Hippocampus Edição 37

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A NOTABLE LEGACY
More than the outgoing Commodore and
the new Commodore, Miguel Horta e
Costa and José Sotto Mayor Matoso are
two remarkable figures of the CNC, and
determinant for the successes and progress
that the club has registered since 2000, and
especially in the last fifteen years. From
being “only” one of the most prestigious
Portuguese sailing clubs, to becoming one
of the most relevant of its kind worldwide.
It is important to remember some of his
most important achievements, namely his
ability to organise a calendar of events that
includes, on a recurring basis, some of the
most important and recognised sailing events
in the world. Everything will start with the
Quebramar/Chrysler Trophy, nowadays
known as Cascais Vela, and recognised as
the most important national sailing event. It
is also important to mention the ISAF2007
championship for the Olympic classes,
as well as the 2011 America’s Cup Series
- events which were also held in Cascais
waters thanks to the contribution made by
another unavoidable name of Clube Naval
de Cascais , Patrick Monteiro de Barros, its
Honorary Commodore.
Also worthy of mention are the seven times
the CNC has hosted the TP52 circuit (two
of them as Rolex 52 Super Series World
Championship); the recurring visit of the
RC44 World Cup since 2011; and the
organisation of other world events, such as
the Panerai Transat Classique, the IMOCA
or the Mod70, just to mention some of the
most significant initiatives in this field. Not
less important is the fact that the CNC, and
its staff, were responsible for the offshore
organisation of the two Volvo Ocean Race
tours in Portuguese waters, despite the fact
that the regatta was based in Lisbon in
2012 and 2015.
Last but not least, two notes. One for the
impressive CNC calendar dedicated to two
of its most important classes, Dragon and
SB20, protagonists of several international
championships (including European
and global), as well as the already famous
Winter Series. The other, for the success
achieved by the CNCascais and its sailors
on an international level, which allowed the
club’s flag to be raised high thanks to the
various European and World titles obtained,
not forgetting the regular presence at the
Olympic Games.
More recently, the CNC was also closely
involved in the last edition of VOR, with
the campaign carried out by the Mirpuri
Foundation, with Turn the Tide on Plastic,
giving the club the honour of having three
members in its team, one of them Paulo
Mirpuri himself. As if that were not enough,
in the next edition of the circumnavigation
race, the campaign will be even more closely
linked to the CNC: not only is the new boat,
Racing for the Planet, housed by the CNC
since October 2019, but the onshore base
of the team is the CNC itself.
But the success of the partnership between
the Mirpuri Foundation and Clube Naval de
Cascais is not limited to this project. This
year, both institutions had the audacity and
talent to innovate, not only in Portugal but
globally, since the first edition of the Mirpuri
Foundation Sailing Trophy was, “only” the
first sailing event in the world held after the
beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic - and
totally safe in this regard. The decision to
go ahead was taken just four days before the
compulsory confinement in Portugal, and
the course of the event demonstrated to the
world the pioneering spirit of carrying out an
offshore regatta in the new conditions, and
respecting the new demands, imposed by the
pandemic - perhaps its greatest achievement
being to have no less than sixty boats lined
up for the start.
And what about the development registered
by the Sailing School of the CNC, of
which the Mirpuri Foundation has been
the main sponsor for the last twelve years?
Every year, around one thousand children
and young people take part in the courses
held throughout the year, a source of great
pride for the CNC, and the same applies
to the “Sailing Without Limits” project,
which is only possible thanks to a remarkable
organisation and the dedicated volunteers
that are part of it.
PERMANENT
INTERNATIONALISATION
The field in which the CNC has made
much progress in the last twelve years is
that of internationalisation. Twenty-three
reciprocity agreements have been signed
over that period (notably with some of its
most prestigious counterparts worldwide);
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