It was a challenging day for the frontrunners at the J/70 World Championship in Cascais, as moving the racecourse closer to the shore resulted in a very different scenario to that experienced in previous days. Lighter winds and almost no swell reshuffled the battle at the top of the fleet.
With six races now completed, the first discard also came into play, adding another twist to the increasingly tight overall standings. Spain’s Luís Bugallo was among those who paid the highest price, surrendering the overall lead and dropping to third place. Brazil’s Haroldo Solberg seized this opportunity, posting an eighth and a fifth to regain the lead he had held at the end of the opening day (27 net points). American John Heaton moved into second place overall (30 net points).
Among the day’s standout performers was Algarete, skippered by Alejandro Pérez of Mexico, who delivered an excellent and remarkably consistent performance with two third-place finishes. Those results moved the team into the overall top ten and made him a particularly relevant voice through which to assess the day’s racing conditions, saying, “It was an amazing day. We had great conditions out there, managed to get a couple of good starts and handled the fleet well on the downwind legs. The inside course is much more shifty, so even if you don’t have the best start, there are plenty of opportunities to gain places by using the shifts and the puffs coming from the right. We really enjoyed racing in those conditions. Now we’re inside the top ten, so the goal is to keep pushing, try to get into the top five and put ourselves in a position to fight for the win.”
With the battle for the top positions still wide open, the J/70 World Championship is heading into a decisive stage in Cascais. Racing continues on Friday, with two more races scheduled.
Photo: Neuza Aires Pereira
Event Website / Results → Cascais 2026 J70 World Championship
