At the royal Palace of Zarzuela in Madrid yesterday, His Majesty King Juan Carlos I hosted a reception for Volvo Ocean Race organisers, where he expressed to Volvo Ocean Race chief executive, Glenn Bourke, his desire to race onboard one of the new Volvo Open 70s during the in-port race which will kick off the Volvo Ocean Race in Sanxenxo, Galicia, on November 5, 2005. The King is extremely supportive of the Volvo Ocean Race and delighted that Galicia has been chosen to host the start of the event. He is an avid sailor himself, and is often seen at the helm of his IMS race boat Bribrón. He was recently a competitor in the Admiral’s Cup raced in the Solent’s challenging waters, where the Spanish team finished a narrow second. Two of the King’s three children are also world-class sailors, his son H.R.H. Felipe de Borbón, Prince of Asturias, sailed for Spain in the 1992 Olympic Games as the middle-man in a Soling and his daughter, H.R.H. Infanta Doña Christina was a member of the Spanish Olympic squad in the 470 dinghy.

Sailing is on a roll in Spain at the moment with the world’s two premier racing events, VOR and America’s Cup due to take place there in the next few years.