You could be the one sailing on the very fast NEO 400

A unique opportunity for great sailor sailing aboard the brand new NEO 400, the twelve-meter boat born to race and win everything in ORC and IRC. It will leave Bari on Thursday, March 20, heading for Genoa, TAG Heuer VELAFestival. Approximately 900 miles non-stop aboard this twelve-footer born from the union of two Italian sailing talents-Paolo Semeraro and Giovanni Ceccarelli. You will be able to be part of the Sailing Team, along with professional sailors whom you will join as an active part of the crew. To participate, send by Thursday, March 13, your detailed cv with your sailing experience and skills to velafestival2@giornaledellavela.com and as the subject SALI A BOARD THE NEO400 and you may be selected by Paolo Semeraro and our editorial staff to leave.

CV to velafestival2@giornaledellavela.com
SUBJECTMAIL: COME ON BOARD OF NEO400

NEO 400: A HULL BORN FROM THE STUDY OF SAILS
Paolo Semeraro defined the sail plan (made by Banks Sails) with a 55-square-meter mainsail, narrow and elongated with a square-head, a 50-square-meter jib at 108%, and a 170-square-meter gennaker walled on the fixed dolphin rail. It was at this point that Giovanni Ceccarelli came into play, who, starting with the center of pressure of the sails, began the project by positioning the keel and rudder, and later designed the hull and interior, simulating close-to-reality behavior of the boat under sail with the sails hoisted. “In choosing the rigging, we favored lightness and chose a carbon mast resting on the deck, which we can best manage thanks to the forestay that can be adjusted via a hoist,” Semeraro continues.

FROM THE PROJECT TO THE SEA
Built on a female mold at the Neo Yachts shipyard in Bari, Italy, in anticipation of making a small series, she is decidedly modern and powerful: maximum hull width is at the stern, but the hull design ensures a reduced wetted surface area. The Neo 400 is constructed of prepreg carbon and epoxy resin (hull, deck, and structures), so light that about 50 percent of the displacement resides in the bulb, resulting in advantages in righting and stability. The interiors are available in several layouts, but the most functional in racing is with dinette in the bow, cabins aft with the overhead berths, and the free square for sails.

THE SEA TESTS.
“The boat responds very faithfully to the design,” Semeraro adds. “She even almost surprised us with her performance in light winds, and already with 5 to 6 knots of air she picks up her trim and takes off. And carrying swells are really her bread and butter.” The Neo 400 is looked forward to the Tyrrhenian season, perhaps with a major classic like the Giraglia. But the big dream would be to participate in the ORC world championship in August in cold Kiel, Germany.

WHO IS PAOLO SEMERARO

Sailor with two Olympics behind him (Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988) and president of Banks Sails. In 1986 he was a clubman on “Italy” during the America’s Cup in Perth, Australia. was also a world champion in offshore sailing.

WHO IS GIOVANNI CECCARELLI


Designer of boats that have won titles in any category and in the most important offshore races. He also did not miss America’s Cup experience, designing Mascalzone Latino ITA 72, which participated in the 2002 Louis Vuitton Cup. His most recent projects include the Azuree 33 and 40.

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