Alpha Plus gave owner Shawn Kang the perfect birthday present on day three of the Rolex TP52 World Championship in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, posting a third and a first to lead the standings on tie-break from 2021 World Champions Sled.
The Hong Kong-flagged boat has been the form crew of the regatta since its opening day stumble. After two 12th places on day one, Alpha Plus rattled off a 2,1,3,1 sequence to sit level on 31 points with Sled heading into the final two days.
With Adrian Stead calling tactics and Ian Moore navigating, the team sailed with discipline and patience, securing good starts and clean first upwind legs that kept them in the top three at every mark. Project manager Luke Van Der Kamp was direct about the formula: "It was very much the same as yesterday for us, we just kept things simple and followed our plan, stuck to our processes, didn't take risks and worked hard. The boat is quick, we are fast!"
Winds of nine to 11 knots produced close, intense racing for the record fleet of 15 boats from 11 nations. Mark roundings were tight and unforgiving, and that top-level consistency was achieved by very few teams.
Sled put together a composed fifth and second to share the lead. Helm Adam Beashel was measured about where his team stands: "It was a long, tough day with a fickle breeze which was forecast to go right but it took a while to do that. The first race it was a bit of a surprise how strong the left was which made it interesting but we are just chipping away at the moment, trying to avoid the big mistakes and big points. The boat is set up very nicely, especially for upwind which is keeping us in the game when we need. But it is a game of inches and that was especially the case on some of these crosses. It is fantastic, tight racing but you don't get to look around and enjoy it much."
Harm Müller-Spreer's Platoon Aviation sit third, just two points back. The three-time world champion senses an opportunity. "Our speed is good now and right now I have the feeling that the boat is up to top performance, so that opens up all opportunities on the race course," he said. "For sure we can win the world title from here but there are five boats tied together that have a chance and we need a little bit of luck and to stay calm and we can win it."
Jean-Luc Petithuguenin's Paprec had moved into the lead after race one, which was won by Brasil's Crioula, but an early start in race two saw them battle back to ninth and drop to fourth overall. Pieter Heerema's No Way Back paid a costly penalty approaching the second windward mark in race two, losing the two places that now separate them from third at day's end.
Only three points split the top five teams with four races remaining across the final two days.
