52 SUPER SERIES moves to the Atlantic

The second event of the 52 SUPER SERIES 2019 has attracted 8 teams to the Puerto Sherry 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup on June 18-22 in Cádiz, Spain. The waters open to the Atlantic off Puerto Sherry will be new to the fleet which will require fine-tuning their setup for the different wind and sea conditions than the opening act in the Mediterranean at Menorca, Spain.

Both of the top two finishers in Menorca, Platoon and Provezza, are Vrolijk designs which Nacho Postigo, the Spanish navigator on Provezza, feels very good about. “I think Vrolijk have got it nailed this season. Our boat feels very powerful off the start line. And what is great is that we seem to have gained what we wanted, improving on our weakness without losing what were our strengths and that really is the Holy Grail,”

A totally new venue to the world’s leading grand-prix monohull circuit, the racing arena off Puerto Sherry might offer a variety of conditions during this mid-June week. The racing waters are by the renowned Bay of Cádiz, to the north west of the Straits of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean.

“At this time of the year it should be good for sea breeze generation because we have quite a lot of flat land that heats up, and because here there is quite a bit of tide then the water remains that bit colder,” notes Postigo. “The gradient winds are the westerly Poniente and the easterly Levante, which blow there. We could see a little bit of everything.”

Platoon and Provezza top the season standings on 28 and 29 points respectively, with 2018’s defending champions Quantum Racing in third, six points off the leaders. The title holders are on the up as they constantly refine and improve their communication after making big changes to the crew line up for this season. The world champions and circuit champions were close to their best during the middle of the opening event, but slumped to a weighty 7,6 finish.

After showing considerable promise at the pre-season warm up events, Takashi Okura’s Sled – usually very consistent podium contenders – finished in a disappointing ninth. They have bolstered their afterguard for this event with the return of Emirates Team New Zealand’s America’s Cup and TP52 Med Cup winner Ray Davies as tactician.

And the international crew of this season’s brand-new build Bronenosec of Russian owner Vladimir Liubomirov also have high hopes of a moving up to a podium finish after debuting with a fifth in Menorca. They will share the helm between the owner and Croatian Olympic champion Sime Fantela as they did in Menorca.

The practice race for the Puerto Sherry 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup is on Monday with racing on Tuesday and through Saturday, June 18-22.

52 SUPER SERIES – Cádiz details – Facebook

Overall 52 SUPER SERIES Standings (After One Regatta)
1. Platoon (GER) (Harm Müller-Spreer) (5,2,6,3,7,2,2,1) 28 points.
2. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) (6,3,3,1,8,3,1,4) 29 p.
3. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) (8,5,4,2,1,1,7,6) 34 p.
4. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto/Pablo Roemmers) (2,1,1,7,10,7,8,2) 38 p.
5. Bronenosec (RUS) (Vladimir Liubomirov) (1,7,8,10,2,10,6,3) 47 p.
6. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andrés Soriano) (4,11,2,5,6,8,4,7) 47 p.
7. Phoenix 12 (RSA) (Tina Plattner) (7,4,7,8,9,4,3,8) 50 p.
8. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) (9,8,5,9,4,5,9,5) 54 p.
9. Phoenix 11 (RSA) (Hasso Plattner) (3,10,11,6,5,6, DNF12,DNS12) 65 p.
10. Gladiator (GBR) (Tony Langley) (11,9,10,11,3,9,5,10) 68 p.
11. Team Vision Future (FRA) (Jean Jacques Chaubard) (10,6,9,4,11,11,10.9) 70 p.

The 52 SUPER SERIES is established as the world’s leading grand prix monohull yacht racing circuit. The 2019 season will mark the eighth season of the 52 SUPER SERIES which grew from the ashes of the TP52 MedCup which finished in 2011 when the principal sponsor withdrew.

52 SUPER SERIES 2019
May 21-25 – Menorca 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week – Menorca, Spain
June 18-22 – Puerto Sherry 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup – Cadiz, Spain
July 16-20 – Cascais 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week – Cascais, Portugal
Aug 25-29 – Rolex TP52 World Championship Puerto Portals – Mallorca, Spain
Sept 24-28 – Porto Cervo 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week – Sardinia, Italy

Source: 52 SUPER SERIES