Luna Rossa dominates American Magic, semifinals at 2-0

01/29/21 – Auckland (NZL).
36th America’s Cup presented by Prada
PRADA Cup 2021 – Semi Final – Day 1
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, New York Yacht Club American Magic.

Such a start to the Prada Cup semifinals was in everyone’s hopes but hardly anyone dared to say so. Instead, Luna Rossa chased away fears and, despite a day of strong winds theoretically more favorable to American Magic, goes on to win the first two races by dominating. The series then goes to 2-0, with a theoretical match point that for Luna Rossa could already come tomorrow night on the second day, but it will have to be earned meter by meter, tack by tack. The very good news is in terms of speed for the Italian boat, which seemed very competitive even with the 18-20 knots on this debut day held on race course C, the one furthest down the coast. But it was not just a matter of speed. Checco Bruni in the on-board audios appeared dominant, very present on tactical readings, and in general communication aboard Luna Rossa seemed to be making definite strides forward. At the bottom of the article you will find directions on how to review the regattas with our commentary.

RACE 1

Checco Bruni and James Spithill are in no mood for gifts, they smell “blood” from a wounded American Magic and immediately try to bite at the start. Luna Rossa takes the leeward and blocks Dean Barker and co. who can then only queue up and leave already under control of the Italian boat. The first feeling is that Luna Rossa has slightly lower speed peaks but manages to hold very good angles to the wind. The lead is growing steadily, buoy after buoy, partly because the Americans are not flawless in their passes to the gatre, and they seem to have problems with foil arm movement that causes them several dives into the water, including one disastrous one resulting in them leaving the confines of the race course and penalty. At the finish line Luna Rossa wins with 2 minutes 43 seconds.

RACE 2

In many ways the second regatta of the day resembles the first. Luna Rossa still takes the leeward and dominates the start by once again going on the bow of Patriot. The Americans hold only for the first windward side, then the gap increases inexorably. Luna Rossa looks even faster than the Americans both upwind and downwind. Further heartening is a newfound communication among the crew, between James Spithill and Checco Bruni in particular, since the last race against the British. Bruni also very active in wind reading and strategic calls, from what we could hear in the on-board audio. The feeling is that the tactical reading of the race is more up to him and Pietro Sibello (seen again at the stern of the mainsail scanning the course) rather than Spithill. A new dip in the water by American Magic paved the way for a comfortable victory for Luna Rossa, which even won by a margin of 3 minutes and 7 seconds.

Mauro Giuffrè

If you would like to review the regatta on a delayed basis with commentary from The Cup Newspaper here is the video with our live nightly coverage, within which you will also find some simple directions (from minute 33) on how to coordinate our commentary with the official images from the America’s Cup channel on Youtube. The Cup Journal looks forward to seeing you tomorrow night, also at 2:30, with Mino Taveri, Gabriele Bruni, Giulio Desiderato, Andrea Falcon, and Margherita Porro for another great night of the America’s Cup. All of our nightly live coverage will remain on our Facebook and Youtube channels available to all followers who wish to watch the races on a delayed basis with our commentary.

DON’T MISS THE CUP PAPER!

Every day we bring you live coverage of the America’s Cup and regattas
of Luna Rossa with prestigious guests, technical insights, videos, photos, background and anecdotes. Don’t miss the Cup Newspaper in the area dedicated to Milan Yachting Week!
Click HERE to subscribe to the YouTube channel access all episodes!

Condividi:

Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Scopri l’ultimo numero

Sei già abbonato?

Ultimi annunci
I nostri social

Iscriviti alla nostra Newsletter

Ti facciamo un regalo

La vela, le sue storie, tutte le barche, gli accessori. Iscriviti ora alla nostra newsletter gratuita e ricevi ogni settimana le migliori news selezionate dalla redazione del Giornale della Vela. E in più ti regaliamo un mese di GdV in digitale su PC, Tablet, Smartphone. Inserisci la tua mail qui sotto, accetta la Privacy Policy e clicca sul bottone “iscrivimi”. Riceverai un codice per attivare gratuitamente il tuo mese di GdV!

Una volta cliccato sul tasto qui sotto controlla la tua casella mail

Privacy*


In evidenza

Può interessarti anche

Bandalarga, the secrets of an “old”, small superboat

There was one boat, 27 years old, that put everyone in line at the 50th Luino Boatswain’s Trophy, the offshore regatta organized by the Alto Verbano Sailing Association. The absolute star of Lake Maggiore is her, her name is Bandalarga,

VELA Cup

Everything you need to know about VELA Cup 2023

Are you sure you know just about everything about the VELA Cup? What it is, who can participate, what you win, etc. Here are all the answers to all the questions you would like to ask us but have never

Scroll to Top
Iscriviti alla nostra Newsletter

Ti facciamo un regalo

La vela, le sue storie, tutte le barche, gli accessori. Iscriviti ora alla nostra newsletter gratuita e ricevi ogni settimana le migliori news selezionate dalla redazione del Giornale della Vela. E in più ti regaliamo un mese di GdV in digitale su PC, Tablet, Smartphone. Inserisci la tua mail qui sotto, accetta la Privacy Policy e clicca sul bottone “iscrivimi”. Riceverai un codice per attivare gratuitamente il tuo mese di GdV!

Una volta cliccato sul tasto qui sotto controlla la tua casella mail

Privacy*