‘Platoon Aviation’ remains at the forefront of the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week

The third day of competition at the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week concluded with a single race that allowed the "Gladiator," owned by British owner Tony Langley and helmed by Argentine Guillermo Parada, to claw back two points from the still-leader, the "Platoon Aviation" helmed and owned by German Harm Müller-Spreer. The "Vayu," with Queen Suthida of Thailand aboard, finished fifth.

The fourth event of the 52 SUPER SERIES 2024 crossed the midpoint of its competition schedule with a day of capricious wind in the Bay of Palma that delayed the first start of the day and made it unfeasible to complete the second. The fleet of 13 boats from nine nationalities returned to Puerto Portals with five races completed after three days of competition, topped provisionally by Platoon Aviation.

The sole contested race began with an hour's delay, but the wait was worth it as the fleet took to the field with a good breeze of 15 knots. Once again, "Gladiator" sought the fastest path along the left edge of the line, and Tony Langley's boat quickly took the lead. At the crucial first buoy pass, the world champion TP52 slipped ahead of the duel between "Platoon" and "Quantum Racing powered by American Magic." Guillermo Parada (helmsman of "Gladiator") and Harm Müller-Spreer (owner and helmsman of "Platoon Aviation") engaged in an exciting tussle on the first downwind leg, but by the end of the stretch, the American boat helmed by Harry Melges had overtaken the German to move into second place. The positions remained unchanged to the finish, where "Gladiator" secured its second partial victory of the week, ahead of "Quantum Racing powered by American Magic" and "Platoon Aviation."

The "Vayu" of the Whitcraft family finished fifth with Queen Suthida of Thailand aboard, and holds the seventh spot in the provisional standings, 12 points off the podium.

The start of the second scheduled race was attempted twice and had to be canceled both times. The instability of the breeze made it impossible to establish a fair field for competition, and the Race Committee, led by Alicante's María Torrijo, called the day's racing to an end after 16:30h.

María Torrijo, Principal Race Officer, explained upon returning to Puerto Portals: "This morning's report already indicated a complicated day. It was clear that two winds were going to battle: the Levante gradient wind, which enters the bay from the southeast, and the thermal. The little while that the gradient prevailed, we managed to conduct a good race with 15 knots, but then it started to fight again by the end of the afternoon. We tried moving the field, but it would have been a very unfair race."

With three days of competition completed and five of the ten races scheduled for this fourth event of the season, "Platoon Aviation" leads the provisional standings with a nine-point advantage over "Gladiator" (which trimmed two points off the leader today) and 16 over "Quantum Racing powered by American Magic."