Porto Cervo's wild week of wind and glassy calm delivered one of the more dramatic finales the 52 Super Series has seen in recent years. The regatta opened under a ferocious Mistral, with gusts approaching 30 knots pushing the TP52 fleet to the very limits of control. Seven races later, the wind had all but vanished, replaced by oppressive heat, glassy water and looming thunderclouds. Race officers scrapped the final day altogether, and when the scores were tallied, Takashi Okura's Sled had claimed the Porto Cervo Range Rover Regatta title on 27 points, their second Sardinian crown following a dominant whitewash here in 2019.
Kiwi crew member Don Cowie made no effort to hide his satisfaction. "It is huge for the team," he said. "We had some pace in the breeze and were really comfortable with how we sailed. Mr Okura does a great job considering how little time he really is on the handlebars."
Hasso and Tina Plattner's Phoenix, reinvigorated by the addition of Tom Slingsby and Will Ryan, claimed second on 33 points. It was a pointed reminder of the boat's potential when everything clicks, after a season that had delivered its share of frustrations. Andy Soriano's Alegre rounded out the podium in third with 38 points, a result that gave the programme plenty to feel confident about heading into the off-season.
Behind the top two, the racing was ferociously tight. Alegre, Paprec and Provezza scrapped all week for the final podium spot, eventually separated by just a single point. Alegre finished on 38, while Jean-Luc Petithuguenin's Paprec and Provezza each ended on 39. Missing the regatta podium by the narrowest of margins was still reason for Paprec's French crew to celebrate, with third place across the championship representing their best-ever overall season result. Provezza, now guided by new strategist Santi Lange alongside Cole Parada, found their best form in the closing stages, taking second in both race six and race seven. Back-to-back podium finishes in the final two races suggest real momentum heading into 2026.
The four days of racing that shaped this outcome were anything but straightforward. On the opening day, Platoon took Race 1 while Sled posted a fourth and a second to signal their intent. Kiwi helm Nick Egnot-Johnson drove Alpha+ from last place to first in Race 2, one of the day's standout performances. The afternoon was soured, however, when Platoon collided with Gladiator, leaving both boat damage and injury in its wake.
Day two saw the Mistral truly bare its teeth. Sled claimed their first race win of the Porto Cervo event, and American Magic steadied their campaign with a second. Platoon, by contrast, fumbled a spinnaker drop and slipped down the standings. The third day compressed three races into one session, with three different crews on top: Paprec, Phoenix and Sled each took a win. Phoenix were the day's overall top scorers and climbed to second overall, while Sled showed considerable resilience, recovering from a penalty earlier in the day to take the final race. By day four, the Mistral had run out of breath entirely. Thailand's Vayu seized the opportunity to claim their first win of the season, with Provezza slotting into second and confirming the late-regatta surge that came to define their week.
{{TABLE_1}}
From the chaos of extreme Mistral conditions to the enforced stillness of the cancelled final day, Porto Cervo captured everything the 52 Super Series delivers within a single event. For Sled, the result was proof that consistency and composure under pressure remain their greatest strengths. For Phoenix, it was confirmation that they can still challenge at the very sharp end of the fleet. And for Alegre, Paprec and Provezza, finishing within a point of each other underlined just how little separates the best crews in this circuit when the racing is at its most competitive.
