The Real Deal: Naples, and Luna Rossa, deliver America’s Cup Masterclass

It’s hard to overstate how important the Preliminary Regatta in Naples was for the America’s Cup, when on the surface it was just a show. On the face of it, the teams were sailing in the AC40s, rather than the AC75s they’ll be racing in the 38th America’s Cup next year, the Australian team weren’t there, and no points were on offer, but in reality this was a test for the teams, the sailors, the broadcast team, and most importantly for Naples itself as a venue. It came as a breath of fresh air to watch traditional windward-leeward racing again after the reaching starts in SailGP. Watching the teams line up had so much to it, especially with some deciding on port tack flyers to get to the favoured right hand side of the course. We’re used to seeing plenty of these in classes like the Moth and Switch, and with so many of the sailors regularly out in those classes it shouldn’t come a surprise to see them, but a port tack flyer in an AC40 is a whole different scale of crazy compared to a foiling singlehander. In a somewhat bizarre way, waiting for the wind was also refreshing. SailGP has to happen during their broadcast window, regardless of the wind strength, and I really quite enjoyed watching the replays and interviews while the breeze built in the Bay of Naples; it was worth the wait when it did happen each day. For the teams themselves, we began to see their sailing strengths and weaknesses. We can’t glean any design information from what we saw, as the AC40s are one design yachts, unlike the AC75s, which will be the same ones used in the 37th America’s Cup, with a few modifications, such as batteries instead of cyclors. Overall, Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand were the class acts throughout the weekend, securing their places in the final early and rarely showing any errors. Communications on board were calm and methodical, boat speed was good, combined with exceptional boat handling. Both teams switched seamlessly from fleet racing to match racing mode, with Luna Rossa executing a perfect pin end start while Emirates Team New Zealand had to tack away, starting a couple of seconds late. The Italians bossed the Kiwis, bouncing them repeatedly on the right hand side boundary upwind while controlling position on the downwind legs. The defection of Peter Burling from the Cup holders to the Italian challenger seems to have provided the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle, which may lead to Luna Rossa’s long sought-after America’s Cup victory. No-one ever doubts the Italian passion, but Burling has brought the cold, calculating, and sometimes brutal, Emirates Team New Zealand mindset, where it’s all about the numbers, the incremental gains, and executing the game plan. The fans were out in force in Naples, showing how the Italian city could push the event on another notch from the 37th edition in Barcelona. There’s no doubt that having the strong home nation taking part is a huge draw, and the Italian public need a national team to get behind, with their footballers seemingly unable to qualify for the big tournaments. The waterfront festival was well set up with big screens, stage and stalls, while an armada of vessels surrounded the race course on Sunday. Naples is proving to be ‘una grande città dello sport’ with the bay being a natural and brilliant amphitheatre for the event. The construction of the team bases at Bagnoli, just to the west of the main city, is continuing apace and it won’t be long until we see these bustling with the sailors, designers and crews working on the boats. The French AC75 was the first to arrive in Naples, coming in on a ship just before the preliminary regatta, and it’ll be great to see them out on the water in the bay. The America’s Cup has peaks and troughs aplenty, but this past weekend saw the event firmly on the upward trajectory, building to the main event in 2027. Thumbnail photo (c) Ian Roman / America's Cup #sailing #americascup #naples