Escola de Vela

What Escola de Vela does

Escola de Vela da Lagoa (EVL) is a privately-held water sports school founded in 1997 and based at Óbidos Lagoon in Nadadouro, Portugal, approximately 80 km north of Lisbon. The company delivers instruction and equipment rental across seven disciplines — kitesurf, windsurf, wingfoil, catamaran, optimist (for children aged 6-12), stand-up paddle, and canoeing — using certified instructors (FPV and IKO) and a fleet of boards, sails, kites, wings, foils, Hobie Cat boats, canoes, and SUP boards. An on-site restaurant serving light meals and weekly summer camps for children round out the offering. The school operates seasonally, closed from December through February and open daily in summer, with limited Friday-to-Monday operations in winter.

The business model is a direct-to-consumer, on-site service operation with revenue generated through per-session lesson fees (private, semi-private, and group), hourly and daily equipment rental, weekly summer camp packages, and ancillary restaurant revenue. Pricing is unit-based, ranging from €15 per hour for SUP group lessons to €130 for a 2-hour private kitesurf lesson, with summer camps priced at €180 per week. Customers are a mix of individual water sports enthusiasts, families, children, and organized groups (corporate events, school trips, bachelor/bachelorette parties), with no disclosed enterprise anchors or recurring contracts. The school's marketing is primarily website-driven — multilingual in Portuguese, English, and French — with bookings handled via contact form, phone, and WhatsApp, and SEO-oriented blog content.

Technically, the company has no proprietary software platform and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities. Its primary differentiators are physical: the protected, calm waters of Óbidos Lagoon, 27+ years of operating experience, certified instructors, and a core equipment partnership with RRD (Roberto Ricci Design). The school is founder-operated, with no disclosed parent company, subsidiaries, external investors, or leadership team beyond 6 employees. No financial figures, funding, or M&A activity are disclosed.

Name

Escola de Vela

Legal name

Escola de Vela da Lagoa

Website

https://escoladeveladalagoa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Escola de Vela da Lagoa is a privately-held water sports school founded in 1997 at Óbidos Lagoon, Portugal, offering lessons, equipment rental, summer camps, and an on-site restaurant across kitesurf, windsurf, wingfoil, catamaran, optimist, SUP, and canoeing. It serves individual tourists, families, children, and group/corporate customers on a direct-to-consumer basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Sports Instruction

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Water & Marine Guiding Services (Kayak, Canoe, Raft, SUP, Sailing) (THAAALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

School Group & Curriculum-Led Trips (THAKAGAB), Educational Cruises & Shipboard Learning Programs (THAKAGAM), Whitewater & Paddle Sports Centers (Rafting, Kayak, SUP, Canoe) (THAAAKAF)

Keywords

• Sailing instruction
• Water sports school
• Windsurf lessons
• Kitesurf training
• Equipment rental

Headquarters

HQ city

Nadadouro

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Water Sports Lessons: Private and semi-private lessons for kitesurf, windsurf, wingfoil, catamaran, optimist, SUP, and canoeing. Revenue generated through hourly or session-based fees per person or group.
2. Equipment Rental: Rental of water sports equipment including kites, boards, sails, wings, foils, canoes, SUP boards, and optimist boats. Revenue generated through hourly or daily rental fees.
3. Restaurant Services: On-site restaurant serving light meals to practitioners and visitors. Offers salads, burgers, brunch, and daily juices using fresh, organic ingredients.
4. Summer Camps: Weekly summer camps for windsurf, catamaran, and optimist during July and August. Multi-session packages providing 15 hours of practice over a week.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Escola de Vela da Lagoa is a sailing and water sports school operating at Óbidos Lagoon in Portugal, delivering private and semi-private lessons, equipment rental, weekly summer camps, and group activities across kitesurf, windsurf, wingfoil, catamaran, optimist, stand-up paddle, and canoeing. The school supplements its instruction with an on-site restaurant serving light meals to practitioners and visitors. All instruction is delivered by FPV- and IKO-certified instructors using RRD-branded equipment.

Product overview

Escola de Vela da Lagoa is a sailing and water sports school with over 27 years of experience at Óbidos Lagoon, Portugal. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of water sports activities including Kitesurf, Windsurf, Wingfoil, Catamaran, Optimist (for children), Stand Up Paddle, and Canoeing. Services include lessons (private and semi-private formats), equipment rental, and weekly summer camps. The school also provides group activities for events and a restaurant facility. The product portfolio centers on instructional services and equipment rental across seven distinct water sports disciplines, supported by on-site facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kitesurf Lessons

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• RRD (Roberto Ricci Design)coreTechnology or IntegrationRRD is the official equipment partner providing modern, up-to-date water sports equipment. The partnership supplies kites for various disciplines (freeride, waves, freestyle, foil), boards, sails, wings, and foils. RRD is described as a leading water sports brand. EVL uses RRD equipment for both instruction and rental services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pro Center Tarifa: Iconic Spanish kitesurf and windsurf school in Tarifa. Comparable in delivering structured multi-discipline water-sports instruction and equipment rental to a mix of locals and international tourists.
• ION Club: European chain of kitesurf, windsurf, SUP, and wingfoil schools across Greece, Spain, and other Mediterranean locations. Closest comparable operator in scale, multi-discipline mix, and lesson+rent rental model.
• Club Mistral: Pan-European water sports school network offering kitesurf, windsurf, SUP, and wingfoil lessons and rentals. Highly comparable product portfolio and certified-instructor operating model.
• Waverider Algarve: Algarve-based water sports school offering kitesurf, surf, SUP, and lessons to international tourists. Comparable multi-discipline water-sports instruction model.
• René Egli Centro de Deportes: Major windsurf and kitesurf school on Fuerteventura (Canary Islands). Comparable in multi-discipline instruction, branded equipment fleet, and tourist-segment orientation.
• Escola de Vela da Madeira: Portuguese sailing school in Madeira offering windsurf, dinghy, and catamaran instruction. Comparable multi-discipline school targeting tourists and locals.
• Bonelli Watersports: Algarve-based water sports school offering kitesurf, windsurf, SUP, and group activities. Comparable in Iberian-Atlantic tourist-segment instruction and group-event offerings.
• Escola de Vela de Faro: Portuguese sailing and windsurf school based in Faro (Algarve). Directly comparable as a Portuguese sailing school offering multi-discipline instruction and equipment rental.

Others

• RRD Roberto Ricci Design: Italian water sports equipment manufacturer and EVL's official equipment partner. Comparable as a water-sports brand and indirect competitor via its own demo/school initiatives; included as the strategic equipment supplier.

Regional players

• Club de Vela de Santander: Spanish sailing club offering dinghy, windsurf, and catamaran instruction in northern Spain. Comparable sailing-instruction operator in a different Iberian geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/escola-de-vela

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Escola de Vela