Double victory for Malaga in the prestigious Copa del Rey sailing championships

Malaga continued to make waves in the nautical world this weekend as two local boats came out on top in the Copa del Rey, Spain’s most prestigious sailing tournament, which takes place annually in Palma de Mallorca.

Javier Banderas’ team, led by skipper Daniel Cuevas and featuring Olympic champion Luis Doreste, triumphed in the ORC 0 category aboard the Teatro del Soho Caixabank Altavista.

"From the first day it has been a very competitive Copa del Rey,” Banderas said following his team's victory. "We had little time to train, but the boat had strong potential, and our team proved to be very good."

Their new boat consistently led the five-day event, outperforming the Spanish Navy’s Aifos, captained by King Felipe VI.

Meanwhile, in the J70 class, Kimpton Hotels - Les Roches, owned by Enrique Freire and Pepequín Orbaneja, started slowly but finished strong to win the title. Their crew included world champion Luis Bugallo and Olympic medallist Hugo Rocha.

“We won the title after the first two races, so the last race was more about enjoying it,” said Bugallo. "We sailed very well and are very happy."

Two other Málaga boats competed in this edition. Ignacio Benthem’s boat finished tenth in ORC 3, and in the Copa de la Reina, Kimpton Hotels – RCM Marbella, owned by María Fiestas, came eleventh.