The boats themselves are things of beauty that scream high performance. They might not foil but the 52 Super Series yachts are supremely high-tech pieces of kit. They sail upwind comfortably at eight to 10 knots and can top 25 knots downwind in breezy conditions. Although the boats are not one-design – far from it – the fleet is nevertheless pretty evenly matched.
As impressive as the boats are, the calibre of the crews racing them is even more so. The crew lists feature America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race winners, along with Olympic medallists and a swathe of European and world champions.
The atmosphere on the dock at a 52 Super Series is electric. Watching TP52 racing from a chase boat is like getting a masterclass in the various elements of the dark art of high-performance yacht racing. Tactical, strategic, and boat handling mistakes are punished severely.
A mistimed trigger pull on the hotly contested start line can turn the rest of your race into a damage limitation exercise. A fluffed layline at the top mark can mean the difference between rounding in the top three – or dead last.
Upwind and downwind, crosses with other boats are made by the barest of margins. And with top quality on-the-water umpires overseeing the action, transgressions are punished instantly with penalty turns.
The teams themselves are structured like micro-America’s Cup syndicates. A fleet of powerful chase boats shadows the race boats, each one packed with coaches, sail designers, hydraulic specialists, and boat builders, along with the vast inventory of mainsails, headsails, and spinnakers the crews can choose from based on the conditions.
A few years ago I shadowed the Quantum Racing team for an entire regatta – on the water and ashore. Observing how a professional yacht racing team operates across a regatta was fascinating. I learned more in one hour-long debrief session than I could have done reading all the yacht racing books in the world.
Every 52 Super Series is hard fought. No discards are allowed and the final result is very often only determined on the last race of the final day. Two trophies are up for grabs each season – one for the 52 Super Series season title, and the other for the annual TP52 World Championship.
The 2026 worlds take place next week in Porto Cervo, Sardinia and have attracted a bumper entry of 15 boats from 11 nations. Class insiders say that more than half of the fleet can be considered as viable contenders to claim the world title.
Consistently finishing in the top half of the fleet is seen to be the key to being in with a shout of the regatta win at the end of the week.
“Banking the thirds, fourths, fifths and sixths is going to be so important in a fleet of this size now,” commented British sailor Simon Fry, trimmer on Tony Langley’s Gladiator which won the world championship in 2024 in the United States. “You cannot, cannot, drop a 12th or a 13th on your scorecard. Realistically there are only three or four boats you would discount from an overall win.”
Points racing starts on Tuesday, but the helmsmen, tacticians and strategists will try to make the most of an official practice day Monday to acclimatise to the conditions and find their racing rhythm.
The last time the Rolex TP52 World Championship was hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda was in 2014 when Ed Baird steered Quantum Racing to a narrow, two points victory ahead of the home club’s Azzurra over the same June time window.
So it is reasonable to expect the weather to be similar next week as it was then, a real mix of strong Mistral, very light winds and some sea breeze, suggesting the regatta will prove a real test of speed and skills across the wind range.
Three teams have won the world title before, Japanese owner Takashi Okura’s Sled (2021 in Mallorca), Langley’s Gladiator (Newport, RI in 2024) and Harm Müller-Spreer’s German-flagged Platoon Aviation (2017 in Scarlino, 2019 in Mallorca; 2023 in Barcelona).
It’s supremely hard to pick a favourite in this fleet, but it has to be noted that the crew of Sled are on something of a roll. They won the final event of last season in Port Cervo and recently also took out the first event of the 2026 season in Puerto Portals, Mallorca.
Sled’s longtime tactician Francesco Bruni says that there are a lot of high expectation levels throughout the fleet going into the 2026 World Championship.
“It will be a great event because the 52 Super Series has never been so healthy,” he said. “Being in Porto Cervo is special and everyone wants to make a great result there. Things are going well on our team but you can be last in any race. We need to keep focused all the way through.”
Olympic gold medallist Jordi Calafat, strategist on Platoon Aviation, is pleased with the team’s progress, finishing runners up last month behind Sled. He believes they can win in Porto Cervo but are still working hard to get the very best from their boat.
“We don’t have the fastest boat out there so we still have a little bit of work to do,” Calafat confessed. “There are boats out there with an edge on us. If we want to win races and regattas we still have to improve here and there.
“When I have been to Porto Cervo this time of year there has not always been the same conditions each day. Some light days, then the Mistral usually lasts more than one day normally.
“I hope we can just get to the last day with chances to win, at least we feel good now and there are conditions where we are fast. And now with more boats you start well and sail well that gives you chances. I think we are managing to get our speed back.”
Aboard Gladiator, the crew will return to the set up that won them the 2024 world title. Argentinian Olympian and TP52 veteran Guillermo Parada will steer, with owner Langley pairing up with Victor Diaz de Leon – 2025 world champion with American Magic Quantum Racing – on tactics and strategy.
“We have a chance to win. We would have to give ourselves the chance to sail our modes. We have to find our feet as Victor and Tony have not really sailed together in the roles they are doing. I genuinely think the level [in the fleet] is so impressive,” trimmer Fry commented.
Class newcomer Pieter Heerema and his No Way Back team must surely be counted amongst the potential winners also. With a crew consisting of 75 per cent former American Magic/Quantum Racing the team finished third in Puerto Portals and next week will welcome back 2012 Olympic 470 bronze medallist Lucas Calabrese as strategist.
Meanwhile, Andrea Lacorte’s Italian Alkedo Vitamina (above) is widely recognised as one of the quickest boats in the fleet – and were the only team to win two races in Mallorca last month.
Ergin Imre’s Provezza topped the interim leaderboard in Portals with Cole Parada and Santi Lange combining as a potent afterguard.
Watch out also for Andy Soriano’s Alegre who have drafted in past world champion John Kostecki as tactician for the event.
Entries Rolex TP52 World Championship Porto Cervo 2026
- Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano
- Alkedo (ITA), Andrea Lacorte
- Alpha + (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang
- Caballo Loco (BRA), Mauro Dottori & Fabio Cotrim
- Crioula (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass
- Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley
- Paprec (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin
- Platoon Aviation (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer
- Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre
- No Way Back (NED), Pieter Heerema
- Sled, Takashi Okura
- Teasing Machine (FRA), Eric de Turckheim
- Trinity (SWE), Joakim Sundberg
- Vayu (THA), Whitcraft Family
- Vudu (ITA), Mauro Gestri
