Luna Rossa launch their new Cup yacht
There’s another boat on the water going after the America’s Cup.
The Luna Rossa, Italy’s challenger for sailing’s most prestigious prize, was christened yesterday in Cagliari on the Isle of Sardinia. The Circolo della Vela Sicilia yacht club is the third to launch, joining Emirates Team New Zealand and the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic.
After Monsignor Arrigo Miglio, the archbishop of Cagliari, blessed the boat, fashion scion Miuccia Prada smashed a bottle of Ferrari Maximum Blanc de Blancs over the yacht’s bow, setting off a cacophony of horns and cheering.
“Always launching a new boat, it is exciting,” Pirelli ceo Marco Tronchetti Provera said. “It’s the beginning of a new adventure in race, a new era in sailing.”
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte visited with the crew and team members at the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli headquarters.
The Italian team, which helped fund the winning New Zealand team in 2017, pushed for a return to monohulls for the 2021 America’s Cup, to be held in Auckland. Along with the Kiwis, they came up with a 75-foot foiling monohull. The foiling technology shared by the AC75 yachts allows them to sail at more than 50 knots with the hull out of the water, riding on foils.
“These new boats, our emotions are excitement,” said Provera. “Shapes, lines, foils — everything makes it quite unique. I think these new boats will design a new era in the America’s Cup. It will start a new story.”
The Luna Rossa has a sleek black hull, with a red stripe for sponsor Prada and a tricolor Italian flag. The 500kg carbon fibre foil arms are painted yellow and red for Pirelli, which is better known in the sporting world as the lone tyre manufacturer for Formula One race cars.
“We can’t wait to get acquainted with the AC75,” said Max Sirena, skipper and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team director.
“(The) boat will sail almost entirely in foiling mode: The hull will barely touch the water, allowing us to reach very high speeds.”
Team NZ last month launched the first of two boats it will use to defend the Cup against challengers from the United States, Britain and Italy on
Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour in March 2021. The US entry followed and the British are expected to follow this week.
After testing by the teams, the boats will compete in the America’s Cup World Series in Cagliari from
April 23-26, and then race for the new Prada Cup and the right to challenge Team New Zealand for the world’s oldest trophy.
“Let’s keep the fingers crossed. It’s a long way to go. We will see in Auckland,” Provera said.