Baiona set to test the best of the best with Royal Cup at stake for 52 Super Series

by 52 Super Series 29 May 07:26 PDT 2-7 June 2025

52 Super Series Saint-Tropez Sailing Week © Nico Martinez / 52 Super Series

With the programme shortened to just four races by very light winds at the 52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Sailing Week earlier this month, owners and crews are hoping that the move out into the Atlantic for the GALICIA 52 SUPER SERIES ROYAL CUP, the second of 2025's five regattas yields stronger winds and some adrenalin pumping action such as the rugged north west corner of Spain is known to deliver.

Eleven teams representing nine different nations are set to line up from the famous, popular Monte Real Yacht Club Baiona. Winners in Saint-Tropez, Tony Langley's Gladiator have a longstanding historic commitment and won't compete in Galicia, neither will the Brasilian team on Crioula. But Hasso and Tina Plattner's widely fancied Phoenix are back, the proud South African team which finished third when the world's leading grand prix monohull circuit first visited at the start of the 2022 season. And Eric de Turckheim's French Teasing Machine will compete, using the white hot competition of the Royal Cup as a perfect opportunity to hone their inshore skills ahead of the French team's challenge for this summer's Admiral's Cup.

Step up for the Cup... a dream come true

The defending Royal Cup champions are Harm Müller-Spreer's German flagged Platoon Aviation but they will have to step up after a lacklustre opening to their season in Saint-Tropez. Ebullient Victor Mariño shares his team's determination that they return to the excellent form which marked the second half of '24 but he is also wants to put on a good show on the home waters where he grew up sailing.

"I hope that what we have learned is how much it hurts to lose and now we have to raise our game and race in Baiona with all the usual hopes and expectations to fight again for podium positions, that is the goal of the year. We want to get the thorn our of our side that Saint-Tropez is to work hard to win the season and other events like the World Championship. And of course defending the Royal Cup at home is a key objective."

And Mariño adds, "Racing at home for me is a dream. To be able to show the rest of my competitors the beautiful paradise in which I am lucky enough to live - Vigo and Baiona - this is paradise where I learned to sail and race in the Ría de Vigo. Winning at home would be a dream come true for me!"

Valencia 52 Super Series Royal Cup - photo © Nico Martinez / 52 Super Series

Back in the frame

The Plattners' Phoenix team will have Andy Horton and Tom Burnham as tactician and strategist this season. Having missed Saint-Tropez and Easter training in Valencia the South African team have been in Baiona all this week training trying to make up for lost time, coach Ben Durham notes, "We know the standard is a so high this year and we have missed a little bit, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but this team has been around a long time, we know each other so well, and Andy and Tommy coming into the team have been with us before but they have sailed with a lot of different teams and so bring in some new ideas. We are so excited to be back together, we have a great culture, a great atmosphere and we push hard. This is a very proud South African team but at this first event as it comes and see what happens. We have good memories of last time but we are not fooling ourselves. We will push hard."

The returning French Teasing Machine crew are very much in Admiral's Cup prep mode and this regatta will form an essential chance to race windward-leewards at the highest possible level Laurent Pages, project manager explains, "We are still really completely focused on the Admiral's Cup but this regatta is an important part of our build up and we are super excited to be back. This is the most demanding inshore racing in the world and so we are not as well trained right now as some of the other teams in this arena but we will try to sail fast and clean and smart and keep it simple. We might be able to do something. But we are here this time to fine tune our starts, boat handling, the communication, to work the trimmers-driver combination. And then after the Admiral's Cup we are back to 52 SUPER SERIES at 100% hopefully as a stronger, better team."

Winners of the 2022 Baiona regatta were Quantum Racing and the team, now as American Magic-Quantum Racing, will be channelling positive memories of a very beautiful, picture postcard racing arena. But they, again, have a different challenge as they now line up with Harry Melges IV on the helm, Terry Hutchinson tactician, Victor Diaz de Leon strategist and Sara Stone as navigator - a significant change to Saint-Tropez where owner-drive Doug DeVos steered.

James Lyne, American Magic's coach evaluates, "We will mostly be looking to sharpen up on our tactical racing and positioning as we gave away points with a penalty and a costly entry to the top mark in Race 2. So we will be looking to place the boat better and not give away points. And we will be getting the afterguard working together, this is another new combo and it all about communication, the tone, the language and the message. It'll take time but we were delighted with Saint-Tropez, we really were, but this team being this team we don't like giving points away."

Sled ready to go one better

Runners up in Saint-Tropez were Takashi Okura's Sled. Mainsheet trimmer and project manager Don Cowie is looking to maintain the momentum - such as there might be after a compact regatta in the South of France, but he notes, "We like the breeze, we are confident in the breeze and we could get anything I think. Last time in 2022 we came a week early and couldn't train as there was too much wind and then for the event it was light. But, really, we will take anything. Saint-Tropez was a good start for us, we just want to do the same. With eleven boats you want to be in the top four or five in every race. Our boat is going really well."

After starting the first race with a weighty UFD 12 points starting penalty from Race 1 of the season, Ergin Imre's Provezza team again showed great potential with their new boat, Spanish navigator Nacho Postigo observes, "Saint-Tropez was not good for us, certainly not the start but we really felt we are getting to know the boat more and more, it is just different to the last one, but we are very happy and still learning."

Of the race course Postigo adds, "Baiona offers a fantastic race area, it was a little but one sided from memory, normally the right side paying and it then being quite difficult to make places but that is always fun and adds more pressure to the starts and first beats."

"It is very hard to predict who will do well in this fleet now, it is so close. After they had shown so well in training in Valencia Platoon and Alegre did not perform as I expected whilst American Magic and Sled were impressive."

And so it is hard to draw definitive conclusions as to which of the 11 teams might finish on the podium in Galicia. As ever the Royal Cup is wide open and the prestigious stand alone trophy could go to any team and a close tussle is on the cards.

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