Portimão is about to become something no other city can claim: the permanent home of a training and development centre built specifically for adaptive and inclusive sailing. Run by the Portuguese association Vela Solidária at Marina de Portimão, the centre should start operating in November and be fully up and running from January 2027.
The timing is no accident. The Algarve city has just wrapped up the second World Sailing Inclusion Championships, which drew 222 sailors from 40 countries and featured athletes with physical, sensory and intellectual impairments, plus mixed crews of disabled and non-disabled sailors. World Sailing's CEO David Graham praised the event and said the championship concept will keep growing.
Vela Solidária president Luís Brito sees a clear opportunity. His pitch is aimed squarely at European sailors who have no way to train on the water in winter at home: Portimão offers the climate, the marina infrastructure and sailing conditions to sail every single day of the year. Agreements are already in place with organisations in Switzerland, Norway, France and Austria to send athletes to Portimão for winter training camps, and the centre plans to pursue World Sailing certification to meet international adaptive sailing standards.
There is more in the pipeline. Vela Solidária is working with several countries on a Winter Circuit — a series of regattas modelled on the structured off-season programmes common in Olympic sailing, designed to help Portuguese and international sailors prepare for big competitions. Portuguese RS Venture Connect European vice-champion Pedro Câncio Reis called the project "simply incredible" for what it means to home-grown sailors, who will get international-standard training without leaving the country.
The bigger backdrop: World Sailing formally submitted a proposal to the International Paralympic Committee in December 2025 to get Para Sailing reinstated for the Brisbane 2032 Games. Sailing was a Paralympic medal sport from Sydney 2000 through Rio 2016 but has been absent ever since, and a dedicated winter hub could play a real role in rebuilding the sport's competitive base.
Why should travellers care? Portimão is quietly positioning itself as a year-round sailing destination with accessibility baked in — a genuinely rare thing. If you sail, coach, or travel with someone who does, the Algarve now offers a winter option that simply didn't exist before. Even if you're not racing, it signals a marina town investing in inclusive water sports and international events, with a championship atmosphere likely to return regularly.
Credit: Portugal Resident
