The second event of the 2026 44Cup set sail today off Puntaldia in northeast Sardinia. The famous towering wedge-shaped island of Tavolara formed a dramatic backdrop for the RC44 racing but situated directly to weather of the race course its 500+m height made for tough wind conditions. Giant shifts and ‘bombs’ of wind tested the skills of the tacticians and the teams as well as the race committee led by class PRO Maria Torrijo. This was further compounded by a lumpy seastate coming not head on but diagonally across the course from the right, ie on the bow upwind on port tack.

With the chilly breeze starting at around 17 knots, the first race saw Team Charisma lead GeMera Racing and Aleph Racing around the top mark, Nico Poons back behind the wheel having missed the last event in Puerto Calero in February. For the next lap it was close between Charisma and GeMera with GeMera just getting the inside berth at the top mark to lead on to the run and, from there, on until the finish.

“It was super super shifty - very puffy,” commented GeMera Racing tactician, America’s Cup helm Francesco Bruni. “The wind was going from eight knots to 18. Upwind on port was very hard banging into the waves. In fact our boat speed was half a knot slower on port than it was on starboard, while downwind it was all about the pressure.”

In race two GeMera Racing was also looking in good shape having been in the second wave to head right out of the start. The Swedish team tacked onto a giant lift which subsequently evened up but had already edged them ahead enough to lead around the top mark ahead of their team mates on Torbjörn Törnqvist's Artemis Racing. On board the 2026 44Cup’s present leader John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing tactician Vasco Vascotto made the call to gybe early and being the first to do so caused the Gibraltar team to lead into the leeward gate. However on the final run they split sides with GeMera Racing as some shift-playing cunning by Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika and the Pietro Loro Piana-skippered Aleph Racing caused them to pull ahead down the middle of the course, Team Nika taking the bullet, the charging Aleph Racing following just three seconds behind.

For the 2025 season winner this race win came as relief following a difficult opening event of the season in Puerto Calero. The first race today hadn’t helped. “We had a mishap with the zip on our jib so we had to use the #3 for the whole race,” explained tactician Nic Asher. “All the heading into the waves on port was not great with that... but we got back into it in the second one. There were just a few little shifts in pressure at the end of that one.”

In fact not so little… “There were some bombs coming down,” Asher continued. “You could see them coming but you didn’t know what they were going to do. Some of them headed you, some of them lifted you, some just shook everything. You just had to stay in phase, but it made for an interesting race.”

Their last charge having failed to quite reel in Team Nika, Aleph Racing made amends in today’s third and final race. The fleet pleased the photographers by remaining lined up on starboard for a while out of the line but as the fleet was headed, Aleph Racing, which had started close to the pin, was able to tack back from the left and cross the fleet on port. This set them up to be first into the top mark, extending away from there to take the race win.

Having scored a 3-2-1 today Aleph Racing was boat of the day, ahead of GeMera Racing and Team Nika. However skipper Pietro Loro Piana was perhaps more pleased by their performance in the first race. “I put the crew in a very difficult position in the first prestart – Team Aqua hooked us at speed - Mach 7! – and we got a penalty because I didn't react as quickly as I should. But at least our stern didn't hit them.” Despite starting on the back foot by the top mark they had recovered well, the conditions certainly helping to open up opportunities. “Michele [Ivaldi – Aleph Racing tactician] found a miracle lane and as soon as the shift came, we were very good at getting back in the groove with the rest of the boats. And I have to say, on the first beat, what made me very happy was that we were fourth at the top mark…” And they went on fend off Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star to finish third. “Being able to put me back in the groove after my mistake in the pre-start was unbelievable. Plus a bit of luck…”

After two solid races even the immaculate GeMera Racing made a mistake in the final race. As Francesco Bruni explained: “We were in good shape at the top, but we tacked to leeward of Charisma and then there was big lefty, which meant we couldn’t reach the top mark anymore and we parked and got a penalty for touching the mark… So we did our penalty turn and were last, or second last, but then we caught a couple of boats and ended up fifth which saved the day.”

Tomorrow the wind direction is expected to be slightly further right of due north but sub-10 knots. Racing is scheduled to start on time at 1200.