As a result of the never-before-seen storm, with six days of strong seas and merciless south/southeast surf, there is significant damage to the Quinta Calaça bathing area, the headquarters of the Clube Naval do Funchal (CNF).
“At Quinta Calaça we are experiencing serious losses and at Marina do Funchal – which is a concession of the CNF – with great losses as well”, revealed António Fontes, president of the CNF, on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the ‘Pegada Azul’ Exhibition at Village da X Edition of the TRANSQUADRA International Regatta/2nd stage, at Pier 8 Porto do Funchal.
With the Quinta Calaça swimming pool completely unprotected from the strong surf from the southeast, the leader estimates that the damage inflicted by the sea in the bathing area could be around “about 200 thousand euros, if not more”, he admits.
Despite the setback and almost a week of strong apprehension, António Fontes refuses to ‘reach out’ to the government to move forward with the maritime works that will have to happen shortly.
“We have imagination. We will solve the problems with our own means”, he said.
On the CNF Facebook page, last Friday, January 21st, when the state of the sea was showing the first signs of slowing down, there was the warning: “Climate change is nowadays a reason to take precautions and it still might not be enough.”