On the fourth and final day of the 2025 GL52 Southern Showdown two races were sailed in 8-10 knots of wind on Pensacola Bay to determine regatta winners and 2025 GL52 Southern Series champions. After David Team’s VESPER walked away with the first race of the day (9th of the regatta), it was still all to play for in the final race of the series. Going into Race 10 just 2 points separated the top three teams on the leaderboard— Peter Askew’s WIZARD had 26 points, Victor Wild’s FOX had 27.5 points and Doug DeVos’ WINDQUEST had a score of 28. The fleet of six GL52s crossed the starting line together on starboard tack in near military precision. FOX was the first to round the weather mark, followed by Andrew Berdon’s SUMMER STORM, WIZARD, John Huhn’s KATANA, VESPER and WINDQUEST. FOX protected and increased their lead throughout; the first downwind leg featured a picture-perfect parade of equally-spaced GL52s heading toward the leeward end of the course. On the final upwind leg the fleet consolidated, playing the middle of the course except for KATANA, who’s split from the pack rewarded them with a third place finish. Huhn’s 3-point score meant 4,5- and 6-point scores for podium hopefuls WIZARD, VESPER and WINDQUEST. FOX’s final bullet secured Wild’s team first place overall with 28.5 points; with a 10-race score of 30 points, Peter Askew’s WIZARD grabbed second place and Doug DeVos’ WINDQUEST team took third place with 34.0 points. The next stop for the GL52 Fleet is Holland, MI for the Big Red Regatta from June 13-15.

photos by: Anna Suslova

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