After several years without using their own boat, the Kings have rented this year for the days they remain in Mallorca a boat that they will use for their private outings to the sea. The boat, a Spanish and sustainable design, is a 15-meter-long model, from the Deantonio Yachts shipyard, and marketed through a Malaga dealer who has processed the temporary rental contract for the boat.
As La Vanguardia has been able to confirm for several months at the request of the King, Zarzuela has been looking for a boat so that the royal family can use it during their stay in Palma, ruling out from the beginning a possible acquisition and also a loan, The regime chosen has been the temporary rental, which extends only the days in which the Kings and their daughters are in Mallorca.
The ship’s journey to dock in Palma began with the King’s visit to the Barcelona Boat Show last October. At the indication of Luis Conde, president of the show, Felipe VI visited the stand of Deantonio Yachts, a company based in Barcelona owned by Marc de Antonio, responsible for the design, construction and marketing of the boats that have the made in Spain seal. After assessing other options, a few months ago the King decided, based on characteristics and price, on a motorboat, one of the boats designed by De Antonio that is offered for sale or rent through several nautical dealers, one of them located In Malaga.
The boat is a D50 model, of original Spanish design and sustainable technology, with capacity for twelve people on deck and four sailors in its two cabins, which was launched last March. The price, religiously paid by the King, through the corresponding invoice, amounts to 2,500 euros per day with an approximate calculation, depending on use and speed, of about 300 euros in fuel per trip.
The last boat that was used by the current kings was the Somni boat, owned by the shipowner Josep Cusí who in 2007 ceded it for use by the royal family. Starting in 2014, the first summer of King Felipe, the use of the spear was formalized with the signing of a loan for use until it returned to the owner in 2020 to subsequently be put up for sale.
For years the image of the royal family in Mallorca was linked to Fortuna, the name given to the impressive yachts used, mainly by King Juan Carlos. The first, which premiered in 1979, was a gift from King Fahd of Arabia and presidents like Bill Clinton and royalty like Charles and Diana, then Princes of Wales, sailed on it, and its silhouette marked royal holidays and regattas in Palma since Queen Sofía, other relatives and guests followed the tests on board. At the end of the 90s, Fortuna and King Juan Carlos wanted to change it for a new one and it was a group of Mallorcan businessmen who financed the purchase of a new one that, after a few years of use, was returned to the promoters.