A mainsail halyard coming undone between races is the kind of crisis that can unravel a regatta campaign entirely. At Puerto Portals, it very nearly did, until Dutch bowman Ivan Peute climbed the mast of Sled with fewer than two minutes to spare and lashed it back in place. That climb, as it turned out, was the margin of victory.
"The main halyard had come undone and we had to fix it," Peute said. "We only had a few minutes. I had to go up the mast and lash it. It was just in time."
Takashi Okura's Sled had arrived at the final day in a precarious position. Two consecutive penalties the day before had produced a 13th-place finish, leaving the crew fighting to salvage their season opener. The turnaround came courtesy of the conditions. An offshore breeze building towards 25 knots in the second windward-leeward suited Sled well, and they responded with a first and a third across the two races completed before strengthening winds forced the cancellation of the planned third.
Back at the dock at Marina Puerto Portals, the crew made no attempt to hide their feelings about what their bowman had done. Drinks in hand, they chanted his name: "Ivan, Ivan, Ivan!" Tactician Francesco Bruni was equally generous in his praise. "He's our MVP. He fixed our problem between the races. It was a huge problem. We would have had to race without a mainsail."
The one-point swing Peute's climb enabled proved decisive. Sled posted a four-point aggregate across the final day to claim overall victory. Overnight leaders Provezza suffered the opposite fate. Ergin Imre's Turkish-flagged entry had carried a three-point advantage into the finale but managed only a seventh and a 14th, sliding to fourth overall.
Bruni was candid about the journey from the previous day's low to the top of the podium. "We are very optimistic for the season now. But we know that there will be ups and downs. Yesterday we had a very big down and we picked ourselves up."
Harm Müller-Spreer's Platoon Aviation, three-time world champions, claimed second overall on nine points. Their strongest result since finishing runners-up in Baiona last June, it marks a welcome rebound after ending last at the previous season opener in Saint-Tropez.
Just one point separated Platoon Aviation from third, which went to Dutchman Pieter Heerema's No Way Back, competing in his first-ever 52 Super Series regatta. Sailed by American Magic Quantum Racing, No Way Back swept both the worlds and the season championship in 2025. Heerema's new crew retained three-quarters of that championship-winning lineup, including tactician Terry Hutchinson.
The fleet now turns its attention to Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where the Rolex TP52 World Championship runs from 15 to 20 June.
