Sailing Passion Meets

Sailing Passion Meets Ocean Purpose in Portugal

WORDS: BETH WILSON AND TINA ATKINSON

hose who know us well might expect this to be a tale of long lunches on the water near sailboats, but it’s really much more than that. While our “essential travel” was focused on retirement plans, our larger mission was finding a sailing community and lifestyle similar to what we have enjoyed in Hong Kong for so many years.

Our journey logically took us to Cascais; home of the prestigious Clube Naval de Cascais. Founded in 1938 and just 20 minutes from Lisbon, the Clube boasts a strong sailing programme with everything from multiple one-design classes (including SB20, Dragon, Snipe, Moth, Optimist, Laser, 420, Hobie Cat and Sprinto classes) to big boat sailing. Located directly on the water in the centre of Cascais, the Clube is a fantastic venue for youth sailing, and its commitment to it is evidenced by its robust fleet. They also have a programme for disabled sailors and are highly focused on sustainability and ocean

conservation. The only thing we found missing was a grand clubhouse.

Beth had previously discovered a beautiful heritage property in Cascais overlooking Clube Naval de Cascais that she saw potential to be an in-town club house, much in the vein of the Harbour Court in Newport or Royal Thames in London. By then, through sheer enthusiasm to the cause and a mutual friend, Beth secured an introduction to Dr. Paulo Mirpuri, President and founder of Mirpuri Foundtion. A businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, licensed commercial pilot, medical doctor, published author and accomplished yachtsman, Paulo’s values are embodied in the six pillars of his family foundation.

Followers of the last Volvo Ocean Race will remember his Turn the Tide on Plastic, skippered by Dee Cafferie and boasting a fifty-fifty male/female crew. This year, his new VO65-1 is called Racing for the Planet, and its mission is to put climate change on the global agenda.

During our first meeting, we discussed a wideranging field of topics starting with the sailing programme at the Clube Naval de Cascais and leading on to the work of the foundation. As we learned more about Mirpuri Foundation, we started to see the parallels to our sustainability goals at RHKYC and Tina’s work at Shared Value Project Hong Kong. Just as the RHKYC has committed to environmental practices such as serving only sustainable seafood and working towards plastic free oceans, we found the Mirpuri foundation has embodied a similar list of initiatives on a much greater scale whilst using sailing as a platform to create global awareness of them. Paulo invited us to sail on Racing for Planet the following weekend, and Beth was delighted to join the team for a wet and windy morning on the water.

The next day, Paulo and his wife Luiza visited the property overlooking the club and explored its many rooms and possibilities. One of the highlights was discovering the Caravel pointing out towards the Atlantic over Clube Naval.

The day after, we met with Gonçalo Esteves, President of Clube Naval, who is also a member of RHKYC himself and has been a frequent visitor to Hong Kong over the years. He gave us a tour of their waterfront facility, and we learned of plans in the works to expand the clubhouse with the addition of a pool and a bar (dashing our hopes of developing the heritage property, but promising nonetheless). We were also extended the opportunity to apply for membership, and we were delighted to learn that Clube Naval is already a reciprocal facility of RHKYC as well as a host of other prestigious clubs.

The following Friday, we were honored to be invited to visit Paulo’s wife Luiza (also a medical doctor and Foundation Director) for tea at the Mirpuri’s beautiful home in Lisbon. Luiza, who is also a medical doctor and heads the Medical Research arm of the Foundation, told us of her current studies on the connection between nutrition, wellness and performance and her role as wellness coach for the Ocean Race team.

We left Lisbon excited about our new friendships and grateful to have been welcomed so warmly into the sailing community. We were truly impressed with and inspired by the work of the foundation and its campaign to bring awareness to climate change and ocean conservation through racing. We are looking forward to getting involved on a deeper level, meeting more members of the local sailing community and expanding our sailing horizons.