SCOOP We reveal how Naples works for the America’s Cup 2027 spectacle
THE PERFECT GIFT!
Give or treat yourself to a subscription to the print + digital Journal of Sailing and for only 69 euros a year you get the magazine at home plus read it on your PC, smartphone and tablet. With a sea of advantages.
In the era of 12 Meters International Tonnage, I chased the Cup from America to Australia, writing two books on the subject and publishing much more over the years. And today that I live in Naples, it is the Cup that comes to me, but not only that: the challenging yacht club is the one of which I am a 50-year member and founder.
What will happen in Naples for the America’s Cup
I couldn’t ask for more, and I wonder what will happen in a city so prone to get carried away by enthusiasms. Do you remember the 2013 World Series with the AC45? With the “mustaches,” the imperatively temporary reefs that are still there to the delight of those who frequent Mappatella Beach.
A couple of images to refresh our memory. The first, above: Castel dell’Ovo and Vesuvius provide the backdrop for AC 45 Luna Rossa Swordfish, first in the 2013 Word Series fleet races in Naples.The second, below, the crazy cheering and affection the city reserved for the event.
If I get my way, we will soon taste America’s Cup pizza or the very light Foil sfogliatella, while an “Old Jug” mural will compete with Diego’s in largo Maradona. In the meantime, the Yacht Clubs, some with Anglo-Saxon detachment, some squirming a bit more, are beginning to move. For, let’s remember, this is a challenge between the Cup-holding yacht club (RNZYC) and the challenging yacht club (CRVI). And Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, in a commendable gesture of courtesy to its host Gulf, has asked to be represented by Circolo Remo e Vela Italia. It is useless to fan the flames of an alleged rivalry: the “Savoia,” recently twinned with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, can hardly issue a challenge unless a new syndicate comes along and asks it to represent it.
What about the many other Neapolitan Circles? They flaunt indifference, but rightly no one wants to be left out.
What were the New Zealanders doing at the Naples Tennis Club?
Days ago I was having breakfast at the Naples Tennis Club (it has an extraordinary location, with priceless views of the race course) and I see some New Zealanders wandering around, including a couple of familiar faces. I want to understand, and I ask for an appointment with the president, Senator Riccardo Villari, one of those men who does one thing while planning ten.
Who also happens to preside over Science City, which also happens to be in Bagnoli, just a stone’s throw from the future America’s Cup Village. He receives me here, and tries to deflect on the New Zealanders.
“Better to talk about Science City, the first successful example of redevelopment of this former industrial area abandoned for decades. Here we promote science education and integration between research, innovation and the territory. We have 200,000 visitors a year. From these windows you can see the pier where the America’s Cup boats will be moored … And then, do you see that shed? It’s 500 square meters, and it’s empty: what better place to house an interactive museum with the history of the America’s Cup, educational workshops, sail simulator … in short, a cultural and sports center to tell the story of the world’s most famous Regatta . With a conference hall next to it that seats 1,000 people.”
Let’s go see the shed. The spaces are huge, it’s easy to get there, there’s a big parking lot….
“You are right President, it is a very good idea. But I repeat: what were the New Zealanders doing in your Club…?” He smiles, pulls out one of his cell phones, shows me a picture and asks,“Who am I here at the Tennis Club with?”“Of course,” I reply , “it’s Matteo De Nora, the senior executive of EmiratesTeamNewZealand, chief strategy and finance officer … and you could have called me, I would have gladly met him!”
America’s Cup’s “Royal Box” in the city?
Whereupon Villari: “But he just dropped by for coffee! Do you follow tennis? Do you know what the Royal Box is? It is the most exclusive grandstand in world tennis, the one on Wimbledon’s center court reserved for guests of the royal family. In the best position to enjoy the world’s oldest Tournament… Just as the Naples Tennis Club is in the best position to enjoy the world’s oldest Regatta. Our Royal Box could be the roof terrace, to be equipped, furnished and made exclusive as needed. Then as you know we have access to the sea: cross the street and you are on the Rotonda Diaz pier reserved for us, where tenders, spectator boats, shuttles that shuttle to Bagnoli can moor … Now do you understand why everyone asks me to come for coffee?”
I understand. And the president says nothing more. To me, “Casa Italia,” in Fremantle, Australia, comes to mind. The height of glamour during the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup, a token hotspot that certainly Kiwis no longer young remember well, run by a very talented Flavio Scala on Maurizio Gucci’s idea. Do you want to see the Naples Tennis Club become “New Zealand House”?
Fabio Ratti
Share:
Check out the latest issue
Are you already a subscriber?
Ultimi annunci
Our social
Sign up for our Newsletter
We give you a gift
Sailing, its stories, all boats, accessories. Sign up now for our free newsletter and receive the best news selected by the Sailing Newspaper editorial staff each week. Plus we give you one month of GdV digitally on PC, Tablet, Smartphone. Enter your email below, agree to the Privacy Policy and click the “sign me up” button. You will receive a code to activate your month of GdV for free!
You may also be interested in.
It will be the first America’s Cup — without America. Here comes the “we’re not in” from the U.S.
These are crucial hours for the America‘ s Cup, which by Oct. 31 will see the time window for new challengers to register close, and which is cashing in these hours on the NO of American Magic, which in a
America’s Cup revolution, AC Partnership is born: here’s how the Cup changes
Registration deadline October 31, start of the America’s Cup Partnership starting November 1, this is the chrono schedule that the America’s Cup has given itself and that will see in the coming weeks a turning point, we will see if
The America’s Cup Trial returns: everything you need to know about Naples 2027
The America’s Cup in Naples will be the sailing highlight of 2027, and one of the most important sporting events ever held in Italy. The anticipation is high, the enthusiasm of the Italian public, given the precedents of the Louis
What the America’s Cup will be like in Naples. Interview with Team New Zealand’s “boss” Matteo De Nora
In the recent history of the America’s Cup, a man like him was missing. I have seen sailors like John Bertrand, Dennis Conner, or Jimmy Spithill devote their lives to the Cup, driven by a passion for sailing alone, or
