Thirteen competitive machines got a brutal introduction to Lanzarote’s notorious trade wind corridor during Tuesday’s practice race, and the message was clear: this week will demand everything from crews hunting consistency in unpredictable, muscular conditions.
Playa Papagayo delivered the goods. Andy Soriano’s Alegre and Ergin Imre’s Provezza emerged as the standout performers in winds hovering around 20 knots and a chaotic sea state that few fleets get to train in. Takashi Okura’s Sled, the season’s championship leader, also showed well alongside Trinity Racing’s Joakim Sundberg, who sit second in the standings after two regattas.
The practice circuit was less about clean racing lines and more about understanding a place that rewards adaptability. Alegre’s Italian navigator Francesco Mongelli said it plainly: “We learned today this is a wavy place to sail.” He explained how the northern wind shadow creates unpredictable air, while a one-knot current running against the breeze adds another layer of complexity. “It was very demanding today. We had a fairly good start even if it would really have been a general recall and we went to the right corner and we were fast and made the best decisions especially downwind.”
Kostecki, the American tactician now aboard Alegre in his second event with the crew, is already shifting how the boat operates. Mongelli praised his specialist approach: “He wants people to take responsibility. He is not getting into different areas, he wants people to fix their own issues. It is easy to see why he is a winning tactician, he is really good.”
Provezza’s Cole Parada, the tactician for the 2023 season runners-up, reported similarly tough conditions from the water. His crew includes Nick Heiner, a Dutch 2020 Finn Olympian and 2014 Laser world champion, deputising as strategist. “We have been tweaking our rig settings a bit and today was the first day of that,” Parada said. “We are expecting two long, hard events in these conditions so anything can happen. We can learn. Nick is doing a great job and knows the area.”
Gustavo Martinez Doreste, a 470 Olympian for Spain in 2000 and 2004 now coaching Alegre, has lived on Lanzarote nearly two decades and understands the island’s wind factory intimately. He expects moderate to strong northerlies all week, the Canary Islands’ textbook trade wind pattern. The race committee, led by PRO María Torrijo, will have daily choices about where to place marks. Current flows parallel to the main channel, depth changes near Lobos Island create convergence zones, and wave patterns shift dramatically depending on which coast the fleet sails. “It is a great place to race,” Martinez Doreste confirmed.
Racing begins Tuesday at midday local time, running through Saturday. Sled leads the series on 89 points from Platoon Aviation’s Harm Müller-Spreer on 104. Live coverage streams on the 52 SUPER SERIES platforms throughout the week.
