Felipe VI takes the helm of new Navy yacht Hispania as 44th Copa del Rey Mapfre begins in Palma

A new ship for the King

King Felipe VI took the helm of the Spanish Navy's new racing yacht, the 'Hispania', for the first time on Monday during official training for the 44th Copa del Rey Mapfre. The King arrived at the Porto Pi naval station in Palma de Mallorca around midday, driving his own car, where he was met by Admiral Jaime Rodríguez-Toubes and the rest of the crew. The Hispania, a TP52, replaces the 'Aifos', the vessel Felipe VI sailed for over two decades since his time as Prince of Asturias. The yacht was acquired second-hand by the Navy a few months ago; it previously raced under the name 'Vesper' with an American crew and won the 43rd edition of the regatta in the ORC 0 class.

El Monarca sueña con alcanzar este premio tras cuatro décadas compitiendo en la regata, pero sin haber conseguido ganar nunca.

The crew, composed entirely of active-duty military personnel stationed on various ships or at naval bases throughout the year, faces the challenge of gelling quickly in open water. In a nod to austerity or sentiment, the King and his team recycled last year's uniforms, with shirts still reading 'Aifos 500'.

A regatta of 100 boats

The competition officially begins Tuesday for five of the six participating classes, with 84 of the roughly 100 teams gathered in the Balearic waters taking to the course. The women's class will wait until Wednesday to start. The largest fleet will race under ORC handicap rules, divided into four categories, with up to ten races planned including a coastal race likely on Tuesday or Wednesday depending on weather conditions, according to Principal Race Officer Gaspar Morey.

In the Abanca ORC 0 class, the Hispania will face 13 other teams, including ten TP52 units. Rivals include the 'Urbania' of Tomás Gasset, winner of July's Trofeo SM La Reina, the Italian 'Blue' of Bonfiglio Mariotti, runner-up at the 2025 European Championship, and the German 'Red Bandit' of Carl-Peter Forster, class winner in 2022. In Sail Racing ORC A, the Swedish 'Carkeek 41 Rán' of Niklas Zennström arrives as favourite after two world championship titles.

A state agenda at sea

The King's participation is limited to three days. After Monday's training and Tuesday's racing, he will attend the traditional reception for Balearic civil society at Marivent Palace on Tuesday evening. He may also compete on Wednesday before departing Thursday afternoon for Cali, Colombia, to attend the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella on Friday. Felipe VI will return to Palma on Saturday to preside over the trophy ceremony.

El Rey solo podrá participar en tres días de competición ya que el próximo jueves tiene previsto viajar a Colombia para asistir a la toma de posesión del nuevo presidente, Abelardo de la Espriella.

Crisis management from Marivent

Felipe VI arrived in Palma on the evening of Wednesday, 29 July, returning from the inauguration of Peru's new president, Keiko Fujimori. He held the traditional summer meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the Almudaina Palace. Since then, the King had not been seen sailing, instead monitoring two national emergencies from Marivent Palace: wildfires affecting Madrid, Ávila, and Toledo, and a mass migrant crossing crisis in Ceuta and Melilla.

The King spoke by phone with Sánchez and with the presidents of Ceuta and Melilla, Juan Jesús Vivas and Juan José Imbroda, on Thursday and Friday. The Royal Household later issued a statement expressing the head of state's "preocupación e indignación" and calling for measures to prevent a similar crisis from recurring. The King also visited the Balearic General Command to participate by videoconference in an Emergency Committee meeting on the fires.

La Casa del Rey en un comunicado expresó la "preocupación e indignación" del jefe de Estado por lo ocurrido y reclamó medidas para impedir que una crisis semejante vuelva a repetirse.

The week ahead

The Hispania arrived in Palma from Ferrol on Thursday and spent the weekend training without the King. Monday's session under typical Palma Bay conditions allowed the fleet and organisers to finalise preparations. The 44th Copa del Rey Mapfre runs through Saturday, 8 August, continuing a Mediterranean summer tradition dating back to 1982.