The Clube Naval do Funchal (CNF), by statute, is a sports, recreational and educational association, whose main objective is to develop among its members a taste for the practice of sports, especially nautical, and to provide its visitors with access to the activities that the Club develops.
Headquarters – Quinta Calaça
The CNF was founded on May 1, 1952 and throughout its half century of existence, it has played a very important role in encouraging and supporting nautical sports, both at a regional and national level, including athletes representing them in international level competitions. and Olympic in the national representations in Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992 and most recently, Beijing in 2008.
The activity of the CNF began with a provisional headquarters in the Captaincy of the Port of Funchal, then progressing with the construction of a nautical station in São Lázaro, then consisting of a shed and a small pier on wooden pontoons.
For the headquarters, Quinta Calaça was chosen and leased, a mile west of São Lázaro, in the bay that gave the Quinta its name, followed by the construction of two docks and a small swimming pool in Calaça.
The provisional services of the Club’s secretary, after the installation commission phase, were transferred to the office of the Empresa Baleeira da Madeira, on Avenida do Mar (Captaincy side) moving, finally, to the Naval facilities, in Quinta Calaça, and later to the Posto Náutico de S. Lázaro, where he remained until November 2000.
However, one of Naval’s first initiatives was the training of personnel who were adept at nautical tasks, advanced courses for amateurs, beginners, sailors and coast bosses and, one year after its foundation, the CNF already had several associates qualified to command pleasure craft “within the limits of the Madeira Archipelago”.
However, it can be said that it was the realization of the 1st Lisbon – Madeira Ocean Regatta, held in July 1950, that was the main reason for the emergence, in May 1952, of the Clube Naval do Funchal.
In the 1950s, right after the War, the trend towards the sea increased among Madeiran sportspeople.
There was swimming in the public swimming pools of Lido and Barreirinha, already in a competitive spirit, and water polo games, in addition to crossings Cais do Funchal – Lazareto and others inside the jetty of the bridge (read Funchal port).
In 1954, the II Ocean Regatta Lisbon – Madeira took place, already with Naval do Funchal, being part of the organization and, once again, the “Albatroz” was the first yacht to arrive in Madeira, in the finish line then installed in Santa Cross.
However, it should be remembered that these oceanic regattas, have the final classification established with “allowances”, after correction of times, the winner of the I Regatta Lisbon – Madeira (1950) was the yacht “Ribamar”, while in the Second (1954) in time corrected the winner was “Zeevalk”.
However, the sailors from Naval do Funchal “took their revenge” with the small Madeiran yacht “Bravo”, winner in corrected time of the III Regata Lisboa – Madeira, disputed in 1967, penultimate of these races. The fourth and last edition takes place in 2002, when the club celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, with the Azzurra yacht breaking the crossing record and the CNF yacht Ya Man by Nuno Rodrigues winning in corrected time.
On the 27th of September 1952, the 1st Madeira Spearfishing Contest, organized by the CNF, took place in Paul do Mar. It was won by João Borges and the fish captured was given to needy families in the locality. The 15 competitors caught 160 kg of fish. Madeira was one of the first places in Portugal and Europe to hold spearfishing competitions.
In August 1956, Commander Jacques-Yves Costeau, at the invitation of the CNF, gave a conference in which he addressed the undersea world and the oceans (he was in Madeira aboard his research vessel “Calypso”) The following month, on the
10th on September 15, 1956, founding partner Dr. António Ribeiro was part of the Portuguese team that participated for the 1st time in an international fishing contest, which took place in Nova Scotia (Canada).
The following year, in September 1967, the Club applied to organize the World Spearfishing Championship, an initiative that did not materialize with a last-minute change to Cuba.
In June 1969, the CNF organizes the 1st Amateur Diving Course with the participation of 40 people, directed by Eng. João Caldeira from FPAS and which had the collaboration of Jorge de Castro and João Borges, CNF partners already experienced in diving.
On the other hand, fishing contests, on land and at sea, international angling and spearfishing championships, as well as scuba diving and diving contests, were implemented in Naval initiatives. In addition, after an unprecedented competition for children’s fishing, in 1984, the Clube Naval do Funchal held the 1st Regional Sport Fishing Championship for young people with participants from all municipalities in Madeira and Porto Santo.
An equally high moment of representation of the CNF and its recognition occurred in May 1957, during the inauguration of the Estádio dos Barreiros, the address of the Madeiran sportsmen was carried out by the naval leader, Eng. Jorge de Castro, diving champion and underwater photography enthusiast. However, the unexpected occurred. Among dozens of representations of collectivities, the numerous audience, present at the Stadium, recognized among the elements of the CNF, crew and commander of the Albatroz the applause turned into a great ovation with cheers for the Albatroz.
Headquarters – Quinta Calaça
In 1957, the CNF collaborated in organizing the Moth class National Sailing Championship in Madeira, which took place in Funchal. In 1958, for the first time, Madeiran CNF sailors participated in the National Moths Championship followed by the European Championship.
False modesty aside, with pleasure and responsibility, we participated in these regattas in which the Naval team, in the National Championship, among about forty competitors, obtained a score in the top five and in the European, among five dozen participants, obtained a tenth place, leading the national representation in part of the championship.
Later, in 1966, sailors from Naval, in the Snipe class, participated in the Iberian Championship, with the locally built boats, “Gaiato” – Amândio Nóbrega and Abílio Martins and “Capricho” – Álvaro Lopes and Daniel Vieira.
In small cruise ships, where all boats were different, the first steps towards classes were taken in 1954, with the leader of Naval and Director of Arsenal de São Tiago, Eng. Ribeiro de Andrade, to encourage this type of monotype construction. The first small sailboat of the cruise class (a Calypso) was the “Maria Ângela” by José Jacinto de Caires, which was followed by the “Calma” by Humberto Fournier.
Under private initiative, with the guidance of Amândio Nóbrega, in 1966, the “Bravo” (a Sea Horse) was built, which would win the Lisbon – Madeira Regatta in 1967.
As far as Windsurfing is concerned, the first Regatta took place in Machico, in the early 1980s. This modality expanded rapidly and soon had its own “Association”, led by Professor Vicente Franco.
CNF representatives, among them the Regional Champions in the various Windsurfing classes, traveled to Horta (Azores) in August 1986, in order to participate in the National Championships. The results were: Miguel Sá – National Champion of Windsurfing, class I and Francisco Rosa – National Champion of Division II, a competition that globally involved 63 competitors and, in which, these Madeirans had a top classification. Francisco Rosa, immediately invited to represent Portugal in the European Championship and outraged by the Olympic representation, desire of every sportsman. However, Francisco Rosa, with a difficult and responsible gesture, declined the invitation. As coach of RTP-M, he didn’t have enough time to train for the Olympic Games and, ill-prepared, he preferred not to go.
Still in the eighties, Naval started in São Lázaro with canoeing, gymnastics, karate and Judo, as well as collaborating in the organization of transatlantic regattas, from Monaco to New York, in 1985, with the fastest boats in the world, the multihulls controlling a buoy in Funchal. In addition to this collaboration, there are also “Formula One Sailing” participants in the Regatta La Baule – Dakar, in 1987.
Naval did not have a Swimming Section, a shortcoming that it corrected in the mid-eighties, starting with this modality in an ambitious way, with the holding of several competitions and Grand Prix in Funchal, culminating in the sending of an athlete from Madeira to the Olympic Games of Seoul, with Paulo Camacho taking part in the first rounds of the important competition.
The action of the Naval Swimming Section, with Professor André Escórcio as coach and Eng. Nuno Araújo in deputy, surrounded by several assistants, designed several actions that culminated in the construction of the Naval Sports Complex, in Nazaré in 1998.
If the work of the Technicians was essential, it is no less certain that the Naval Directors, in the Swimming section, Luísa and João Telo were meritorious in the undertaking that includes the navalists and goes beyond them involving Madeira.
The Naval Sports Complex, in Nazaré, goes beyond the immediate, showing itself with future projection, not only for Naval members and their families, but at the service of the entire population, whether Naval members or not.
For about half a century, since the first steps, we have accompanied the participants in the life of the Clube Naval do Funchal. There are certainly personalities and actions in favor of Naval that escape our notice. The present text is just “a little” of the history of the Clube de activity nautica – CNF, which officially emerged on the distant 1st of May 1952.
In 1990, as a result of the amendment of the statutes, the new management, more precisely on April 19, 1990, created the Department of Underwater Activities and Fishing, headed by Dr. Oscar Camacho, under the presidency of Dr. Augustine D’Souza.
Already in 1993, under the guidance of the Management of Francisco Santos and as a result of the greater dynamism of its associates, the National Championship of Underwater Photography (IV Fotosub) was organized in the seas of Madeira, proof that the athlete Pedro Gomes do Naval reaches 2nd place overall, a situation that was repeated again in September 1997 when the National Underwater Photography Championship (VIII Fotosub) was organized again, in the seas of Madeira, where Pedro Gomes reached a historic milestone, becoming the first National Champion of Photography Underwater of the Naval Club.
In 1998, Pedro Gomes and Artur Silva participate in the World Championship in Norway, where Portugal reaches the best ranking in an international event, ranking 9th overall and 8th in the creative category.
Result of greater dynamics in 2000 with a group of people interested in sport fishing and supported by the then secretary of the Club, Dr. Rui Fontes, it was possible to create a good support base for this modality, and so the Sport Fishing section is reactivated.
In 2001, the new Sport Fishing team participated for the first time in the Regional Championship where it was crowned regional champion. In the same year, it ranks 2nd in the 24 hours to fish and third in the City Cup.
In its debut, Naval had around five thousand effective registered members, of which around two thousand and six hundred remain effective. If we add these Family and Sports Members, the Naval family is around ten thousand people, an unusual number – even at a national level – for a Club whose main function is nautical activity.
However, it is important not to forget the associates who, in their recreational and leisure activities, make the CNF just a meeting place for socializing. It was also with their indispensable collaboration, through the payment of their fees, that the Club maintained and developed to the point where it is today, as well as from the tourist point of view, it constitutes an important offer to all those who visit.
Our activities are spread across different facilities, providing a variety of services, some of which are aimed at the general population.
Contact Info
Address:
Rua da Quinta Calaça, nº 32
9000-108 Funchal
Phone: 351 291 762253
Email: quintacalaca@clubenavaldofunchal.com
Website: www.clubenavaldofunchal.com
