Escola de Vela da Lagoa

Who they are

The Escola de Vela da Lagoa is a sailing school on the north shore of the Óbidos lagoon, in Nadadouro, at Rua Engenheiro Luís Paiva e Sousa 105. According to its website, it has been teaching sailing and water sports on the lagoon for more than 27 years. It does not give the names of those in charge or the exact year of its founding.

The Óbidos lagoon is a large lagoon open to the Atlantic beside the beach at Foz do Arelho, with calm, largely shallow water, which makes it a comfortable place to learn. The school also has a restaurant beside the base.

What it teaches and hires

It works in seven disciplines: kitesurfing, windsurfing, wingfoiling, catamaran, light sailing in Optimists, stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) and canoeing. For each there are lessons and equipment hire, with their own prices on the website. Lessons can be private, with an instructor just for you, or semi-private, sharing the instructor and equipment. The equipment is by the RRD brand, with which it collaborates.

According to the school itself, its instructors are experienced and trained with the FPV, the Portuguese Sailing Federation, and with the IKO, the international kitesurfing organisation. The website does not say that the school is affiliated as such to the federation.

What is included

In SUP lessons, the price includes instructor, life jacket and activity insurance; in hire, only the life jacket. In group activities it also includes a wetsuit and the use of changing rooms with showers. For the other disciplines, see the price page for each or ask.

Groups

It organises activities for birthdays, companies, hen and stag parties and schools. Canoeing and SUP work for groups of up to about 50 people, usually in the morning from 9:00, when there is less wind. There are also mixed canoe and sailing packages, and catamaran or windsurfing ones, and they can add lunch at the restaurant. Each programme is defined and quoted beforehand. For groups, canoeing and SUP are the simplest option for anyone who has never sailed; sailing and windsurfing take a little more time to get the hang of, and the school presents them as learn-by-doing activities.

What it does not publish

The website does not state a minimum age, children's camps, opening hours or season, nor does it have cancellation or bad-weather terms for the activities: its terms only cover use of the website. Before booking, especially with children or for kitesurfing, ask what age and level they require and what happens if the wind does not cooperate.

Booking and languages

You book by direct contact: email ([email protected]), phone (+351 262 978 592) or WhatsApp (+351 962 568 005). The website is in Portuguese, English and French. The prices of what we list are in the offers on this page.