Playing By His Own Rules

TENNIS SUPERSTAR RAFAEL NADAL LOOKS TO MONTE CARLO YACHTS TO FULFILL HIS CRUISING DREAMS.

- Daniel Harding Jr

His dominance on clay tennis courts has earned Rafael Nadal the moniker The King of Clay. From his first Grand Slam title in 2005 to his U.S. Open win earlier this year, Nadal is known the world over as one of tennis’ greats. But there’s another side to Nadal that we’re interested in knowing better: Nadal the boater. We caught up with him while he was aboard his MCY 76 in Mallorca.

POWER & MOTORYACHT: CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EARLIEST BOATING MEMORIES?

RAPHAEL NADAL: Oh, honestly, I don’t remember which was the first, but I have a lot of nice memories being with the family, spending days around Mallorca, going to Menorca and coming back the same day. So I really remember … you know, I remember spending time with my sister, with my mum, with my dad, together, and with friends.

We are from here [Spain], so I also remember once, with a friend of mine and his family, we went together with two or three boats to Menorca and spent a day there. That’s something I always loved.

PMY: THOSE SOUND LIKE HAPPY MEMORIES. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ASPECT OF BOATING?

RN: I have always loved the spirit of adventure, because when you have a boat you feel free. You can go to different places, you feel free to move around, it’s an unbelievable feeling. When you are on a boat you have to be ready because weather conditions can always change and it’s a little bit of an adventure.

You know, it’s the feeling that you can finish your work, for example, at midday or just at three in the afternoon, and say, okay, I’m tired, I want to go out, I want to get away from everything, and I want to be just with my girlfriend, my friends, my captain—who is actually one of the best friends that I have—and enjoy the afternoon a little bit and maybe spend a night on a beach and come back the next day.