A frantic mast climb with less than two minutes to spare kept Takashi Okura’s Sled on course for an unlikely overall victory at Puerto Portals. Dutch bowman Ivan Peute scrambled up the spar to secure a mainsail halyard that had come undone—a catastrophe that could have cost them the entire regatta.
Sled’s crew had been wounded coming into the final day. A disastrous 13th place yesterday, courtesy of two consecutive penalties, left them scrambling to salvage their season opener. But the offshore breeze building towards 25 knots in the second windward-leeward proved their territory. They finished with a commanding first and third across the two races that were sailed before conditions forced the cancellation of the planned third race.
That one-point swing from Peute’s handiwork proved decisive. Sled returned a four-point aggregate to claim outright victory, while overnight leaders Provezza crumbled under the pressure. Ergin Imre’s Turkish-flagged boat had held a three-point advantage going into the finale but carded a disappointing seventh and 14th to fade to fourth overall.
“The main halyard had come undone and we had to fix it,” Peute explained matter-of-factly. “We only had a few minutes. I had to go up the mast and lash it. It was just in time.”
Back at the dock in Marina Puerto Portals, the celebration was immediate. “Ivan, Ivan, Ivan!” the crew chanted while raising their well-earned drinks. Tactician Francesco Bruni was effusive: “He’s our MVP. He fixed our problem between the races. It was a huge problem. We would have had to race without a mainsail.”
Bruni credited the entire team effort in recovering from yesterday’s implosion. “We are very optimistic for the season now. But we know that there will be ups and downs. Yesterday we had a very big down and we picked ourselves up.”
Harm Müller-Spreer’s three-time world champions Platoon Aviation claimed second overall at nine points. It marks their best result since finishing runners-up in Baiona last June, a welcome turnaround from their last season opener in Saint-Tropez where they languished last.
Dutchman Pieter Heerema steered No Way Back to third at his first-ever 52 Super Series regatta, just a point behind Platoon Aviation. Heerema commands the boat that swept both of 2025’s major titles—the worlds and the season championship—with American Magic Quantum Racing. The new crew retained three-quarters of that winning lineup, including legendary tactician Terry Hutchinson.
The fleet heads next to Porto Cervo, Sardinia, for the Rolex TP52 World Championship from 15 to 20 June.
