A Marina with yachts in it is always a magnet for people to watch, enjoy and stroll along.
While these photos are taken of the Clube Naval da Nazaré, it is only a tiny part of the actual port, there is much much more to see.
The port itself was built to help the fishermen avoid all these - mostly - fatal accidents which regularly happened on the beach of Nazaré. It was also built to make it possible for them to go out fishing when the conditions at sea were acceptable but the surf on the beach wouldn't allow them to launch their boats (as Claudia mentioned above they were launched and retrieved at the beach by manpower alone and sometimes with the help of oxen). In times gone by fishing boats from Vila do Conde, Povoa de Varzim and many other places in Portugal would anchor their boats in the bay, some people of Nazaré would row out with small boats to take their fish to the shore to sell it.
The construction of the port started in 1979 and got finished in 1983. Short afterwards the "Lota" (or fishmarket where the fish is auctioned) got built and from then on the auctions would take place there instead of the white building behind the Mae Nazarena which serves as cultural centre today.