Caprera Sailing Center, the history of a school that has trained more than 200,000 sailors

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Sailing, the great excellences of the sailing world tell their stories and reveal their projects. In this column, discover all the companies and people who have made important contributions to the multifaceted world of sailing, which enables us all to go to sea in all forms and contexts.

In this episode, we tell you the story of the Caprera Sailing Center, an iconic placethathas trained thousands of sailors from all over the world.

More than 200,000 sailors were born in Caprera

On the island that has been training generations of sailors for more than fifty years, a new wind is blowing today. It is not only that which inflates the sails in the archipelago of La Maddalena: it is that of a renewed vision. After a first experience at the helm of the Caprera Sailing Center, a man who knows the sea and has been an instructor at the School for many years, Paolo Bordogna, returns today to the presidency of the Foundation: “Caprera is much more than a sailing school. It is a place of growth, of responsibility, of sharing. It is a community that has evolved without ever losing its course between custody of tradition and projection toward modernity.”

The history of the Caprera Sailing Center began in 1967, when the idea of a seafaring education that was also a human training course took shape on these Mistral-swept shores. Since then, every week more than a hundred instructors and students have embarked on the “Charon,” as the Caprera people call the boat that brings them to the island, with a single goal: to learn how to sail, but above all to do so with respect, competence and passion.

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More than 200,000 students have attended the CVC and to date it has more than 1,000 volunteers including Instructors, Sailing Helpers and active Shift Assistants. “Our School in some ways is unique in the world. In addition to the model consisting of the volunteer Instructors, ADVs and TAs who are the gravitational center of our school, we have unique professional skills among our staff. It is because of them that the CVC is able to handle any kind of criticality and failure on boats, sails, engines and equipment. We like to say that ours is also a school of trades ranging from workshop to sailmaking. Their support to the instructors is constant and puts them in full position to focus only on the teaching aspect.”

THE TURNING POINT WITH THE TRANSITION TO FOUNDATION

The recent move to Foundation status represents an important turning point. “Establishing a Foundation allowed us to ensure a more solid and transparent governance, capable of projecting Caprera into the future. But it was not only a change of legal form: it was a choice of values, of responsibility towards the new generations and towards the sea. For this I have to thank not only the outgoing President Stefano Crosta, but also the foundation’s partners: the Italian Touring Club, the Naval League of Milan and Aiva. Not to be forgotten are the increasingly close and collaborative relationships with the Italian Navy, the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, the Maddalena Park Authority and Coast Guard, who value us with their support and friendship.”

In fact, the Foundation signed an agreement with the Navy aimed at full cooperation and sharing on educational, popularization and environmental protection issues. In addition, the CVC has put down on paper what Caprera has always been: a school made up of people, guided by ideals. This is demonstrated by the three documents approved in the past year: the Charter of Values, the Code of Ethics and the Volunteer Charter.

“We wanted to codify what is fundamental to us: inclusion, respect, environmental protection, and the empowerment of every individual, starting with our volunteers, who are the beating heart of the school.”

TRUE INCLUSION

In these documents it is clearly stated that Caprera is an open place, where every staff member, instructor and student is welcomed in the full appreciation of his or her personal and professional characteristics. No form of discrimination is tolerated.

Volunteerism, a pillar of teaching and daily management is and remains a very strong distinguishing element of the school. Another of the goals always pursued and fully achieved is the balance between the sport sailing discipline, particularly focused on dinghies/foils, and the art of seamanship, which finds full expression in the cabin cruiser/hull courses.

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“One of the most difficult challenges in recent years has been not to follow the market that has seen the proliferation of sailing vacations and adrenaline experiences on dinghies and foils. We have remained true to our mission as a “Sea School” that aims to train people to approach sailing with safety, education, seafaring culture and fun. The numbers have proven us right and we are proud of that.”

PROTECTION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

But the future is calling, and Caprera has responded with two key projects of the Foundation: “Care of the Sea” and “Sea as Care.”

“With ‘Care of the Sea,’ we want to strengthen our commitment to protecting the marine environment. We work on sustainable practices, awareness raising, research, reducing the environmental impact of the school itself. With ‘Sea as Care,’ on the other hand, we want to open our doors to those who can benefit from the sea: fragile people, young people in need, patients on rehabilitation paths. The sea heals, if you listen to it.”

Ambitious projects, certainly, but perfectly in keeping with the Caprerina tradition: combining technique with awareness, hard work with a smile, discipline with a sense of community. “The sea teaches how to take care. Of oneself, of others, of the environment. This is the message we want to convey to every student who lands here.”

The sails unfurled in the crystal-clear waters of Porto Palma, the shifts in command, the lessons in the “watermen’s shops,” the dawn wake-up calls for the day of intense sailing: every moment on Caprera is an opportunity to learn, but also to build something that remains. Like a moral anchor. “Caprera is a training ground for life. It was yesterday, it is today, and it will be tomorrow. But today, more than ever, we also want it to be an example.”

The wind blows steadily, drifts sharpen their bows. At Caprera, the future is already at sea.

• At this link, all the mythical stories from the 50 years of the Sailing Newspaper

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