2025 Puerto Portals 52 Super Series Sailing Week

2025 Puerto Portals 52 Super Series Sailing Week - Preview

by 52 Super Series 12 Aug 12:38 PDT 18-23 August 2025

2024 Puerto Portals 52 Super Series Sailing Week © Nico Martinez / 52 Super Series

Having raced there every since year since 2015, for the 52 SUPER SERIES fleet the return to Puerto Portals, Mallorca always feels like a welcome return to the home-from-home of the world's leading grand prix monohull circuit.

Next week's Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week will see 12 boats from nine nations line up at the upscale, showcase marina, but whilst the welcome ashore will be typically warm and the very familiar surroundings encourage a welcomed, chilled-out ambience, this fourth event on the five regatta 2025 calendar will be the most intensely fought of the year so far.

Dough DeVos' American Magic-Quantum Racing have built a certain momentum, winning the last two regattas to carry a 29 points circuit lead into this Mallorcan event, but the final two regattas see many teams seeking to score at least one stand out result, looking to turn around a lacklustre season with a strong finish, or indeed to simply to maintain the same level of consistency faced with heightened competition.

Return to the Med

The return to the Med, and indeed the Bay of Palma's reliable sea breeze conditions is welcomed by most teams. Palma has proven a venue where any early momentum - sticking to the same recipe each day - is often rewarded if it can be maintained. Speed differences in the light breezes through the fleet are tiny and so every single team will arrive in Mallorca knowing if they put together a series they can win Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week.

Putting the pieces together...

The defending champions, victors in 2024, are Tony Langley's Gladiator. "If we sail as well as we did in Portals last year, as well as we did in Saint Tropez we will be in the mix." Suggest Simon Fry, trimmer on Gladiator, "But as ever it is about piecing it together. We are not really involved in the pursuit of the overall title so maybe we can be a little under the radar. But Portals and the Bay of Palma is not a gear changing race track, you can often set the boat up for the week and that does suit us. A particular strength we have is how we set up the rig for particular breezes and it is a lot of work for the team. And also not having done Baiona we are in a good position coming in with a bunch of new sails in the range needed for Palma."

Fry, one of the longest serving sailors on the circuit, believes this regatta could be good for Harm Müller-Spreer's Platoon Aviation, Andy Soriano's Alegre or indeed Ergin Imre's Provezza, all teams which have not been reaching the levels normally expected of them. Alegre have a new tactician in Britain's 2008 Olympic gold medallist Paul Goodison and have made some technical changes as have Provezza. Fry concludes, "American Magic are super consistent but Platoon have a good team and with Harm back I can see them putting in a good result, same for Alegre in what are usually quite benign conditions where the set up is the same each day. But maybe the dark horses could be Crioula a boat which was always great in 11kts as Provezza, and indeed so, too Provezza are due a top result."

Who's looking at odds?

Aboard American Magic Quantum Racing there is no time to consider that the odds are on their side. "There are 12 boats out there and so the way I see it our odds of winning are 1 in 12 no better than that and so we have to all go out and do our jobs to the best of our abilities. Personally I am focused on improving my communications with Terry and being the team-mate he needs me to be. That is the mentality we have through the team." Says Victor Diaz de Leon, American Magic's strategist who works alongside tactician Terry Hutchinson. "I really like it on the Bay of Palma. We have all sailed there plenty of times. Yes, it can be a little one sided and that can make it hard to get back through the fleet, but it really puts the emphasis on getting a good start and getting the first shift right."

Ch.. ch..ch.changes.....

Of recruiting Goodison to the Alegre afterguard, project manager Sebastian Tenghage observes, "It is as much a case of bringing in a fresh set of eyes and new energy. We have been busy between Cascais and now trying to figure out this new boat as best we can. We are looking forwards to a less windy regatta for sure, it has been about trying to figure this boat out in the lighter stuff so, now let's see."

Provezza have also been making some technical changes at the same time as Alegre in Valencia still looking to unlock the very best of the new boat they launched a year ago. Palma resident, navigator Nacho Postigo can't wait to return and race on the bay at a venue where they won in 2017, "We are always so welcome at Portals we feel at home. We had our worst result so far Cascais but there is no reason why we can't bounce back. But I said at the beginning of the season and I say it again, the fleet is so, so close in terms of speeds. I have never seen it so even. Even new teams are doing well. It is so completely open, which can be good for us."

Runners up here last year, winners in Portals in 2019 on waters where they subsequently secured the 2023 52 SUPER SERIES title, Platoon Aviation have owner-driver Harm Müller-Spreer back on the helm, Jordi Calafat returns on board as strategist and have a new bowman in Italian Matteo Ramian and America's Cup winner Joan Vila is in as navigator.

Victor Mariño, runners trimmer, enthuses, "Puerto Portals has always been a good venue for Platoon. In 2015, we were also runners-up in the World Championship held in Portals, and we've always done well there. We're really looking forward to it, because after a bad start to the season, a small recovery in Baiona and then more bad luck in the World Championship last month, losing the bowman and having to replace him. We're really keen to get back into it."

Returning to the fleet after missing Cascais are the Brazilian team on Crioula and France's Teasing Machine.

Racing starts on Monday 18th with the official practice racing, points racing runs Tuesday 19th to Saturday 23rd August. Watch all of the action, every start, every mark, very finish on 52 SUPER SERIES TV LIVE.

Puerto Portals 52 Super Series Sailing Week entries:

Alegre (GBR) Andy Soriano
Alkedo Vitamina (ITA) Andrea Lacorte
Alpha + (HKG) Shawn and Tina Kang
American Magic Quantum Racing (USA) Doug De Vos
Crioula (BRA) Eduardo and Renato Plass
Gladiator (GBR) Tony Langley
Paprec (FRA) Jean-Luc Petithugeunin
Platoon Aviation (GER) Harm Müller-Spreer
Provezza (TUR) Ergin Imre
Sled (USA) Takashi Okura
Teasing Machine (FRA) Eric de Turckheim
Vayu (THA) Whitcraft family

52 SUPER SERIES 2025 Standings after 3 events:

1. American Magic Quantum Racing, 18+23+42 = 93
2. Sled, USA, 13+58+51 = 122
3. Paprec, FRA, 23,5+ 63+43 = 129,5
4. Alkedo, ITA, 28+49+61 = 138
5. Platoon Aviation, GER, 36+44+63 = 143
6. Vayu, THA, 27+68+65 = 160
7. Alpha+, HKG, 21,5+68+71 = 160,5
8. Alegre, GBR, 30+71+62 = 163
9. Provezza, TUR, Ergin Imre, 30+64+81 = 175
10. Phoenix, RSA, 48+69+60 = 177
11. Gladiator, GBR, 12+120+63 = 195
12. Teasing Machine, FRA, 48+73+120 = 241
13. Crioula, BRA, 28+120+120 = 268

Puerto Portals, past winners: