
Among the 52 boats and around 300 sailors, victory in the ANR1 class went to Pedro Fernandes' "Le Petit Prince", in ANR2 Manuel Lopes' "Ojo Piojo" led the way, while Rui Ramada Barros aboard "Yess" won ANR3. Among the Platu boats, Filipe Pedrosa's "Cheers" came in first and, in the SportBoats, Bruno Albuquerque's "Jazz" finished in front.
In what is also the only regatta of its kind inclusive and accessible to all, the Lusíadas For All Boat was once again present, crewed by sailors from the "SIM, Somos Capazes" association, and took first place on the return leg to Leixões.
The team of Olympian Mariana Lobato wins the biggest women's sailing competition in Portugal
Women on Water Portugal, sponsored by Natixis in Portugal, is the only regatta with exclusively female crews in Portugal. The championship was held on the Douro River, in J70 class boats. There were seven crews on the water, with a total of 35 sailors, who sailed 23 races over two days. The four best-placed teams competed in the final on Sunday afternoon, with the winner to be found at the end of the third race.
The victory went to the "Team Cocomelon" crew, with Olympic sailor Mariana Lobato at the helm and Francisca Barros, Joana Azevedo, Carlota Gala and Maria Sánchez in the crew. In second place was the "Girls on Fire!" team, led by Margarida Aguiar, who won last year, while fellow Olympian Sara Carmo's team, the "SaltyBow", rounded off the podium.
A sustainable event
At the end of the event, Lusíadas Saúde Porto Sailing was certified by the Clean Regattas program, by the Sailors For the Sea association, with a "Gold" rating, having met 17 of the 20 evaluation standards.