Motors replace men on Luna Rossa

Italian sailing media FARAVELA, while following an e-sailing broadcast, caught Max Sirena, Skipper and Team Director of the America’s Cup challenger Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, explain how they are remaining compliant within the health guidelines of Cagliari, Italy:

“We were lucky in some respects because, following all government and regional directives, we managed to keep the ground activities in smart open working, having a minimum of work continuity and being able to make changes that we had already planned and that we decided to anticipate once the ACWS of Cagliari was canceled. Changes for testing and development, to then send the components that we will use during the race to construction.

“For ten days we have been authorized to return to the water and we have returned to sailing, obviously in a reduced form. We are not doing competitive sports training, but only developing and testing sails and technical solutions for new components.

“For this reason, we go to the water in five, we have a series of electric motors that allow us to replace the grinders that produce power and energy in the boat. This allows us to comply with the various spacing and safety rules. Seeing an object that makes 40-45 knots with only five people on board managing it is impressive. A lot of work has been done to allow us to continue developing.”

In normal configuration, 11 crew are on the AC75 with likely eight people on the handles and one person each on helm, mainsheet trim, and flight controller.

36th America’s Cup
In addition to Challenges from Italy, USA, and Great Britain that were accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), eight additional Notices of Challenge were received by the late entry deadline on November 30, 2018. Of those eight submittals, entries from Malta, USA, and the Netherlands were also accepted. Here’s the list:

Defender:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)

Challengers:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger of Record
• American Magic (USA)
• INEOS Team UK (GBR)
• Malta Altus Challenge (MLT) – WITHDRAW
• Stars + Stripes Team USA (USA)
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAW

Of the three late entries, only Stars+Stripes USA remains committed, but they still must complete the entry fee payment process before they will be eligible to race. They have allegedly made their initial payment but as a late entry challenger under the Protocol, they also have a liability to pay a US$1million late entry fee due in installments by October 1, 2019. However, it is not yet confirmed if they have paid the fee, nor is there any knowledge of a boat being actively built or sailing team training.

Key America’s Cup dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th America’s Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: Entries for Challengers open
✔ March 31, 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for Challengers close
✔ August 31, 2018: Location of the America’s Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Late entries deadline
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x America’s Cup World Series events (CANCELLED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US$1million late entry fee deadline (NOT KNOWN)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (CANCELLED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: Second (2/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (CANCELLED)
December 17-20: Third (3/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
January 15-February 22, 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
March 6-15, 2021: The America’s Cup Match

AC75 launch dates:
September 6 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 1
September 10 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; actual launch date earlier but not released
October 2 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1

Details: www.americascup.com