Through a week of volatile, high-stakes racing across the Bay of Palma, one team has stood apart from the turbulence. Takashi Okura's Sled has built a lead of nine points over their closest challengers at the Puerto Portals 52 Super Series, where a record fleet of 14 boats has been trading blows with a ferocity that punishes any lapse without mercy. Two races remain before Friday's finale, and Sled's composure and consistency have been the story of the regatta.
Wednesday's racing made the point with brutal clarity: in this company, a single poor result can undo a week's work in an afternoon. Overnight leaders Provezza discovered as much when a 13th place in the opening race dragged them from first overall down to third. Andrea Lacorte's Alkedo Vitamina, who had swept to a double victory on Tuesday, fared little better, accumulating a combined 20-point haul from the two Wednesday races and finding themselves fighting to stay in contention.
Sled's passage through the same conditions was a study in control. Back-to-back results of second and third reflected precise starts and sharp tactical reads from afterguard pair Murray Jones and Francesco Bruni as the offshore winds shifted across the bay. Bruni, an Italian America's Cup campaigner, was openly satisfied with how the team had regrouped after a collision with Paprec at the top mark had cost them points on Tuesday. "We all reacted well," he said. "The fleet is big, there are big names, the quality of the racing is so high. Our starts have been the highlight of the week, the team have done a good job on positioning and hitting the line hard."
Among those with most reason to welcome Wednesday's shift in fortunes was Eric de Turckheim's Teasing Machine. A running backstay failure had forced a retirement on day one, making the crew the most deserving beneficiaries of what the day offered. They claimed the opening race with Alpha Plus close behind. The second race belonged to the Plass brothers' Brazilian-flagged Crioula, with three-time Olympian Sam Albrecht picking apart the shifty conditions to deliver the team's first win since Valencia last November. Albrecht was measured about it afterwards. "When you're in front, everything's easier," he said. "We didn't get nervous; with such constant pressure, I was quite in control."
Germany's Platoon Aviation, three-time world champions, have rebuilt steadily through the week and now sit third, level on points with Provezza. Víctor Marino pointed to improved dialogue between tacticians Jordi Calafat and Vasco Vascotto as central to their recovery, while remaining candid about where the performance ceiling currently sits. "There are a couple of boats that stand out for their speed, Alkedo and Sled, but everyone here is quick."
Brisk, shifting winds are forecast to carry through to the final day, leaving the leaderboard with plenty of room to move. Sled leads on 25 points, while Provezza and Platoon Aviation share second on 34. Whether Okura's crew can hold on through whatever the Bay of Palma still has in store is the question the closing races will answer.
