Please select your home edition
Edition
Mackay Boats 728x90 TOP

52 SUPER SERIES Puerto Portals Sailing Week Day 2

by 52 Super Series 20 Sep 2023 22:48 PDT 18-23 September 2023

The Plattner family's Phoenix lead the 52 SUPER SERIES Puerto Portals Sailing Week regatta after three excellent races on the Bay of Palma which were marred by a collision at the start of the second race when Sled and Platoon were hit by Gladiator on the start line.

Platoon and Sled were allocated average points for Races 2 and 3 and are both expected to be back on the race course Thursday but it is an especially tough blow for Harm Müller-Spreer's crew which is chasing Provezza for the 2023 circuit title. They had just posted a third against their rival's opening race ninth. And even with their average points Platoon still clawed back three points on the Turkish flagged leaders on the season standings.

Provezza's tactician Hamish Pepper was concerned to see their rivals forced to sit out the two races, "It is so disappointing for the guys on Sled and on Platoon. No one ever wants to see that happen. You want to see everything happen on the water. But hopefully both are back out tomorrow and we will go out fighting and try to stay ahead of them."

It was not the day that the Provezza team wanted as they seek to close out the 2023 title. First race they were on the wrong side of the first upwind and never got back into the race, crossing in ninth.

They were a little better on the second race but were caught up in the start line fracas, going on to a sixth. But in the third race they sailed a very good first downwind which they capitalised to cross second behind Phoenix.

"It was a tough day for us. I did not sail well and did not get us off the start line very well. We struggled and in this fleet everyone sails so well, we could not get back into it. We did not get firing until that third race. We had bad starts and got dictated to. We need to work on a few things. We had a good first run in the third race and that got us into contention. That said the boat is going nicely and is doing exactly what it has done so far, so we just need to do a bit more to get it near the front again.", Pepper reflected after racing.

Tony Langley's Gladiator won the first race but then got a place penalty for the collision at the start of the second race.

Shawn and Tina Kang's Alpha + lead all the way around the second race course, with the sea breeze peaking at 15-16kts. Australian 2016 Laser gold medallist Tom Burton made his 52 SUPER SERIES debut as tactician on the Hong Kong flagged team which has Italian ace Alberto Barovier steering this week.

Burton, more used to racing his Laser and training on the Bay off Ca'n Pastilla and Arenal enthused, "For me then the first day ever racing in the 52 SUPER SERIES and it is nice to get a race win in for the guys on Alpha + on their first season on the circuit. The next race was not so good we kind of just got a little out of phase but that happens but when you are surrounded by teams of this calibre there is no coming back. The last race was much more shifty and there was a lot of tacking and so the phasing was down to like one minute in the final race. The Olympic racing is very close boat on boat like this but at home the MC38 stuff is maybe closest but the crews there are eight or nine guys but here 15 is a little different, but I am just finding my feet a bit."

But the highest level of consistency is with Phoenix which sailed to a fifth, third and first to lead by two points ahead of Quantum Racing powered by American Magic which welcomes back John Kostecki as tactician this week.

Ed Baird, Phoenix tactician explained, "It turned out very nicely for us winning that last race but really we are just trying to stay in the game all day long. It was a tricky race course today with a lot of shifts. I think one thing was we stayed out of trouble. There was that incident which caught up several boats and it was easy to get yourself in a difficult place in between boats and we just tried to stay away and play the shifts. And the guys did a great job keeping the boat going fast and the boat handling was perfect. It was nice. This is a team which is working hard and which has been together for a long number of years and I am just reaping the benefits of that."

Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week after Day 2: (three races)

1 PHOENIX (RSA) Hasso and Tina Plattner, 5+3+1 = 9pts
2 QUANTUM RACING POWERED BY AMERICAN MAGIC (USA), Doug DeVos, 4+4+3+=11pts
3 PLATOON (GER), Harm Mu¨ller-Spreer, 3+RDG5.5+RDG5.5= 14pts
4 ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano,2+7+6+= 15pts
5 ALPHA+ (HKG), Shawn y Tina Kang, 7+1+9+= 17pts
6 PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 9+6+2+= 17pts
7 SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 6+RDG5.5+RDG5.5= 17pts
8 INTERLODGE (USA), Austin and Gwen Fragomen, 8+2+8+= 18pts
9 VAYU (THA), Familia Whitcraft, 11+5+5+= 21pts
10 PAPREC (FRA), Jean-Luc Pethuguenin, 10+8+4= 22pts
11 GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 1+12+7+ 4penalty = 24pts

52 SUPER SERIES season standings

1. PROVEZZA (TUR) 34+42+35+26+17 = 154pts
2. PLATOON (GER), 45+51+34+25+14 = 169pts
3. QUANTUM RACING POWERED BY AMERICAN MAGIC (USA), 40+43+54+43+11 = 191pts
4. GLADIATOR (GBR), 40+66+41+34+24 = 205pts
5. SLED (USA), 45+52+46,5+51+17 = 211,5pts
6. ALEGRE (GBR), 43+64+46+44+15 = 212pts
7. VAYU (THA), 58+48+65+54+21 = 246pts
8. INTERLODGE (USA), 45+54+100+58+18 = 275pts
9. PHOENIX (RSA) 57+71+100+39+9 = 276pts
10. PAPREC (FRA) 56+81+58+88+22 =305pts
11. ALPHA+ (HKG), 65+91+72+66+17 = 311pts

Related Articles

Admiral's Cup 2025 | Interview with the CYCA Team
A highly experienced team for the revived Admiral's Cup regatta from July 17 The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is fielding a highly experienced team for the revived Admiral's Cup regatta that will be run from Cowes on the Isle of Wight in the UK, from 17th July 2025. Posted on 1 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais - Practice Day
Will Platoon Aviation's big breeze, big pressure experience prove key to their fourth world title? Of the three past and present world championship winning crews which completed their final practice today in typically muscular 25 knot breezes and big waves out of Cascais, Portugal it was Harm Müller-Spreer's Platoon Aviation which showed best today. Posted on 1 Jul
Introduction to the Admiral's Cup/Fastnet 2025
After a 22 year abscence, the renowned Admiral's Cup is back. After a break of 22 years, the renowned Admiral's Cup is returning to the international yacht racing scene in July 2025. One short ocean race, three days of inshore racing, and then the fabled Fastnet to finish Posted on 29 Jun
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais preview
Eleven teams hoping the Portuguese venue lives up to its reputation Given that it is a long time since the 52 SUPER SERIES fleet raced in big winds and waves, a breezy final few training days before the start of next week's Rolex TP52 World Championship in Cascais would be universally welcomed by the 11 teams. Posted on 23 Jun
Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez preview
Looking ahead to the 27th edition The elegance of the Classics, the power of the Moderns, the majesty of the Maxis. This dreamlike combination, a legacy of the Nioulargue, will once again come together in the stunning setting of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez from September 27 to October 5. Posted on 22 Jun
Rolex TP52 World Championship preview
The pinnacle event of the 52 SUPER SERIES will be held at Cascais The annual Rolex TP52 World Championship represents the top tier of monohull grand prix sailing. Held as the pinnacle event of the 52 SUPER SERIES, of which Rolex is also Official Timepiece, the regatta is one of the most revered in the sport. Posted on 19 Jun
Sailing with Matt Cornwell
From youth sailing in Lymington to the America's Cup and TP52 Worlds From youth sailing in Lymington to the America's Cup and TP52 Worlds, Matt's journey has been shaped by resilience, big moments, and life at the bow. We caught up with him to talk favourite races and what he'd be doing if he weren't a sailor. Posted on 13 Jun
Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup overall
American Magic Quantum Racing are Galician royalty, winning 2nd event of 2025 with a race to spare. Delivering an impressively consistent series across 10 races sailed in broad range of weather conditions Doug DeVos's US flagged crew of American Magic Quantum Racing won the second regatta of the 2025 season to lift the prestigious Royal Cup. Posted on 7 Jun
Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup Day 4
Hutchinson adding the missing element as American Magic Quantum Racing close in on title Now holding a 13-points lead after today's two races contested at the Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup, American Magic Quantum Racing crew are on the cusp of completing their first 52 SUPER SERIES regatta win since victory in Barcelona in September 2022. Posted on 6 Jun
Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup Day 3
Platoon Aviation turn up the heat but don't dent American Magic Quantum Racing's lead After a disappointing first regatta of the season when they finished in an uncharacteristic last position in Saint-Tropez, the fortunes of the German flagged 2023 52 SUPER SERIES overall champions Platoon Aviation seem to have turned for the better. Posted on 5 Jun
Selden 2020 - FOOTERSea Sure 2025PredictWind - GPS 728x90 BOTTOM