Pedro Campos, the most loyal friend of Don Juan Carlos: "I hope he will be with us in October"

• Nostalgia. The 'Bribón', without King Juan Carlos, wins the Sanxenxo regatta: "He's been very happy"

Last weekend, the Volvo Atesa Cup regatta was held in Sanxenxo, scoring for the 6m Spanish Cup and the first of those that took place after the coronavirus pandemic was declared.

The

of King Don Juan Carlos was proclaimed the winner in his absence, with

(70), intimate of the former monarch, at the helm, and a crew made up of what Don Felipe's father considers his "nautical family":

and

During the trophy ceremony on Sunday, held in the dry dock, a splendid sun shone, unusual in these lands, but something strange floated in the atmosphere, there was no animation of other regattas: the many journalists and onlookers who usually congregate attracted were missing by the presence of King Juan Carlos, who does not miss a nautical appointment in these lands.

Even in September of last year, convalescing from his serious triple aortocoronary bypass operation, although he could not compete, he

that bears his name.

This time it was different, he was in Abu Dhabi, where he settled after his decision to leave Spain on August 3.

"We miss him a lot in the regatta,

because apart from the fact that he knows the boat very well, we spend very good times at sea, he makes us laugh with his witticisms. He

, lots of People stop us on the street to ask us when he is coming back. We are looking forward to him coming back, "says his intimate, Pedro Campos.

Sentiment that King Father seems to share, who despite the more than 7,000 kilometers that separated him from Sanxenxo, was pending the results of the regatta all weekend, to the point that when Campos sent him a

with the table of classifications that gave the

winning

,

and gave them a thousand congratulations, sending his crew a big hug.

What Sanxenxo, his great refuge after the abdication, and especially his sailing companions, especially Pedro Campos, means for the King Father, was demonstrated when he

the eve of his departure, August 2, to say goodbye, taking the next morning a plane headed to Emirates from Vigo airport (not from Porto as said).

How was that emotional goodbye?

According to a local source reveals to LOC, Don Juan Carlos arrived after noon at the villa that Pedro Campos has on the outskirts of the Pontevedra municipality,

, as he usually does.

Despite what was published, there was no crowded farewell dinner, it

He had lunch alone with Campos and his wife, and those barnacles that King Father like so much were not served on the menu, as it was an unforeseen visit.

, and they didn't even have dinner, since they had eaten late.

Pedro Campos has been sailing for years with Don Juan CarlosMIGUEL RIOPA

"They talked

, which is what Pedro and the Monarch usually talk about. Don Juan Carlos did not reveal to him where he was going, nor that he was leaving Spain for an undetermined time and, as summers usually take a long trip to Croatia, Kazakhstan or the Caribbean,

"says the source, who states that Campos found out the next day when Zarzuela made public the letter where Don Felipe's father revealed his departure from Spain.

"He was shocked, because Don Juan Carlos' state of mind was

, nothing made us suspect that it was a farewell."

Hopefully in October

His return to Spain is a particularly intense desire in Sanxenxo, his almost adopted land, where he continues to be the King and

that the final stretch of his life is bringing him.

There he makes his passion of racing regattas come true, which he abandoned in 2010 due to his health problems, and recovered in 2015 thanks to his close friends José Cusí, owner of his Bribón sailboats, and the sailor Pedro Campos.

He envisioned him to compete in the 6m class, which allows him to steer seated without the risk of falls.

In addition, as president of the Real Club Náutico, he organized a 6m class regatta circuit, with which Don Juan Carlos has won a European championship in France and two world championships, in Vancuver and in 2019 in Finland.

For his part, Don Juan Carlos has been, as acknowledged by the mayor,

, the best tourist claim for Sanxenxo, which with his support has managed to host the European 6m sailing championship, postponed to 2021 by Covid, and the World Cup in 2022. He did not hesitate to describe his departure as "tremendously unfair", pointing out how much Spain owes him and also his city and the desire for him to return.

That

, president of the Xunta,

extended to all of Galicia

when he was received this Tuesday in Zarzuela by King Felipe.

"We will always be delighted to welcome you."

According to Pedro Campos himself: "I hope he is already sailing with us in the next regatta in October."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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