Youth America’s Cup, Luna Rossa is a missile.Gradoni/Ugolini show!

Today was the second day for the Unicredit Youth America’s Cup being raced aboard the AC 40 flying one-designs.
Overpowering Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, which won today’s two races and with 1-2-1-1 partials dominated the ranking of Group A (which features the six teams representing America’s Cup participants: Italy, New Zealand, USA, UK, France, Switzerland).
Here is how it went for ours (Marco Gradoni, Gigi Ugolini – today was his birthday! -, Federico Colaninno, Rocco Falcone).

Unicredit Youth America’s Cup – Group 1 – Race 3

Third race for the AC40s engaged in the Unicredit Youth America’s Cup.
A problem before the start for Luna Rossa caused by the organization’s dinghy, intervened to repair a fault, which slammed into the Italian boat causing damage, so much so that Luna ran the risk of not taking the start.
5-boat start with no problems (French out) with wind around 12 knots and wave on 130cm.
Very good one for ours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeNGmLpTtqQ At the end of the first side NZ, LRPP and GB are in the lead position with a tricky buoy passage where the boats seem to touch each other and Luna Rossa takes a penalty (hardly justifiable) for slipping between the buoy and the British.
Meanwhile, the Americans are disqualified for leaving the course due to a technical problem that forced them to abandon.
At the end of the 2nd windward mark Luna Rossa leads over Ineos, at 500m, ETNZ at 700 and Alinghi at over 1km.
Gradoni & C continue firmly in the lead and after the 3rd upwind their advantage increases again but on the last side, thanks to the changing air on the course, Ineos and ETNZ recover some water.
At the finish Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli wins decisively by pulling away from the British by 48″ followed by the Kiwis and the Swiss, who are more distant.

Unicredit Youth America’s cup – Group 1 – Race 4

Fourth race with decreasing wind and 130 cm wave.
Luna Rossa starts in the middle of the line, moves to the left of the course and takes the lead, tailed by ETNZ.
She takes the left buoy, followed at 50m by the Kiwis.
More distant Swiss and British.
In the second side, the Italians maintain the gap and take the left again followed by the New Zealanders, who seem to be losing water, while the British, who have chosen the right side of the course and take second.
Luna is still in the lead and after the 2nd windward mark chooses the left buoy. The boats are traveling in excess of 30 knots, and at the stern mark the Italians’ lead over their opponents has clearly increased.
The Kiwis have a technical problem and are seen working on deck.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli finishes upwind with a 600m lead over the Swiss and a 700m lead over the British, while the Kiwis are lost in the race course, in last position at 2 km.
Gradoni and his crew win big, despite a spectacular splash down approaching the mark.
After 53″ they cut the British while the Swiss fall off the foils and cross the finish line third with displacement boat.

Considerations of the first two regattas

Yesterday at the start we had heard Marco Gradoni say at the internal microphone “only easy things.”
Well, if those were easy maneuvers even we cannot imagine what are the difficult ones.
All the journalists who are in the press room never got so passionate, so amused, so concerned since the start of these America’s Cup races.
Sure, a start by Spithill, a crossing by Burling, a buoy engagement by Ainslie had kept us with bated breath, but it was always a matter of seconds.
Instead, yesterday the spectacular and dangerous ‘game’ of the AC40s went on for the duration of the two races which, given the conditions, had fortunately been shortened. Fans in support of the AC 40 Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in Barcelona[/] With waves ranging from 110 to 140 cm, winds of up to 16 knots allowed these hulls to reach 30 knots on the upwind sides and 40 on the downwind sides (American Magic at the finish of the 1st race).
Truly unimaginable speeds for 12m boats carried by the 4 crew as if it were a video game.
But on the course the buckets of water were real, the falls from the foils were sudden and risked losing positions, and more than once the hulls were on the verge of scuffing.
And so one minute after another, without respite.
These are electronic boats that require the considerable manual dexterity of helmsmen and trimmers, in addition to sailing skills and alertness, and I wonder how four fours in a row can be tackled with the sea in these conditions, when the AC 40s looked like wild horses to be tamed.
An important point must be made about the endurance of the mechanisms and electronics in these windy conditions, so much so that the organization required the Swiss and New Zealanders to have their second hulls ready, in case one of the six official hulls engaged in the race broke down.
(Bertarelli has a personal one with which-he is said to have gone out a few times).
Yesterday the French boat (still in the yard) had mechanical problems with an arm and the Swiss boat had an electronic blackout.
Today the New Zealand hull encountered some trouble.
Yesterday there were also a few too many penalties especially for course limits: with these sea conditions it is difficult to respect them.
It is very striking how easy these hulls are to take off again (if you are able) once you have fallen off the foils and are ‘parked’ there as displacement boats.
But the AC40s have a forward hull that is shaped like a decided, deep V, and the booms are positioned far forward compared to those on the AC75s.
All of this promotes a fast increase in foil lift and flight recovery.
As mentioned above, the speeds achieved are also astonishing, incredibly high and even approaching those of the AC75 in certain conditions. by our correspondent in Barcelona Ida Castiglioni