Rolex TP52 World Championship: Spectacular sailing, "Platoon Aviation" falters

It was spectacular sailing that the eleven crews offered the spectators on Saturday at the Rolex TP52 World Championship off Cascais. Three races in crisp winds of 20 to 28 knots demanded all the skills and stamina of the sailors in the leading international monohull series. Exciting and very entertaining commentary by presenter Andi Robertson and 470 World Champion Luise Wanser made for a full day of racing with pictures worth seeing from Portugal.

Rolex TP52 World Championship: US team favourite despite early start

The title contenders have more or less positioned themselves well for the medal decisions at this Rolex TP52 World Championship. The US favourites from Team American Magic Quantum Racing could have gone into the final day with an even bigger lead than they now have with five points. In the last race of the day, the team led by driver Terry Hutchinso and strategist Victor Diaz de Leon made a false start and, despite a number of attacks, were unable to finish higher than eighth. Hutchinson's annoyance at this can be clearly seen in the replay of the live broadcast at the end.

American Magic Quatum Racing led the standings on Saturday evening before the last two races of the Rolex TP52 World Championship on "Super Sunday" with 27 points ahead of the French team Paprec (32 points) and the second US team on "Sled" (36 points). They were followed at some distance by the Italian team Alkedo powered by Vitamina (44 points), whose crew won the last of the three races on Saturday.

Only in fifth place after four fifths of the Rolex TP52 World Championship were the defending champions around Tony Langley on "Gladiator" (49 points). Close on their tail before the decision: their compatriots on the British "Alegre" (51 points), just one point behind. A further point behind "Alegre" in seventh place was Harm Müller-Spreer's "Platoon Aviation" (51 points) from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein.

Rollercoaster ride for "Platoon Aviation"

The crew led by Markus Wieser, who deputised for the owner and helmsman Harm Müller-Spreer who was unable to work, experienced the three Saturday races in the Portuguese Atlantic like a mirror image of the entire World Championship week: as a rollercoaster ride. Eleventh place was followed by a furious win on the day and fifth place. The crew's inconsistency is due to many factors. First and foremost, probably the new Botin boat, which was built very quickly for this season and with which the crew is not coping as well as hoped. A few position changes within the crew add to the challenges at the World Championship.

Harm Müller-Spreer is not the only one missing from the crew, according to coach Morgan Reeser, who said: "We miss Harm, his passion and his competitiveness." Strategist Jordi Calafat is also not in action, as this was not possible under the class rules with Markus Wieser in professional instead of owner Harm Müller-Spreer in amateur status. The fact that experienced foreshipman Sean Doogie went overboard two days ago and only escaped without serious injury by a stroke of luck, but will be out for the coming weeks, has necessitated additional changes to the crew structure.

Morgan Reeser knows that Markus Wieser can plug a few holes with his skills and capacities. Reeser said: "Fortunately, Markus is an excellent helmsman and a good tactician." The bottom line, however, is the coach's realisation: "The position changes on the boat have made it a challenge to maintain consistency." The Saturday results also showed this. Click here for the interim results and the season rankings.

High level at the Rolex TP52 World Championship

For the cancelled Sean Doogie, Malte Päsler joined the team "last minute" on Saturday, having been asked by the "Platoon Aviation" crew to step in spontaneously. Without any training, he experienced a turbulent day between the forecastle and the centre bow, which can be described as a "baptism of fire". For the final day, the team has decided to work on maximising the strength of their starts within the scope of their current capabilities. Such as in race seven, when they won the day.

But Markus Wieser is under no illusions: "We're simply not fast enough with the boat. If you take away the man overboard and the jibeset we messed up today, we might be fourth. We just have to have great starts and a really good track to the right, then we'll be fine. We can't have any boats to leeward of us. We can't pinch off those to windward, but those to leeward will pinch us off."

The fact that racing in the 52 Super Series and especially in the Rolex TP52 World Championship is organised at a very high level is exciting to experience during the daily live broadcasts in the furious Cascais conditions. "There are a lot of new people in the field and the old boats are fast," says Markus Wieser, paying tribute to the level of performance. The Platoon Aviation team could also see one or two new faces in the future.

You also have to bring in some fresh air and bring in new strikers or buy new defenders, just like in football." Markus Wieser

Wieser said that he himself still enjoyed the tough test at this Rolex TP52 World Championship, but was not afraid to be open and critical: "After the test races with first and second place, I thought that we might be able to do something here, but we're simply not fast enough and we're not sailing well enough. We are currently no better than fourth, even without the incidents in the constellation with the boat in this field."

Review! It's worth watching the races from the final day of the Rolex TP52 World Championship again - Andi Robertson and 470 World Champion Luise Wanser provide good and entertaining commentary:

For Sunday fun: The live broadcast of the final day of the Rolex TP52 World Championship in Cascais starts on 6 July at 12.45 pm. The pictures should once again serve up sailing sport at the highest level that is well worth seeing - then in the forecast 30 knots of wind!