The Simple Beauty Of Sagres

One sail, one windSUP and the simple beauty of Sagres – Franz Orsi gives us a guide to this beautiful corner of the southern Algarve in Portugal and reflects on why windSUP is one of his preferred modes of travel.

- Franz Orsi

Looking for an easy, uncomplicated windsurf trip somewhere close to home? A weekend of genuine discovery and pure fun on the water? For me, escaping for a weekend to a close to home hidden paradise meant driving to the most southwesterly point of Portugal and mainland Europe - Sagres, a place where the land ends and the ocean starts. This rugged and forbidding coast has long been considered sacred ground. The Romans called it ‘Promontorium Sacrum’ (‘Holy Promontory’), and is the Latin origin of its name ‘Sagres’ (from Sacrum). For them, this was the ‘Edge of the World’, a supernatural vortex where the setting sun was dramatically submerged by the immense, unknown ocean. Sagres, home to wide open beaches, nooks and crannies, beaten paths and not so-beaten paths, where the winds are consistent all year round and cater for all abilities: this is where I was heading. From my home in Lisbon it was only a 3 hour drive. I was travelling light as for me the beauty of windsurfing lies not only in high performance gear, but also in the simplicity of an inflatable board and a Dacron one-batten sail. So, equipped with my beloved Starboard Touring 12’6” inflatable and super simplistic Starboard compact sail, I hit the road, direction south!

THE SAGRES AREA