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Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Base Nautica

DISCOVER CVT

Torre Guaceto Sailing Center is a non-profit amateur sports association. Its purpose is to promote sailing instruction and organize initiation and improvement courses in the Apulian nautical base of Torre Guaceto. Discover the project and its history.

The Centro Velico Torre Guaceto organizes sailing, catamaran and windsurfing courses, which are organized for several levels, and internships, to prepare people for sailing. The course also allows students who are completely unexperienced to reach a level of autonomy and safety with respect to the management of sailing vehicles.

 

The Centro Velico Torreguaceto è associato alla Federazione Italiana Vela (FIV), alla International Sailing School Association (ISSA) e all’Associazione Italiana delle Scuole di Vela (AISVE).

  • The project

    To promote, through the establishment of a school, the sport of sailing, according to an associative model that foresees the active and voluntary participation of the members in all the didactic and organizational phases of the management in the true spirit of a non-profit organization.

  • The natural reserve

    The Torre Guaceto Natural Reserve covers about 1,200 hectares, presenting a marine front that extends for 8,000 meters. It covers wetland, beach, dune, and Mediterranean scrub areas.

  • The nautical base

    The Centro Velico Torre Guaceto Nautical Base, far from inhabited centers and surrounded by nature, overlooks a beach of rare beauty, protected by small islands that delimit a stretch of water, which is ideal for navigation.

  • Life on the base

    The sailing course featured at the Torre Guaceto base is a “unique” experience in which all members participate in, rendering themselves the protagonists of the sailing internship in a climate that calls for collaboration and respect for the natural environment that surrounds it. Together with their classmates, students will take part, in turn, in the so-called “commandos” regarding meal preparation.

  • SAILING AND WINDSURFING COURSES

    The Centro Velico Torre Guaceto organizes sailing, catamaran, and windsurfing courses, which are organized for several levels, and internships, to prepare people for sailing.

  • Staff

    The sailing school staff is made up of instructors, stewards, active members, and all the volunteers who participate in conducting activities at the base, with each group dedicating their free time and skills.

Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Vista aerea della Base Nautica Centro Velico Torre Guaceto – Vista aerea della Base Nautica
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Vista aerea della Base Nautica Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Base Nautica Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Base Nautica

The project

SAILING IS BEING A CREW

The mission that we have set for ourselves is complex and demanding, and is perhaps unique with respect to other Italian sailing schools, but it is precisely from this spirit that we feel motivated, and this is why when you participate in community life at the base or elsewhere, it feels like you are a part of a great common project:

To promote, through the establishment of a school, the sport of sailing, according to an associative model that foresees the active and voluntary participation of the members in all the didactic and organizational phases of the management in the true spirit of a non-profit organization.

As the setting for and host of this enterprise, the beautiful Torre Guaceto, a unique location located close to the pristine sea that is in front of a breathtaking beach.

To accomplish its goals, the Association relies on the active participation of those who, having experienced a sailing course in Torre, which is not a standard holiday that most would take, feel driven to participate and contribute as Active Members of the CVT.

Resources are born and developed within the Association, and, as the structures are adapted and updated, initiatives and collaborative projects take shape with other local associations and organizations. The Association’s contribution can be offered on many occasions and in many forms, for example by participating in work groups that organize activities during the year, or what has become the tradition of the openings and closings of the base, or simply by participating in Board of Directors meetings, where the guidelines concerning the development and management of the Association are discussed.

If members would like to participate more on the frontline, they can nominate themselves for positions on the Board of Directors, which has the task of managing the Association and planning CVT’s future by collecting direction from other members. Even the instructors, stewards, and other staff and personnel that you have met or know from the base provide their time for free.

Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Corsi di vela - iniziazione deriva - nodi
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - festa - Beach contest 2014 - Staff
Windsurf Avanzato
Corsi Windsurf
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Riserva naturale ed area marina protetta Centro Velico Torre Guaceto – Riserva naturale ed area marina protetta
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Riserva naturale ed area marina protetta Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Il mare di Torre Guaceto

The natural reserve

UN’OASI TRA TERRA E MARE

The Torre Guaceto Natural Reserve covers about 1,200 hectares, presenting a marine front that extends for 8,000 meters. It covers wetland, beach, dune, and Mediterranean scrub areas.

The coastal stretch, which develops towards the north starting from the tower, is characterized as a low and rocky coast, with small beaches and vegetation that goes as far as the coastline, while to the south, a long beach stretches for about 3000 meters overlooking the base, isolated in the middle of the Mediterranean scrub.

In the past, the internal area was affected by the reclamation of the land in which traces remain of the marks left by the canals. Once the agricultural use of the reclaimed land had been abandoned, the waters again flooded the entire area, creating splendid permanent bodies of water surrounded by reeds that are inhabited by different species of migratory birds.

Included on the Ramsar Convention list, which identified the importance of marshland at an international level, since 1981, the wetland area of Torre Guaceto is fed by springs of fresh water. Convenzione di Ramsar, che ha individuato l’importanza a livello internazionale degli ambienti palustri, la zona umida di è alimentata da polle sorgive d’acqua dolce.

Its very name derives from the Arabic word GAW SIT, which means “place of fresh water.” The resulting system is of great interest from an environmental point of view, being the starting point for numerous species of birds that is characterized by the constant presence of birds, amphibians, and insects connected to wet systems.

The reed bed (phragmites australis) develops in the wetland and plants grow on the beach. In the maquis, juniper, lentisk, myrtle, villosa, pungent rush, and holm oak are present in arboreal form.

On the rocks and islets, the garlic of the islands (aglium commutatum) grows. Badgers, weasels, and foxes are some of the mammals that can be found; in the marshier environment, two pairs of marsh harriers’ nest, but the kingfisher, the water rail, and the coot can also be found. The sea is populated by a rich fauna and is visited by dolphins and the Caretta Caretta turtle. Whales have often been reported offshore.

Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Riserva naturale ed area marina protetta
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - passeggiata verso la torre
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Vista aerea della Base Nautica
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Base Nautica
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Base Nautica

The nautical base

YOUR HOLIDAY HOME

The Centro Velico Torre Guaceto Nautical Base, far from inhabited centers and surrounded by nature, overlooks a beach of rare beauty, protected by small islands that delimit a stretch of water, which is ideal for navigation.

It is in this context of high naturalistic and environmental value that sailing and windsurfing courses are offered to those who share a passion for the sea and nature. The base develops around an ancient “masseria” that overlooks the sea as well as other buildings. The buildings house the kitchens, the secretariat, and the rooms dedicated to educational and recreational activities, while the toilets and showers are located outside and are commonly used like in a camp site.

People sleep in tents on bunk beds, or they can bring their own curtain and mount it under the tamarisk trees. The environment is a bit Spartan, but it is precisely in this idea of “roughing it” in the wild, which tends to be lost today, that its charm lies.

Life on the base

BE PART OF THE GROUP

The sailing course featured at the Torre Guaceto base is a “unique” experience in which all members participate in, rendering themselves the protagonists of the sailing internship in a climate that calls for collaboration and respect for the natural environment that surrounds it. Together with their classmates, students will take part, in turn, in the so-called “commandos” regarding meal preparation.

The “Head Base”, which ensures that activities on land and at sea are correctly executed, is overseen by qualified staff made up of instructors, stewards, and other volunteers who have grown within the Association and are fundamental reference points for life at the base.

Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - festa - Beach contest 2014 - Staff Centro Velico Torre Guaceto – festa – Beach contest 2014 – Staff
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - festa - Beach contest 2014 - Staff Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Spiegone della regata Corso windsurf Torre Guaceto Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - passeggiata verso la torre

What to bring

Personal belongings

  • jeans
  • cotton t-shirts
  • wool or fleece sweaters
  • K-way
  • hat
  • sunglasses and a cord to keep them from getting lost at sea

For dinghy sailing courses 

  • boots in drift neoprene or at least sneakers are recommended
  • volleyball-type knee pads
  • shorts
  • sailing gloves or similar
  • if you suffer from cold (especially at the beginning of the season), a short, light neoprene wetsuit is recommended

Per i corsi di Windsurf indispensabili apposite scarpette, muta leggera e guanti.

In addition:

  • sleeping bag or sheets and blankets
  • personal medication
  • sun cream

The Association will supply a bed and a mattress cover sheet. It is necessary to have cash on hand (approximately €110 each week) for the common galley cashbox and for personal expenses (cash machines are not available nearby). Musical instruments are preferable to radios and other portable music devices.

Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Base Nautica

The galley

During the sailing course, each crew member is responsible for him or herself, companions, and boat. This culture extends to every aspect of base life, including kitchen management. Expect to contribute to meal preparation during your sailing course, as well as overseeing dish washing and the cleaning of common areas. At least once during the week-long course, you will be called to do “comandata” (chores). Each kitchen independently manages its own “common fund” for the food, to which each participant contributes a weekly fixed fee of approximately 110 euro.

The love of sailing unites all the members of Centro Velico Torre Guaceto, whether they be students, instructors, or active members involved in sporting events and competitions at every level.

SAILING AND WINDSURFING COURSES

SAILING IS A BEAUTIFUL ADVENTURE

The Centro Velico Torre Guaceto organizes sailing, catamaran and windsurfing courses, which are organized for several levels, and internships, to prepare people for sailing.

The course also allows students who are completely unexperienced to reach a level of autonomy and safety with respect to the management of sailing vehicles.

Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Corsi di vela - iniziazione deriva - nodi Centro Velico Torre Guaceto – Corsi di vela – iniziazione deriva – nodi
Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Corsi di vela - iniziazione deriva - nodi Corso windsurf Base Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Spiegone della regata

SCHEDULING FOR A TYPICAL DAY

  • 8.00 Breakfast
  • 8.30 The instructors explain the activities planned for that day and the sailing maneuvers that will be carried out
  • 9.30 The boats are armed, and everyone goes out to sea. The instructors embark as well during the first days to assist with maneuvers
  • 13.30 Re-entry for lunch
  • 14.00 Lunch
  • 15.30 Courses continue with exercises on the sea
  • 18.30 Re-entry and disarming of the boat
  • 20.00 Dinner
  • 21.30 Recap of the day

Security

A KEEN EYE THAT MAKES LIGHT OF ADVENTURE

The sailing course, which features exercises at sea, is based on the prevention of accidents, the teaching of marine art, and safety rules at sea. The exit of students to sea during the sailing courses is always assisted by a lookout on the ground and by motor units that are connected via radio, guaranteeing, if necessary, timely and safe interventions.

Staff

QUALIFIED AND ATTENTIVE INSTRUCTORS WILL BE YOUR TRAVEL COMPANIONS

The sailing school staff is made up of instructors, stewards, active members, and all the volunteers who participate in conducting activities at the base, with each group dedicating their free time and skills.

The active members have already attended sailing courses in Torre Guaceto; they know the specifics of the place, and act as a precious resource in helping carry out the various activities. They take care of the administration, secretarial duties, coordination on the ground, and structure maintenance. They normally stay in personal tents set up in special areas. In their free time, they can sail using the sail or windsurfing boats available from the Association or use their own personal ones.

Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - festa - Beach contest 2014 - Staff Centro Velico Torre Guaceto - Spiegone della regata

INSTRUCTORS

Sailing and windsurfing instructors, who volunteer their time, provide a precious heritage of nautical culture and sailing experience, which is enhanced and verified through a permanent training system that guarantees the qualitative level sailing sport courses and their didactic continuity. The instructor’s presence, which is reassuring in the first few days, will gradually become more discreet, allowing students to grow in their desires to experience their sailing trips with full autonomy.

STEWARDS

The stewards are “land instructors” who give logistical support to the courses. They take care of guaranteeing supplies, quality control, and overseeing the proper functions of the kitchens. They also coordinate the “commanded” students in preparing meals, and, if ideas are scarce, suggest the menu. They are particularly attentive to life on the base and are indispensable reference for the students and the success of the sailing course. They are internally trained with courses taught by expert chefs that are also hosted in kitchens on-board.

MATERIALISTS

The materialists are voluntary partners who are experts in materialism, a term that derives from French, with which the materials concerning marine art and repairs of all kinds are meant, from boats (and therefore wood, fiberglass, epox resin, aluminum, stainless steel, sails, etc.) to the electrical and hydraulic systems at the base. They are trained in an internal course and are rotated throughout the season to guarantee the functionality of the sailboats and the facilities at the base.

© Copyright - Amateur Sports Association - Centro Velico Torreguaceto - Telephone +39 011 8193093 - +39 340 2256571 - info@centrovelicotorreguaceto.it

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