Sweden's Anna Östling and Martina Carlsson boosted their semi-final hopes with strong performances on day two of the 2026 Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, Maryland. With the second round-robin stage now past the halfway mark, the battle for the top four places remains tightly contested ahead of Friday's final qualifying races.
Martina Carlsson's Beyond Racing Team recorded five wins from six races on day two of the Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis. Photo: Ted Morgan
Former Santa Maria Cup champion Östling and Team Wings were unbeaten throughout the day, recording five wins from five races to move up the leaderboard. Fellow Swede Carlsson and the Beyond Racing Team also impressed, taking five victories from six starts to strengthen their challenge for a semi-final berth.
Defending champion Allie Blecher of the United States maintained her strong form. Team Baam added four more wins to remain among the event frontrunners.
Racing began after a short postponement ashore. Light and shifting southerly winds created difficult conditions, with crews facing frequent changes in pressure and direction.
Anna Östling and Team Wings posted a perfect five wins from five races to climb the Santa Maria Cup leaderboard. Photo: Ted Morgan
Dutch skipper Julia Aartsen continued her impressive debut at the event. Her Team Out of the Box secured four wins from five races to remain firmly in contention. "We are loving this venue, and we are pleased with our results so far," said Aartsen. "The wind is all over the place, and it's a real game of snakes and ladders, but we are sailing well against both the teams we know and the new teams competing here this week."
Carlsson said her team had bounced back after a difficult opening day. "We managed to really find our speed today," she said. "We had some trouble with penalties earlier in the regatta, but we kept pushing, and today's results were very good for us."
With several qualifying races still to sail, Carlsson said her team hopes to earn enough points to reach the semi-finals.
Friday's racing will determine the four teams progressing to the knockout stages, with combined scores from both round-robin series deciding the final standings. The 2026 Santa Maria Cup concludes on Saturday, 6 June.
