The Crown is gone, but the Cup lives on. With two final days of racing remaining—the last and most decisive, given the apparent parity in virtually every category—the Copa del Rey is left without a king. On Thursday, King Felipe VI competed in his final race of this year’s edition before returning to the Royal Household’s official duties. His Majesty bid farewell to his crewmates, rivals, and the organizers before returning to the Marivent Palace, where he would receive the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, in audience that afternoon. From there, he traveled to Cali, Colombia, to attend the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella. The king leaves the Hispania in fourth place in the overall standings of its class, Abanca ORC 0, in a standings table led by the Vudú, skippered by Italy’s Mauro Gestri. All sails remain hoisted in the Bay of Palma.
“Ceuta is going through a very difficult time, and the fact that the head of state wanted to convey this message strikes me as particularly significant, and I want to thank him for it on behalf of all the people of Ceuta,” said the president of Ceuta. On the horizon is a highly likely visit by the king to the autonomous city. “The King is committed to visiting Ceuta and will do so, because the King honors his commitments: I have not the slightest doubt that the King will visit us,” Vivas declared. That same morning, the monarch had arrived at the Real Club Náutico de Palma to compete in the third day of racing. Before setting sail, he personally congratulated the young sailor Lluc Bestard on her second consecutive European Optimist title, won a week ago in the waters off Gdynia, Poland. This marks the first time a Spanish female Optimist sailor has won two consecutive European titles.
And while the Hispania tries to catch up to the Italian sailors without its skipper, in the Uber ORC B class, Javier Banderas’s Teatro del Soho San Miguel is proving to be more solid at the top of the standings with each passing day. “My feeling is that everything is on the right track. There are many boats that can win, but there are also many boats that are no longer in contention for the Cup; we’re in the group that still can,” says tactical director Luis Doreste. Special mention goes to the Balearic Islands’ boats Nadir and Baleària Team RCNP, leaders in their respective classes, ClubSwan 42 and the Baleària Women’s Cup.
The sea breeze also brings glamour
And amid all the hustle and bustle of the competition, the comings and goings of famous faces, and farewells to royalty, the Club Náutico de Palma held its Mapfre Fiesta de Blanco yesterday—an event that has become an integral part of this prestigious sporting competition. Nearly a thousand guests gathered at the marina to enjoy an event that grows in popularity each year—and not just as part of the Copa del Rey’s social program: the evening has already earned its place as a must-attend event on the Mallorcan summer calendar. Sailors, sponsors, partners, and guests gathered on the Yacht Club’s terrace alongside personalities from the worlds of entertainment, fashion, and sports. This is yet another example of the Copa del Rey Mapfre’s drawing power and the attention its social calendar attracts.
The event, which—as its name suggests—had a very clear dress code, featured performances by the bands Avalanx and Reggae Glassford, as well as DJ Pedro. The catering was provided by Aire Catering. For the Club and the event’s organizers, this “reinforces the role of the Copa del Rey Mapfre not only as one of the most important events on the international sailing calendar, but also as an unmissable social gathering on the island, where sports, nautical culture, and leisure come together every summer on the same stage.” Among the familiar faces were Mapfre President Antonio Huertas; Olympic handball medalist Eli Pinedo; Peruvian businesswoman, influencer, and model Alondra García Miró; Abanca CEO Francisco Botas; and the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés.
It’s not as if it’s been hard to spot famous faces since the start of the regattas. Celebrity sightings have been a constant feature of the 44th Copa del Rey Mapfre. Whether at the Club Náutico facilities or following the competitors’ progress from the VIP boats provided by the organizers, this year’s edition has featured celebrities such as actor Javier Rey, actress Ana Fernández, and local actor and YouTuber Miguel Such. Eli Pinedo herself hasn’t missed a single day of the competition. “I’m thrilled—this is my second time here, and I enjoy it more every year. Last year, for the first time, I was able to experience a regatta from the outside as a spectator, because until then I had always been competing. Now that I understand the competition better and already know the people, I enjoy it even more. I’m happy.”
A delegation from the prestigious New York Yacht Club
The glamour, however, hasn’t stayed on land this year. It has also taken to the sea. In addition to the prestigious names that compete each year, the fleet includes a representative from the New York Yacht Club, one of the oldest, most prestigious, and influential private yacht clubs in the world. Founded on July 30, 1844, by John Cox Stevens and eight fellow sailors, it has played a pivotal role in the history of sailing and international regattas. The American couple Woody and Carolyn Cullen are at the helm of the Swan 58 WaveWalker, a boat that has made it to the podium in the Newport-Bermuda Race and the Caribbean 600. In fact, this will be one of the last races they compete in with the boat, which they sailed from Spain to the United States and the Caribbean three years ago.
The crew also includes renowned British sailor Dee Caffari, Olympic medalist and ocean racer Annemieke Bes, and Frenchman Laurent Pagès, who has experience in the America’s Cup and ocean sailing. This top-tier team will compete in what is also an important preparatory event for them ahead of September’s Swan Cup in Porto Cervo—their final event before making the leap to a Swan 98 that is already at the STP shipyard in Palma.
“We’ve mainly sailed along the East Coast of the United States—Maine, New England—and, of course, throughout the Caribbean. We thought it would be a lot of fun to start cruising in the Mediterranean and also to compete. Our main goal is to compete in the Swan Cup this year, but we’d heard such great things about the Copa del Rey that we also wanted to come here. This year we started sailing from Palma,” he explains, adding that although they had plans to sail elsewhere, the allure of Mallorca and the entire Balearic archipelago ultimately won them over. “We enjoyed setting out from here so much that we never left. We’ve spent our time sailing around Mallorca and Menorca, visiting different islands and hidden corners, and exploring all the islets that surround them. We’ve loved it. The weather was fantastic, the wind was great too, and there weren’t too many people around yet. It was magical.”
On the other hand, Carolyn acknowledges that her team will be one of those that will miss the king’s presence the most during these final days. “It’s fun to have the King in the fleet. It catches your attention when he passes by the bow. It’s great. It adds a certain glamour to the regatta.”
