America’s Cup: Patriot’s scull, Ineos flies, Luna Rossa with Tita and Bissaro

The America’s Cup in its history has always been “stingy” with images in the period when the races are still far away and each challenger team, or defender, trains at their bases. There was a time when “spies” worked on the sly, trying to steal a few images to pass on to their planners, but today espionage has been officially institutionalized, with a spy team set up by the America’s Cup organization itself and serving all the teams and a number of selected international newspapers. Let’s look then at what has happened in recent weeks, starting with American Magic and Ineos Team UK.

The 2024 America’s Cup in Barcelona is still a long way off, but by now we can say that the teams have entered the thick of their preparations, everyone is on the water training. Luna Rossa and Ineos Britannia are doing this with 12-meter prototypes, Alinghi Red Bull Racing and American Magic with the old AC 75s, Team New Zealand with the AC 40.

America’s Cup – American Magic capsizes, Ineos takes flight

When the union men of the New York Yacht Club hear the word “scuffle,” their minds run to that bad day in Auckland, when American Magic nearly sank during a round robin challenge against Luna Rossa. This time the unexpected happened in Pensacola, Florida, the training base of Therry Hutchinson&Co.’s men, but the denouement was quite different. No significant damage to the boat, all men on board unharmed, and the AC 75 Patriot returning to base without any problems, ready for a new training session already in the aftermath of the capsize.

In Palma de Mallorca the Ineos prototype was finally seen in the water. More than a month after the launch, in which there was beginning to be an air of mystery about the British boat that has never sailed in recent weeks, finally the first flight. After a long period of testing, perhaps concealing some minor problems that are being resolved, the British 12-meter carried out two training sessions, one in very light wind and another in moderate breeze where the prototype was finally seen getting up on the foils.

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America’s Cup – Luna Rossa with Tita and Bissaro

Cagliari right now is the center of gravity of Italian sailing: all the teams of the Olympic classes are there and there is Luna Rossa. And there are the “nacristi” Ruggero Tita and Vittorio Bissaro who are gradually making their way inside the crew. Olympic gold medalist Tita and former Nacra world champion Bissaro are bringing their own contributions to the cause, spending time in double daily training sessions between Nacra 17 and Luna Rossa’s prototype. In view of the Women America’s Cup, it seems natural that their boat mates, Caterina Banti and Maelle Frascari, could be involved in the project. For the “Youth” crew, on the other hand, young Marco Gradoni, who at just 18 years old will have a great opportunity, is increasingly inside the project.

New Zealand returns to AC 40, Alinghi trains

After the disastrous capsize that had caused major damage to the bow of the AC 40 that Team New Zealand was using as a test, the Kiwis were grounded for a few weeks, but now the 40 is back available after appropriate structural reinforcements. Peter Burling and co. immediately put him under stress, with more than 30 turns and gybes in a single training session, carried out in medium winds.

Nothing special to report on the Alinghi front, which continues in Barcelona with training on the AC 75 to train its crew on America’s Cup boats.

Mauro Giuffrè

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