Three hours on the high seas and barely 20 minutes of public exposure. That is the time that Don Juan Carlos was seen yesterday in Sanxenxo, where he faced the second day of his stay in Spain with the same discretion as the first, convinced that this is the way to return in June, a wish that he already gives up. made. Felipe VI’s father arrived at the Yacht Club around half past eleven in the morning. Dressed in a cap, dark pants and the white polo shirt of the Rascal’s team, the former head of state crossed the Yacht Club in Pedro Campos’s car, without stopping or lowering the window, to arrive directly at the end of the jetty, where his ship prepared.
The King remained for a few minutes standing next to Campos’s car, speaking with four friends – three gentlemen and a lady, who did not belong to the Náutico and who have not been identified, since in the order of silence they have not responded to any questions from this newspaper – who received him with a warm hug and a bow. It was the first time that Don Juan Carlos had been exposed standing up -besides the descent of the plane-, and the King was much more agile than on his previous visit, and noticeably thinner.
Proof of this was when we went down the stairs to the Bribón mooring. Don Juan Carlos descended the more than 20 steps supported by one of his escorts, but with a sure step and not very slow. Back on the jetty, the Emeritus greeted his team and some pictures were taken. They also told him how the ship was, recently updated, and the King finally, eleven months after the last time, embarked on his sailboat.
Don Juan Carlos occupies the position of captain on this ship that can accommodate five crew members. He has a seat from which he carries the rod and with an area to rest his feet and propel himself when he has to change position. They are rarely, but as a skipper on occasion he must make small movements.
At twelve o’clock in the morning, a corporal who connected the Bribón with a motor launch towed the Bribón to leave the port, where they hoisted the mainsail at the order of Don Juan Carlos. The Emeritus left like this to enjoy three hours of navigation. A training session that he did together with the Titia team, his greatest rival in Spain in the 6m category and whose crew was able to see the good condition of Felipe VI’s father and face off 48 hours after the II Volvo Autesa Cup.
The King Emeritus was scheduled to return to port around four in the afternoon, but he brought his arrival an hour earlier to have lunch at Pedro Campos’ house. On leaving the club, the car picked him up again at the foot of the boat, but before leaving Don Juan Carlos accepted the gift of a Galician tambourine from a local television reporter. The former head of state, much more relaxed than in the morning, even raised his arm to show that he had the tambourine, which the journalist wanted to give him as an inspiration to his son’s cajón cajón. Then back to the car, to the raised windows and to Pedro Campos’s house, where they planned to have dinner with some friends.
Don Juan Carlos is determined to normalize his presence in Spain. Yesterday’s headlines gave him a good feeling and he understood that in exchange for limiting his movements, controversy would not be generated and he can return to the regattas in June, something he is determined to do and believes he will be able to do it without controversy or impediments.
But for now his focus is on Sanxenxo. The expectation in the city was much lower than on the previous trip, and the number of journalists around the Yacht Club had dropped considerably yesterday. It is true that when the King came to train – on a weekday and at mid-morning – a group of around twenty neighbors applauded the former Monarch and cheered him twice. Don Juan Carlos raised his arm and greeted them, but nothing more.
Felipe VI’s father is determined to continue on that path. Doing the same route every day, without rolling down the windows or making headlines, is the way to return to Spain soon. The King wants to arrive in good shape at the sailing world championships on the Isle of Wight, which is held from August 28 to September 8 and where both El Bribón and his rival, Titia, have their place secured. To defend the world champion title that he won in 2019, he wants to train. That is why today, despite the fact that the weather forecast is uncertain, he wants to go out to sea again. He only has a few hours of good weather to test himself again, since early in the afternoon the weather programs show rain and wind. But he wants to go out again.
He also intends to embark on Saturday and Sunday, when the regatta will take place. On the last day there will be no awarding of cups, as it is a small competition in which eight boats participate. Don Juan Carlos will then say goodbye to Sanxenxo, but with the illusion of a new trip in two months. Because Don Juan Carlos hopes to resume the plan he had when he left public activity in 2019: that Sanxenxo becomes his vacation refuge and come on the regatta calendar to train. The weeks prior to the trip, the Emeritus was already much more animated in Abu Dhabi, where he has all his needs covered without having to give explanations, but he still needs to normalize his presence in Spain. These days here he is enjoying them, and he has found a way to achieve a balance.
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