Four races remain at the Rolex TP52 World Championship in Porto Cervo, and the battle for the title could scarcely be tighter. Alpha+ and Sled share the lead after six races, with Platoon Aviation just a whisker behind in third. Only three points separate the top five boats, a compression that reflects how evenly matched this fleet has become.
Wednesday's breeze arrived as a light thermal out of the east, ranging between eight and ten knots. Crioula made the first move count in the opening race. The Brazilian campaign, with Olympic sailor Samuel Albrecht calling tactics, nailed the favoured left-hand side of the start line and used that early control to build a lead around the first mark. They extended their margin further on the downwind legs to take the win. Platoon Aviation finished second, with Nick Egnot-Johnson's Alpha+ in third.
Race two unfolded quite differently. Sled rounded the first mark ahead, with Alpha+ pressing hard just a boat length back. Through the shifts on the remaining legs, Checco Bruni aboard Sled and Adrian Stead aboard Alpha+ worked every angle hunting for an edge. It was Alpha+ who found the better path to the finish line, claiming the race win, with Terry Hutchinson's No Way Back rounding out the podium in third.
That result reshuffled the standings. Alpha+ moved level with Sled at the top, pushing Platoon Aviation back to third despite their earlier victory. Paprec and No Way Back are locked together on equal points in fourth and fifth. With two races scheduled for Thursday and a final pair concluding proceedings on Saturday, any of those five boats can realistically claim the championship.
The margins are simply too fine for anyone to ease off. In a fleet this closely matched, a clean start, a tidy mark rounding, and sharp tactical reads can be the difference between climbing the order and sliding back through it. Thursday's breeze is forecast to remain thermally driven, keeping conditions similar to Wednesday's and ensuring the racing stays unpredictable and fiercely contested right through to the final gun.
