The third day of the 52 SUPER SERIES in the Canary Islands, held in Lanzarote, marked the halfway point of the 2026 season. After two days of strong winds, the fleet could only complete one of the two scheduled races. In this single race, Sled achieved a valuable third place, allowing them to climb to the top of the provisional standings, capitalizing on the ninth-place finish of their direct rival, Paprec. The race win went to Trinity Racing.
The weather conditions off the southern coast of Lanzarote, with intense trade winds, forced the Race Committee to advance the day's first start. The wind, which had exceeded 30 knots earlier, settled between 19 and 23 knots by midday. The Gladiator team withdrew from the competition after a forestay connection failure, reducing the fleet to 12 participants.
Trinity Racing, with tactician Ed Baird, took the lead from the outset, followed by Alkedo Vitamina and Platoon Aviation. Paprec, facing issues with their pedestals after a difficult pre-start, passed in sixth. Trinity Racing secured the victory, their first of the week, moving up to seventh place provisionally. Alkedo Vitamina finished second, and Sled third, a result that propelled them into the lead.
“"We have to keep it simple. Our whole season is going to be like this. Yesterday, the only time we got into a complicated situation, it went really badly. Today we gave up a bit of advantage at the start line to make sure we could go to the right. The fleet fought much harder on the left side of the line than they had before, and then we tacked immediately. And once we got roughly halfway up the leg, the fleet on the left started to fall behind us, and the situation started to look very good. As a team, this is the first time we've sailed in so much wind, and it's tough. So every day we are discovering new things and learning. Enjoying it. It's always fun to learn."
After the race, the wind increased again to 30 knots, prompting the Race Committee, led by María Torrijo, to order the fleet's return to Marina Rubicón. Pablo Torrado of Alkedo Vitamina explained that the forecast of a further increase in wind made the decision to return to port a sensible one.
With the first five partial results of the week tallied, Sled faces the fourth day as the leader of the Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week, with 13 points. They are followed by Paprec with 17 points and Alkedo Vitamina with 18.
Murray Jones, strategist for Sled, expressed his satisfaction with the result achieved on a challenging day, highlighting the difficult conditions and the team's good boat handling.
The 52 SUPER SERIES has now crossed the halfway mark of the 2026 season. After two events and three days of competition, Sled has established itself as the benchmark, leading the overall standings with 102 points, followed by Alkedo Vitamina and Platoon Aviation.
The competition will resume on Friday at 11:30 AM (12:30 PM in mainland Spain) and will be broadcast live on the official 52 SUPER SERIES platforms.
