One point. That is all separating the leader from second place heading into the final day of the Rolex TP52 World Championship in Porto Cervo, and it tells you everything you need to know about the state of play in what may be the tightest fleet racing series of the year.
Alpha+ holds the provisional lead with 43 points, but Sled sits breathing down their neck just a single point behind. The gap between first and sixth place spans only 10 points, a margin so compressed that virtually any combination of results tomorrow could shuffle the entire order. When the fleet returns to the water for two races scheduled in light breezes, any boat finishing in the top half of the fleet could conceivably win the title by day’s end.
This is what competitive box-rule sailing looks like at its best. The TP52 class attracts some of the world’s sharpest offshore racing crews, and Porto Cervo has delivered a championship where no single team has pulled away. That’s the point that matters most as the final day approaches.
Swedish team Trinity Racing delivered the standout performance on day four, a crew making their first appearance in the 52 Super Series. They claimed a third place in the morning race and then prevailed in the afternoon contest, a result that propelled them into third overall with 48 points. Trinity Racing benefits from the tactical acumen of Ed Baird and the trimming expertise of Ross Halcrow, and both showed their worth during windy conditions in the second race where execution at the start and first windward mark largely determined the outcome.
The afternoon race proved instructive in how quickly fortune can shift. Provezza, Sled, and Platoon lined up cleanly off the pin end, yet Sled found themselves pinched between two faster boats and forced to break off, chasing for the remainder. Later, Vayu arrived below the lay line at the windward mark, luffed hard to avoid a collision, still clipped the mark anyway, and that penalty left them unable to mount a second strong finish of the day.
These moments accumulate. Tied on 51 points are both Alkedo Vitamina and Platoon Aviation, while Paprec sit sixth on 53 points. With two races remaining and margins this slender, the title could genuinely belong to any of half a dozen boats by tomorrow afternoon.
The morning race started in modest 7 to 8 knot easterly breezes and saw Thai entry Vayu, skippered by Manu Weiller on tactics, emerge victorious from a tightly bunched battle after the first upwind leg. Alkedo Vitamina finished second, Trinity Racing third. Both Alpha+ and Sled, the championship leaders, finished fourth and fifth respectively, unable to capitalise when it mattered most.
Racing resumes tomorrow at 1 p.m. CEST. The wind forecast suggests light conditions, which means boat handling, crew weight placement, and tactical positioning will determine outcomes more than raw boat speed. Everything remains in play.
