"Neste barco à vela" was the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987

Eurovision Song Contest 1987

The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was the 32nd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1987 in Brussels, Belgium after Sandra Kim's win the previous year. The presenter was Viktor Lazlo. Johnny Logan was the winner for Ireland with the song "Hold Me Now"...

, performed in Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 by Nevada

Nevada (band)

Nevada was a Portuguese duo in the eighties.Jorge Mendes and Alfredo Azinheira represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with the song Neste barco à vela and they finished 18th....

.

The song is in praise of Portugal itself. The two singers describe their "overfull boat" which apparently has a "childish look" as travelling on a "path of hope".

The song was performed eighth on the night, following Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

's Umberto Tozzi

Umberto Tozzi

Umberto Antonio Tozzi is an Italian pop/rock singer and composer, born in Turin. His most internationally famous song is "Gloria" -Biography:...

 and Raf

Raffaele Riefoli

Raffaele Riefoli is an Italian popular singer who is better known as simply Raf.-Biography:...

 with "Gente di mare

Gente Di Mare

"Gente di mare" was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, performed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi & Raf.The song is a blues-influenced ballad, in which the singers describe the qualities of the "people of the sea"...

" and preceding Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

's Patricia Kraus

Patricia Kraus

Patricia Kraus is a Spanish singer, best known for her participation in the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest.Kraus, daughter of Spanish tenor Alfredo Kraus, was born in Milan, where her father was based at the time...

 with "No estás solo

No estás solo

"No estás solo" was the Spanish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, performed in Spanish by Patricia Kraus, the daughter of Spanish tenor Alfredo Kraus....

". At the close of voting, it had received 15 points, placing 18th in a field of 22.

It was succeeded as Portuguese representative

Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest

Portugal has entered the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since its debut in the 1964 contest. Portugal has missed only three contests since the country's debut in 1964....

 at the 1988 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1988

The Eurovision Song Contest 1988 was the 33rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 30 April 1988 in Dublin. The presenters were Pat Kenny and Michelle Rocca...

 by Dora

Dora (singer)

Dora is a Portuguese singer.She represented Portugal twice at the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1986 she was 14th with Não sejas mau para mim and two years later she was 18th with Voltarei....

 with "Voltarei

Voltarei

"Voltarei" was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988, performed in Portuguese by Dora.The song is a ballad, with Dora telling her lover that she will return to him. She confesses that her claims of having another lover to go to were false, and thus she expects him not to have...

".