Provezza’s consistency is becoming impossible to ignore. After four races at Puerto Portals, Ergin Imre’s Turkish team has posted nothing worse than a fourth place, and with Cole Parada and Santi Lange calling the shots, they hold a commanding six-point lead over Andrea Lacorte’s Alkedo heading into Thursday’s racing.
Wednesday delivered the conditions the Bay of Palma does best: glorious sunshine, 16-knot breezes in the first race, and thermals that rewarded smart seamanship. Provezza sailed measured racing throughout, avoiding the flanks and reading the wind shifts with precision. Parada was buoyant after the day’s work. “Everything is falling into place at just the right time,” he said. “Consistency is always the most important thing in the 52 SUPER SERIES, and that’s never going to change. Before, a fifth place was a keeper; now with 14 boats racing even a seventh or eighth is a good result.”
Alkedo stormed back into contention with a double bullet day. After two ninth places on Tuesday, Cameron Appleton’s crew nailed their starts, particularly from the pin end, and locked down the beats with sharp boat handling. “Sometimes you have to remember what you’re doing is quite good,” Appleton reflected. “We kept prioritising the starts and that was kind of the key. Both times we got off the pin end well and were able to be the last man into the left.” The team’s winter work paid dividends: a new keel with more weight in the bulb, a heavier crew, and a new headstay have combined to give them the platform they need.
Trinity’s dream opening day, when Joakim Sundberg’s new Swedish team won Race 2 to hold third overall, has given way to harsh reality. A main halyard problem before Wednesday’s first race forced them to miss it entirely, and tactical issues in the second race dropped them to ninth overall. Ed Baird acknowledged the missteps: “We had self-inflicted issues today. We made a mistake with our main halyard and had to get it fixed. In the second race we were going round in pretty good shape but we also had a little problem and had to do a manual drop at the bottom that put us on the less favoured side and then there was a big shift up the second beat.”
Takashi Okura’s Sled, the 2021 champions, sit third but level on points with Alkedo at 20. A crucial door slam from Paprec at the top of the second beat in the first race cost them a likely top-three finish.
Thunder and rain are forecast for Thursday, with racing scheduled to start at midday.
