The Real Club Náutico de Palma paid tribute to the Spanish Navy on Wednesday as part of the celebration of the Copa del Rey Mapfre. With the presence of King Felipe VI, the act had a simple and fraternal character, with a heartfelt memory of Rear Admiral Marcial Sánchez-Barcaiztegui, who was the command of the Navy that promoted the Commission in its day as a way to complete the training of the sailors Spaniards in all areas related to the sea, including sailing regattas.
In the 40 years that the Copa del Rey has been held, the Navy has taken part in all the editions and some of its sailboats, such as the successive Sirius, the Hipania and the Aifos, have left their mark on the history of competitive sailing.
Coinciding with the celebrations of the Copa del Rey Mapfre and the V Centenary of the voyage around the world completed by the Spanish sailor Juan Sebastián Elcano, the Navy has given the Real Club Náutico de Palma a bust of the navigator from Getaria and the club, in correspondence , has engraved a plaza in homage to the Armada, which was discovered by King Felipe and will be placed in the access area to the interior of the prestigious Mallorcan club.
The entire crew of the Aifos, with Admiral Jaime Rodríguez-Toubes at the helm, and with the exception of Captain Ricardo Maldonado, who suffered a traffic accident on Monday in Palma after the day of regattas, posed with the King as skipper of the Navy ship currently present in the Copa del Rey Mapfre to take the commemorative photo with the president of the RCNP, Emerico Fuster, and Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Toubes, the commander with whom the then Prince of Asturias sailed on the ship Juan Sebastián Elcano.
And then the members of the Naval Regatta Commission of the Porto Pi naval base and the numerous top-level Spanish sailors who compete in the regatta boats in the Cup and who lived their training stage in the Commission joined the group. .
Names such as Chimo González Devesa, Jaume Carbonell, Iñaki Castañer, Jorge Forteza, David Madrazo, Antonio Piris and Nacho Postigo, among others, joined the King to record what it meant for them to be in the Naval Regatta Commission, at the orders of Marcial Sánchez-Barcaiztegui, especially during their military service, a crucial moment in their lives that allowed them to maintain their sports careers and even end up becoming professionals in this sport.
