Adam Beashel knew what was on the line as Sled crossed the starting line at Porto Cervo on a June afternoon when the wind had only just arrived. One race. One chance. That’s all it took to settle the 2026 Rolex TP52 World Championship, and the Australian skipper’s crew capitalised when it mattered most.
Sled, representing Japanese owner Takashi Okura, finished third in that deciding race but it was enough. The crew had started the day one point behind Hong Kong’s Alpha+, and they knew a tie wouldn’t cut it. With Italian tactician Checco Bruni calling the plays and six-time America’s Cup winner Murray Jones providing strategy, Sled executed a clean start, marked their rivals through the middle marks, and got the job done without overextending.
“You don’t win a world championship every day,” Bruni said after the final gun. “We needed a good start and got one, then we simply had to mark a few opponents, and it went very well.” The victory marks Sled’s third consecutive TP52 title, having won the final leg in Porto Cervo last year and now opening the 2026 season with back-to-back Super Series wins.
The broader story belonged to Trinity Racing. Joakim Sundberg’s Swedish team stormed down the final run to win the deciding race, a result that speaks volumes about their development. They’re competing in only their second Super Series event ever, their first world championship, yet they sailed with the composure of a team that belonged there. Ed Baird’s tactical input clearly paid dividends, and they hold second overall.
Germany’s Platoon Aviation, helmed by Harm Müller-Spreer with Vasco Vascotto on tactics and Olympic champion Jordi Calafat strategising, took the bronze. They rounded the windward mark first in today’s race but couldn’t hold on. Their championship was built on consistency, remarkably clean sailing that produced just one double-digit result across the series.
Alpha+ fell away. Starting the morning at the top of the standings, a 12th place today cost them dearly. That’s keelboat racing in concentrated form, especially in a championship decided by nine races where every decision compounds.
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda hosted the largest TP52 World Championship fleet on record, with 15 boats from 11 nations. Commodore Andrea Recordati described it as the finest technical and competitive keelboat sailing on display. Light winds threatened to sabotage the schedule, but the Race Committee waited for a 13 to 14-knot easterly to fill the Gulf of Arzachena just after mid-afternoon, with the Gallura mountains standing sentinel across the water.
Bruni’s quiet satisfaction said everything. This was professional sailing at the highest level, where tactics matter, where one miscalculation compounds into lost places, and where a crew that stays calm under pressure takes home the trophy.
