Pedro Campos' mobile phone has smoked in the last week.
The president of the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo and a historical benchmark for Spanish sailing has been the closest company to the king emeritus during his stay of almost four days in Galicia.
He has also acted as host for Mr. Juan Carlos, his close friend, whom he has hosted at his house while the regatta for the Viajes InterRías Trophy was disputed, in the six meter class.
The former monarch embarked on Sunday aboard the
Rogue 500,
who obtained a fourth place in that race and an overall victory in the test.
The relationship between Don Juan Carlos and Pedro Campos has been very close for years, always with the sea in between, and behind that link appears the relevant support of the King Emeritus for the great projects of Spanish sailing, especially in the two major world competitions: the Tour of the World and the America's Cup.
“If the king emeritus comes, we are going to have a greater media return”, Campos himself summarizes that relationship, referring to upcoming competitions.
Campos, 72, has been the Spanish skipper in three editions of the prestigious America's Cup (1992, 1995 and 1999), was on the Council of the tournament that was held in 2007 in Valencia and led five Round the World projects under sail (2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017).
Directly or indirectly, the love of today's king emeritus for sailing acted as a common thread for public and private support to surface and allow these companies to come to fruition.
The year 1992, appointment of the Barcelona Olympic Games and the Seville Expo, also meant the first Spanish participation in the America's Cup, viable thanks to the support of the socialist government.
"Since then there have been important sponsorships: Endesa, Vinos Rioja, Iberdrola... Some aid came from the State, and the king was obviously supportive of these projects," explains Pedro Campos.
Juan Carlos I also supported the Swiss Alinghi team choosing Valencia to host the 2007 America's Cup, the first in Europe (with an estimated economic impact on the city of some 2,200 million euros), and sponsored the Spanish crew, aboard
Desafío Español,
a project that had a budget of around 60 million thanks in large part to the sponsorship of Iberdrola.
In the Tour of the World, the current king emeritus (he was an Olympian in sailing in 1972, and Cristina de Borbón in 1988, and Felipe VI in 1992) kicked off the 2005 edition in Vigo, with the support of Telefónica.
Movistar and Mapfre sponsored other Spanish projects in this competition, with budgets of between 15 and 18 million euros.
"The king has supported sailing and all of Spanish sport," says Campos, whose sailors have celebrated seven Olympic gold medals and 52 world titles.
“There are champions who have recognized him who would not have reached the top without his support.
Of course there is more talk of sailing if he is present.
And he has always been supporting the projects in the last great regattas like the Tour of the World.
The godmothers of the Telefónica, Movistar and Mapfre projects have always been from the Royal House.
It helps a lot.
Obviously, the sponsors are looking for notoriety, media return, and the support of the king can help convince them, ”he adds.
After abdicating in 2014, the emeritus king confessed to those close to him that he missed sailing.
Campos and his team then rescued the six-meter class for Spain, which is competed in classic boats (built until 1970) or modern boats (since then), with five crew members and a physical requirement that is very adaptable to the limitations of the old monarch (in these regattas can go seated).
Thus, he has participated in the recent Viajes InterRías Trophy, whose sponsorship had already been closed for months.
His presence was not confirmed until Monday of last week, and he will surely also compete in the World Championship of the category, from June 13 to 18 in Sanxenxo, with 42 boats from 15 countries, after the King Juan Carlos Regatta is held El Corte Inglés Master.
In the World Cup he will go up again in the
Bribón
, a boat that, according to the rules of the competition, cannot wear sponsorships.
Yes, the test itself has them, by Xacobeo and Abanca.
“It is not the golden age of 10 years ago, but we are managing to interest the authorities and more sectors.
If the king emeritus comes, we will have a greater media return.
That stimulates tourism and the local economy”, details Campos, who emphasizes that his famous patron has not participated “directly” in Xacobeo's public support for the competition.
The expectation in Sanxenxo skyrocketed over the weekend with 200 accredited journalists (twice as many as in the 2005 Tour of the World), an average hotel occupancy of 80% and a curious fact: the collection for the car parks in the town increased by 131% compared to the data for 2019, before the pandemic, according to the City Council.
Without a Spanish Round the World project in sight, and with the idea of creating a team for the new women's category of the America's Cup, which will be held in Barcelona in 2024, Spanish sailing continues to take advantage of the pull of a special crew member .
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