Three days ago we received in Funchal another call of the NRP Sagres, the sailing school ship of the Portuguese Navy. A common presence among us, the NRP Sagres is one of our most cherished visitors. Sailing ships have always a mystic aura surrounding them, and the Sagres is no exception. She was built in 1937 in the Blom & Voss shipyards, in Hamburg and sailed first under German flag as a school ship for the German Navy. Later came the Second World War and she was taken by the allies. At the end of the war the Americans took possession of her and in 1948 sold her to Brasil, where she remained as a Brazilian Navy school ship until 1961. During that year she was bought by Portugal, named Sagres, and enlisted in the Portuguese Navy as the nation's school ship.
Under Portuguese flag she has already three round the world tours on her curriculum and she is one of the most important ambassadors of Portugal.
The NRP Sagres entering the port of Funchal, in the morning of 12 of July, under assistance of the ASD tugs Comandante Passos Gouveia (on her stern) and Boqueirão (on her starboard bow)...
... and approaching the berthing place, along the key nº 2 of Pontinha breakwater. The Sagres is a sailing vessel, having only an auxiliary main engine. Therefore her manoeuvring characteristics in confined spaces are very limited, hence the need for tugboat assistance in these particular situations.
Both pictures made with Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 waterproof compact camera. Post-processing with Adobe Photoshop CS3.
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