‘Platoon Aviation’ Takes the Lead at the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week

The Bay of Palma was decked out for the second day of competition at the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week.

The wind was slow to arrive, delaying the day's first start by an hour, but when it settled in, it blew around 15 knots, combined with a considerable chop, allowing the 13 teams from nine nationalities to fully showcase their potential in a pure sailing spectacle.

In the day's first race, "Sled," "Provezza," and "Alpha Plus" crossed the start line early, needing to return and restart. The current TP52 World Champion, the British "Gladiator," again secured the left end of the line, which had led to victory the previous day, but this time the glory was to be the South African "Phoenix's." The team, owned by Hasso Plattner and winner of the 2023 Puerto Portals edition, led at the first buoy and defended its position to secure its second partial victory of the season. In the battle for second place, the Brazilian "Crioula" remained behind the leader throughout the race, but in the final meters saw the French "Paprec" sneak past, and a penalty with "Quantum Racing powered by American Magic" undermined the excellent work done throughout the race.

In the second race of the day, "Gladiator" made a painful false start, forcing a restart while most of its rivals clumped at the opposite end of the line. "Provezza" took the lead at the forefront of the charge, and at the first buoy, the curious sight of "Provezza XI" and "Provezza X" (now "Crioula") leading a fleet that formed a real scrum ensued. "Platoon Aviation" used the next leg to overtake the Brazilians and tail the Turks. The team, led by Harm Müller-Spreer and the duo Vasco Vascotto-Jordi Calafat, continued to press until overtaking "Provezza" in another display of skill and performance. A massive wind direction shift added extra excitement to the final meters, but it did not stop "Platoon Aviation" from achieving its second partial victory of the week. "Provezza" secured an excellent second with its new boat, launched just a month ago. "Interlodge" finished third.

With the first four races of Puerto Portals tallied, "Platoon Aviation" maintains the most consistent performance among the fleet and takes the lead in the standings, leading by 11 points over Tony Langley's "Gladiator" (10+5 today). "Paprec," owned by Jean-Luc Pethuguenin, holds the provisional third place, signing the second-best score of the day (2+4) and is just one point behind the circuit leader.

After three events of uneven performance with the boat launched last April competing in these same waters, "Platoon Aviation" seems to have entered a new cycle, as its strategist Jordi Calafat points out: "It seems we are finally having our moment. We were having a bit of an uneven season, starting a bit rusty, and switching from a Vrolijk design to a Botín design was a big change. Each day we learn from the boat, which is a very different animal from the previous one, and the difference is that we are sailing better and finding the lanes. It's true that for me sailing here is like sailing at home, but nowadays everyone knows this place as well as the locals; I don't think it's an advantage."

The Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week competition schedule continues on Friday, with two races planned starting at 13:00h.