52 Super Series: Thunder stops play, Sled still on top

Due to the threat of big thunderstorms only one race was sailed today at the 52 Super Series Sailing Week. Quantum Racing powered by American Magic bounced back from a disappointing second race Wednesday, when they stole the Race 5 winning gun from under the noses of the Whitcraft family's Vayu.

Vayu, with Don Whitcraft steering, Nick Rogers calling tactics and Miles Seddon navigating looked set to record their second race win in a row until the defending 2022 champions pipped them on the line.

Taking fifth today Takashi Okura's Sled remain on top of the standings with a three points margin over the family team from Thailand who in turn are one point up on Quantum Racing and Provezza who are both on the same 20pts aggregate.

Sled stay consistent and lead into the last two days of this regatta in Tuscany. Last year they topped the standings into the final day but failed to close out the regatta title.

"We are not looking at the scores at the end of each day, we focus on each race as it comes, taking it all day by day and then let us see what happens."

Says Andrea Visintini, the Italian navigator of Sled.

"We feel the boat is going fast in the light conditions, the races are very challenging but we take it day by day."
In the gentle conditions Vayu read the first beat best, hanging to the right of the upwind. They have good pace in the light and were over 100 metres clear of second placed Quantum Racing at the windward turn. They looked solid through the leeward gate and up to the second weather mark but they gybed earlier than Quantum Racing which went further to the right of the run and found enough extra wind pressure to gybe round Vayu on the finish line.

Said Don Whitcraft, helmsman of Vayu:

"It was still a good race for us and overall we are happy to be where we are. There was just little more pressure and it was but more stable on that side, they just got us on the line. We feel good we are excited for the next final days."
Bowman on Quantum Racing Greg Gendell  enthused,

"It was a really good win, we barely beat them. We made a couple of mistakes yesterday and we knew we had to be better, we had to fix it and we did today. We are missing JK (John Kostecki) he is a good leader for us."

52 Super Series Scarlino Sailing Week Provisional standings after five races

1- SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 1+5+1+4+5 = 16
2- VAYU (THA), Whitcraft Family, 3+6+7+1+2 = 19
3- QUANTUM RACING POWERED BY AMERICAN MAGIC (USA), Doug DeVos, 5+1+3+10+1 = 20
4- PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 6+2+6+2+4 = 20
5- ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 10+7+4+3+8 = 32
6- PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso and Tina Plattner, 4+3+11+9+6 = 33
7- PLATOON (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 7+4+8+7+7 = 33
8- INTERLODGE (USA), Austin and Gwen Fragomen, 8+8+9+6+3 = 34
9- GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 9+9+2+5(+1)+9 = 35~
10- PAPREC (FRA), Jean Luc Petithuguenin, 2+10+10+11+10 = 43 
11- ALPHA+ (HKG), Shawn and Tina Kang, 11+11+5+8+11 = 46