The real Luna Rossa is coming. For Bertelli will be great

After rehearsals with the “Lunetta Rossa” in the air, it is now time for teamPrada to go big. Luna Rossa, the real Luna Rossa, will be unveiled in Cagliari on August 25. It will be the first of the hulls that will challenge the British and U.S. for the role of challenger to the New Zealand holders in the next edition of the America’s Cup, the 36th taking place in 2021 in Auckland. This was revealed by owner Patrizio Bertelli and his skipper Max Sirena during the team’s presentation ,at the Palermo Sailing Club in Palermo.

A smiling Bertelli let loose, explaining what he sees as the advantages of these flying monohulls that are replacing the catamarans of the past edition: “I have nothing against catamarans. But these new boats will be something never before seen: they will reach 40 knots, with performance then similar to multihulls. The big difference is that these monohulls will be able to windward at an angle of 25° to the wind. If you think that the Cup catamarans reached an angle of 40/50° you realize the huge difference. Those who understand us will realize that this will greatly increase the close encounters between the two boats in the race. All to the benefit of the spectacular match racing, which is the salt of the America’s Cup. What’s more, these boats have very little wetted surface area, they have no bulb but they drift very little.”

For the past few days, while waiting for the “real” Luna Rossa, “Quick and Dirty” ( “quick and dirty”) has finally been sailing in Cagliari, skipper Max Sirena told. It is nothing more than a very small-scale model of what will be the boat to be launched on August 25. “Finally we can train at sea,” Max said, “our crew couldn’t take it anymore working on the simulator.” Much of the team was in Palermo, starting with the two helmsmen James Spithill and Francesco Bruni, fresh winners of the European Moth (the flying dinghies). To continue with coach Vasco Vascotto, trimmer and clubman Pietro Sibello, veteran Gilberto Nobili, and designer Horacio Carabelli. Just to name a few of those present.

Bertelli and partner Marco Tronchetti Provera, and Max himself, were keen to emphasize that the venture of the new Luna Rossa is all about Made in Italy. Not only in terms of the excellence achieved by our sailors, but also in terms of technology. Bertelli explained, “In these two decades of our participation in the America’s Cup, the growth of Italian companies developing high technology , a world leader, has been impressive. Today, companies such as Persico (hull construction), Re Fraschini (special metal/carbon processing), Cariboni (hydraulics), and Piaggio (drones) are essential partners for us that allow us to have nothing to envy from anyone.”

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