Puerto Portals 52 Super Series Sailing Week - Day 1
by 52 Super Series 5 May 19:29 BST
4-9 May 2026
A remarkable first day of the 2026 52 SUPER SERIES season saw the newest boat in the record-sized fleet of 14 boats, Swedish flagged Trinity Racing steered by young rookie owner Joakim Sundberg win the second race of the day, just one month after the boat was launched.
After two windward races sailed on the Bay of Palma in light breezes opening the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week the new team led by tactician Ed Baird lie third overall, four points behind the Whitcraft family's Vayu which is steered by Don Whitcraft who takes time out from his masters degree studies to compete in the world's leading grand prix monohull circuit.
With local ace Many Weiller calling tactics Vayu's first and fourth places gives one of the circuit's underdog teams the event lead. Ergin Imre's Provezza are second with Cole Parada and Santi Lange as afterguard combining with Palma based navigator Nacho Postigo, widely known as the 'wizard of Palma Bay'
For the ambitious Swedish team, who have designs on the top spots in the fleet within a few years, this win is at least a great reward for team with a high work ethic who have really burned the midnight oil to have their new boat ready on time.
They trained five weeks through the winter on a Cape 31 on these Palma waters, winning the Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta a month ago. But today was the first time in 'the lion's den' of the 52 SUPER SERIES for Sundberg and you can still probably count on two hands his days on the helm of his immaculate new Botin designed boat. He wears the 'rookie' term humbly considering it is less than two years since he stepped on a race boat of any type for the first time.
Entrepreneur Sundberg, who has been successful in cybersecurity, writes the software for his team's data performance and analysis, but he is an owner not afraid to muck in. He regularly humps sails to and from the boat.
"Listen." Sundberg enthuses, "If the trash needs taken out I take the trash out if it needs done and it is good for the team."
After Eric de Turckheim's early leader had to pull out of Race 2 when a runner failed, the leading match was between Provezza and Trinity Racing. The Swedes stayed cool and won by tiny seconds from Imre's team.
Sundberg smiled on the dock in the Marina Puerto Portals, "It was an outcome I did not necessarily expect but I am super glad for the team, they performed really well, it was really good. We made some tactically smart moves on the course and they put us in positions we could handle really, really well and the boat works well in. We are super happy with the day. At the finish of the race I was just laser focused, locked in getting over the finish line. My heart rate was really high. The first day could not have gone better. We set out to be consistent to carry on doing what we do in practice, take nothing for granted. And we are keeping our feet on the ground. After the first race we had a small chat about what we needed to do better. We started the second race much as we did the first. The discussion we had between races I think made us step up a bit and really fight for it."
Vayu, with young Don Whitcraft steering made two good starts, leading the first race all the way from the top mark. They showed great speed in the 7 to 10kts winds. Weiller picking good shifts,
"Today was the sort of day when anyone could have won the race: a good start, getting the first shifts right, and you'd be in the lead. It was a very shifty day, with plenty of opportunities, and we had the good judgement and luck to make the most of it. We got off to two good starts and were immediately able to pull ahead slightly, capitalise on the early shifts and sail with a bit of freedom. You really notice the increase in the fleet size to 14 at the start; it's getting very crowded, and if you're in the wrong position, you get left behind. The key today was to be patient, wait for the shift that worked in your favour, and try to join the main group."
Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week Provisional Standings: (after 2 races)
1. Vayu (THA), Whitcraft Family, 1+4 = 5pts
2. Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre, 5+2 = 7pts
3. Trinity (SWE), Joakim Sundberg, 8+1 = 9pts
4. Sled, Takashi Okura, 2+7 = 9pts
5. Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley, 6+3 = 9pts
6. No Way Back (NED), Pieter Heerema, 3+8 = 11pts
7. Alpha + (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang, 4+10 = 14pts
8. Crioula (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass, 10+5 = 15pts
9. Platoon Aviation (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 7+11 = 18pts
10. Alkedo (ITA), Andrea Lacorte, 9+9 = 18pts
11. Paprec (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, 14+6 = 20pts
12. Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano, 11+12 = 23pts
13. Caballo Loco (BRA), Mauro Dottori & Fabio Cotrim, 13+13 = 26pts
14. Teasing Machine (FRA), Eric de Turckheim, 12+15(DNF)+1(PEN) = 28pts