Heroics seal 52 Super Series win

Fourteen teams competed in the first event of the 2026 52 SUPER SERIES held May 5-9 in Mallorca, Spain. Takashi Okura’s Sled closed strong on the final day with a 1-3 to to claim the title at Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week.

The Sled afterguard – Murray Jones, Francesco Bruni, and Andrea Visintini – did their job well, but it was their tall, Dutch bowman Ivan Peute who saved the overall victory when he quickly sorted a mainsail halyard issue.

The problem happened with twelve minutes to the start of the last race. He went up the mast and secured the head of the mainsail in place – albeit a few centimeters below max hoist, finishing the task with less than two minutes to the start gun.

“We are so happy.. this is a team win,” noted tactician Bruni. “Our player of the day is Ivan our bowman. He is our MVP. He fixed our problem between the races. It was a huge problem. We would have had to race without a mainsail. He deserves all our admiration.

“We are very optimistic for the season now. But we know that there will be ups and downs, and now we have to be nice and calm and go from here.”

After posting a 13th place on the penultimate day, their four points from the two races were sailed in a building breeze which topped 25 knots in the second windward-leeward. With the wind building still more the event was concluded before the planned third race could be sailed.

Overnight leaders Provezza, Ergin Imre’s Turkish flagged crew, could not convert their three points lead to overall victory. They compounded a seventh in the first race with a disappointing 14th in the last race after they ended up on the wrong side of the first upwind.

Details: https://www.52superseries.com/event/puerto-portals-52-super-series-sailing-week-3/

Series information – YouTube – Facebook

2026 52 SUPER SERIES
May 5-9 – Mallorca, Spain
June 15-20 – Sardinia, Italy (World Championship)
July 20-25 – Canary Islands, Spain
August 24-29 – Canary Islands, Spain
October 5-10 – Valencia, Spain

The 52 SUPER SERIES was established in 2012 and is considered the world’s leading grand prix monohull yacht racing circuit. The circuit grew from the ashes of the TP52 MedCup which hit the stops in 2011 when the principal sponsor withdrew.

Source: 52SS