Quiet, Checco speaks. Bruni recounts Luna Rossa

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Francesco Bruni. Photo Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli | Carlo Borlenghi

These are hot days at Luna Rossa ‘s home in Cagliari, days of work, with the adrenaline building as the first official regatta approaches and the anticipation for the return to the sea. There is a new “tenant” in the Gulf, the Brits from Ineos (check out the first PHOTOS HERE). Then came the dismasting (read HERE), fortunately without consequences, but which will force the boat ashore for a few days. The entire team is focused on one goal: arriving prepared and at the top of their game at the regattas scheduled for April 23-26 in Cagliari, with American Magic and Team New Zealand already on their way to Sardinia. So it was the right time to hear from Luna Rossa’s helmsman (or either of them if the choice falls on the pair with James Spithill ed.). We interviewed Francesco Bruni, the one who every time Luna goes out to sea has the fate of the Italian AC 75 in his hands, the one who will try to put the bow ahead a fraction of a second of the other challengers.

Palermitano, born in 1973, three Olympics behind him (Laser, 49er, Star), in his fourth America’s Cup campaign, Bruni is one of the undisputed and most experienced talents in Italian sailing. With him we went over these months of training in Cagliari, the first feelings at the helm of the new boat and the anticipation for the first official races.

Tell us about the first day at the helm of the new Luna Rossa

The first real day was when we started foiling; first the boat was in the water for some structural testing and towing tests. The first real thrill was the first left tack on a beautiful thermal day with 12 knots of wind, the classic Cagliari sirocchetto. A long left tack, a wonderful feeling, with the boat responding immediately well with interesting speeds and no major problems. We had an engineer on board who checked for strange noises and verified that everything was going right. So we had our ears open to hear that everything was responding well, and it was a great feeling. For me it was a bit of a step-by-step thing, the scale prototype helped us get ready for the big boat, but still what a thrill: I knew the whole team was watching us, I knew that while we were on the water making the first edges those on land were already getting the videos. There was great anticipation from everyone, after a very long period of work and preparation we literally couldn’t wait to get on the water.

Francesco Bruni and James Spithill talk on board Luna Rossa. The Palermo native could be joined by the Australian should the lineup choice fall to the double helmsman. Photo Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli | Carlo Borlenghi

What characteristics should the perfect helmsman of an AC 75 have?

He must have experience built up over the years, but that is not enough, you also need a significant background in the world of foiling boats, which is a somewhat separate universe, born relatively recently. Having done important years in this world of foilers is decisive, in my case experiences on catamarans and moth. But the rest of the experience also matters, you don’t get to the America’s Cup if you haven’t built up a background on the Olympic classes first, if you don’t have that experience you can get to the Cup but in perhaps less important roles. Personally, it has all served me well. I would have liked to start Moth even earlier, it is a very good school, also because AC 75s are like big moths.

How fast do you need to be at the helm of Luna Rossa?

These are situations common to all boats that go fast and especially those that have race courses with boundaries that force you to change tack to avoid taking a penalty. You have to be ready at all times, everything happens quickly, an edge takes no more than two minutes, there can be so many maneuvers one after another. Within these longer stretches the boat is very reactive and you have to keep your attention very high. The regattas and training sessions are short, no more than half an hour, to keep concentration high in a tight time frame; it is a very intense and concentrated performance in a tight time frame.

Francesco Bruni at the helm of Luna Rossa: helmet, mask to protect himself from water spray and splashing, microphone for on-board communications and VHF for those with support vessels, plus breathing apparatus connected to oxygen in case a capsize forced the sailor underwater. Photo Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli | Carlo Borlenghi

Can you also think about tactics or are you focused exclusively on leading the boat?

There are some teams that have chosen or will choose to give different driver duties to the helmsman, and in that case the driver’s attention on the race course is covered by another crew member. There are teams that choose the opposite instead, depending also on how many hours of sailing you had. The more you know about the medium, the more time you have to lead it even while looking around.

What kind of physical work does a sailor preparing to sail on an AC 75 have to do?

The crews consist of the grinders who do a lot of work in the boat and in the gym, while those who helm and adjust foils or sails need not have great physical characteristics. Roughly speaking, we have 7-8 grinders who also have a few buttons on the ground to work with, for the rest, those who carry the boat do not need to have incredible athletic characteristics; rather, a good sense of balance and control of the body and emotions even when the heart rate rises. Preparing a helmsman physically is very different. The afterguard from a weight perspective needs to be lighter, to leave the possibility of having grinders with better performing physiques. We do a lot of aerobic work to keep fit and have a good balance, careful nutrition so as not to gain kilos, which is important to be within the maximum weight allowed on board for the crew.

Grinders at work on Luna Rossa. Photo Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli | Carlo Borlenghi

How do you feel before you get on Luna Rossa and how are you at the end of a training session?

Being at sea for hours you burn calories even though my work is very mental. My goal every time we go out to sea is to be extremely focused; I’m holding a not-so-trivial tool that makes very important speeds. When I finish a training session the approach doesn’t change, even on land it takes the focus and clarity to understand what we learned at sea and rework it to derive useful knowledge for the whole team.

You are a helmsman who can switch from boats like the Star to foilers: what is the secret of this “switch”?

This way of sailing, moving from one class to another, has been my way of experiencing sailing throughout my career. I explored many classes, it was my way of sailing also to have a global view of sailing. It comes quite naturally to me to switch between foiling and nonfoiling boats. If I had to do a regatta tomorrow I would choose a foiling boat because the last 90 percent of the years have been like that for me. But I cannot forget 30 years on other boats and the pleasure of sailing on any sailing object. If I am here it is also because of everything I did before, as I told you at the beginning.

It is said that you have exceeded 46-47 knots in training….

Precise numbers I can’t pull out, I can say that they are good and high and are no match for the previous Cup cat. As a top speed between the teams, I don’t expect much difference at this early stage. In my opinion, top speed will count for little and perhaps be relative more to high wind situations. Maximum speed will have little to do with winning or not winning races; other factors such as maneuvering will matter more.

Luna Rossa with its now classic apprued trim. Photo Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli | Carlo Borlenghi

What would you say to an enthusiast who claims that AC 75s are not sailing and doesn’t want to come to the Cagliari races?

I would come to Cagliari no matter what, it’s a beautiful place and one of the most beautiful race courses I’ve ever sailed on, you rarely don’t go out in a boat because of little wind. Everyone then experiences sailing as they wish, for me it is sailing in all these forms. I also understand that there are those who like the six-knot boat better, but I can assure you of one thing: you will see an incredible spectacle here; these are new boats that will leave those who look at them speechless.

Mauro Giuffrè

 

 

 

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