The new year will be the year of the 37th America’s Cup, the sixth in which Luna Rossa will participate (a record). And Sky Sport will follow everything live this time too, bringing the spectacle of the Formula 1 of the seas into your homes. Big news, let’s tell the sails…
133 years of history, the oldest, the most coveted, the mother of all Cups and challenges. An infinite challenge: The America’s Cup or theAmerica’s Cup, for the English who invented the 100 Guinea Cup, The Auld Mug… In short, a simple jug (so to speak) which is intended to be the example from which all the challenges between a Defender and a Challenger started: Challenger tournament. Precisely from these sailing challenges, for example, almost all the trophies were inspired where at the beginning, at an amateur level, it was always England against everyone: golf, tennis, cricket and so on. This is history and tradition, the sailing of a time that is transformed over the years into technical sailinginnovative, technological, experimental and now that “money”.
We often hear and above all read: “This is not sailing”. It is suitable for those who romantically observe wonderful greyhounds sailing the seas with classic maneuvers. There are a thousand regattas on the international scene, with a thousand different technical solutions. There America’s Cup it’s what I wanted to be, first, the true Formula 1 of the seas. And so “it’s not sailing” is the absurd equation of memory and that’s it, I don’t see taking the motorway like Verstappen’s Red Bull or Leclerc’s Ferrari and so are the Cup boats: exaltation of one technological stress dictated by those who win and make the rules, don’t forget it. Also add the financial level mainly supported by a few and then the game is complete.
Last (but not least) the America’s Cup, precisely because of the type of investment, is one perfect television machine. It’s money, a lot of it, which must have a fair return for the boats and also for those who host them (for this edition, number 37, it is the city of Barcelona who wanted to make a difference to modernize itself after the 1992 Olympics).
History is paved with high-sounding names who intervened as sailing “sportsmen” after their fortunes marked the entrepreneurial history of their countries. The Italian one is simple: Blue (Giovanni Agnelli-Aga Khan), Italia (Maurizio Gucci), Moro Di Venezia (Raul Gardini), Latin scoundrel (Vincenzo Onorato) and to conclude Patrizio Bertelli with her Red Moon , in the sixth (record) challenge. And only in the latest ones flanked by the prestigious brand of Pirelli con Marco Tronchetti Provera.
The true adventure of new Moon it will be with its turning red in spring. The AC 75 will take on electricity and water on an unidentified date when the swallows will be over Cagliari. The AC75 is the exact evolution of the small LEQ 12, The Joker or the Madwoman, on which the Max Sirena guys worked and tested. A deadly job that certainly put the birth and progress of the AC40 aside. Max Mermaidthe team principal of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, preferred to focus on the photocopy of what will be the real boat rather than the monotype suitable for Youth and Women wanted by Grant Dalton, super chief of New Zealand. Due prove made with the 40 with different trends. Villanovanear Barcelona, A real disaster both from an atmospheric and organizational point of view: the boats arrived too late and the regatta days were too few with too little wind (in fact almost absolute zero) and zero feedback. The Jeddah stop was different: right wind, right flight show, right battles and good organization have brought, in a country with a total absence of sailing history, an acceptable dose of enthusiasm for a class that will have a real future as a circuit on the model of the Sail GP led by the expert Luca Rizzotti. On the Luna Rossa front, Max Sirena’s choices are spot on (perhaps the augmentation is not correct, but it is to underline something that had been decided a long time before, that is change the crew to give talented young people their debut): Roger Tita e Marco Gradoni they shared the helm instead of James Spithill e Checco Bruniwhile behind them they looked at the sails and tactics Vittorio Bissaro ed Umberto Molineris. If for the latter it was the confirmation of yet another Cup campaign, for the other 3 it was the first overall and a first against the best of international sailing. No team changed helmsmen and therefore the Italian boys played against the English Ben Ainsliethe French of Quentin Delapierrethe Americans of Tom Slingsby and the Swiss of Arnaud Psarophagis. A magical play enough to get to run the match race final with him Peter Burling and the New Zeland. They lost but they made a great impression. Enough to cast doubts on Sirena for the real Cup? I do not believe. It was certainly a nice answer and… one long bench for Barcelona.
Said it will start in August with the third round of the preliminary regattas, they will be done with the new boats which in my opinion are useless, or rather, useful only for the cup holders, the New Zealanders who will thus test their opponents and then wait for them only in the final. Indeed, in September there will be Round Robins for the challengers. A journey that will end in October to define the boat that, by winning the Louis Vuitton Cup (the French luxury house has returned to sponsor the challenger tournament after the Prada Cup name was discontinued), will challenge the New Zealand Defender.
While waiting for the 37th challenge, the AC40s will compete in the waters of Barcelona for the Youth e Women America’s Cup. A first time ever. View young e donne racing under the banners of the Cup Clubs is something special compelling, above all the female confirmation of what has been done over the years with the F50s of the Sail GP (obligation to have a female sailor as tactician/strategist) and of the Olympic concept of mixed crews (see Nacra). Precisely in this class the Olympic gold, the fourth in our history, comes from the pair Roger Tita –Caterina Banti.
E Sky Sport? Could there ever be a television with the Casa dello Sport as its claim? In fact, Sky Sport, which broadcast the previous adventure of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and has followed the Sail GP since the first edition, it will still be there both for the catamaran show of Sail GP (and the end of the fourth season with many Cup names), which for the new edition of the America’s Cup. Always all livelive, to be with you in the story of the oldest and most historic event in sport.
I won’t add anything else, you will discover step by step what we are preparing for you to savor past (40 years ago Azzurra debuted), the gift everything about Luna Rossa and the future with the youth and women of the Cup. Sky Sport blows in the wind of the America’s Cup.