Il Circolo della Vela e Bruni, Luna Rossa is… from Palermo
Explain to me briefly the following article
Winning the America’s Cup in the name of Italy and Palermo. The launching of the new Luna Rossa AC75 catamaran in Cagliari launches the team towards the race to the finish line that will last six months. Boats that fly on the water with increasingly advanced technology that brings them closer to Formula 1 cars. Designed by the technicians of Team Prada Pirelli, built in the Persico shipyards in Nembro (Bergamo) with seventy thousand hours of work, with 75 people involved in the project and construction, 3,500 square meters of carbon fiber. Budget of the entire America’s Cup operation: 90 million euros.
It is the third challenge on the water in the name of the blue and yellow burgee of the Circolo della Vela Palermo, plus the 2017 edition that the team gave up as a protest against the rule changes. And one of the helmsmen of Luna Rossa is from Palermo, Francesco “Checco” Bruni, who will pair up again with Jimmy Spithill. “We have been with Luna Rossa since 2010,” says Agostino Randazzo, president of the Circolo della Vela, a club that has been around for 91 years. “After the final three years ago, this time the goal is clear, to win the Cup. The theoretical part is over and now it’s time for training at sea. We are in a group of prestigious clubs: the New York Yacht Club held the Cup for the first 142 years, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has won four Cups, the Société Nautique de Genève two Cups, and then there is the Royal Yacht Squadron, the club of the British monarchy.” The fifth challenger is the Societe Nautique de Saint-Tropez (France).
A competition first technological and then human. The new Luna Rossa, with a silver hull, a sharp bow and almost flat at the foil level, which allow flying on water and are still secret, having been launched with those of 2021. “It is a jewel of Made in Italy,” says Randazzo, “being entirely designed in our country. Unlike other boats, ours is not designed by a shipyard, but designed by the team with the help of the industry. The Americans are linked to Airbus, the English collaborate with McLaren, the Swiss with Red Bull. Skipper Max Sirena chose the central role of the team in the design. The boat needs hydrodynamic and aerodynamic capabilities because it flies on the water up to 50 knots and there is a lot of mechatronics in the hull. The new Luna Rossa is stunning, slimmed down by a ton on eight, with 250 kilos depending on the reduction of the crew from eleven to eight elements. There are two other young helmsmen in the team to provide future continuity. The novelty of the 2024 edition is leaving New Zealand to compete in the finals in Barcelona. “Auckland is located on a very protected strait, Barcelona is on the open Mediterranean sea. There is a different long wave. The defenders this time have the advantage of knowing the boat first.”
As in F. 1, the importance of the human factor and technology is discussed. “I love traditional sailing,” concludes Randazzo, “but I cannot help but admire a technology that allows Luna Rossa to reach 50 knots with 10 knots of wind. Winning the America’s Cup is a difficult goal because the medium is decisive. However, if the boats are in balance from a technological point of view in the final, the human factor decides. The racing tactic is always the same, as shown by the fact that helmsmen like Burling, Spithill, and Bruni were already champions with traditional boats.”
Appointment in Barcelona: the preliminary races (training) from August 22 to 25; then the Vuitton Cup from August 29 to October 7 to determine who will challenge the New Zealand champions in the final from October 12 to 21.
Il Circolo della Vela e Bruni, Luna Rossa è… palermitana
Sicilian news
Tutte le Notizie in Italiano
SIGDS