The young Italian team who raced the Luna Rossa AC40 in Jeddah were a revelation. They can certainly be forgiven the nosedive that ended their chances of toppling the Cup Defenders as they rounded the top mark for the last time in the match race final. The Italian crew had been consistently faster upwind than the New Zealanders – only slightly but enough that after a late start it took them no time at all to be even with their opponent at mark 1. Still within seconds of Team NZ at the bottom of the penultimate downwind leg, their best chance was snatched away when a failure of a robot gate mark forced them to trail the Kiwis around the single remaining buoy in bad air. Even then there they were again somehow back pressuring the New Zealanders at the final top mark, at which point Marco Gradoni and Ruggera Tita knew it was all-or-nothing and attempted this savagely fast gybe. And credit also to Jimmy Spithill and Prada co-skipper Francesco Bruni, who in Spithill’s words ‘had both agreed it was time to give their youngsters a bit of a go…’
notes on the manoeuvres and how the boat is sailing, even listening to the crew’s comments; then at the base we study the telemetry data to compare it with what the crew were saying and our own notes and observations. Our performance group is around 10 people and they help us analyse everything. It is impossible for the two of us to do everything alone. But some of our data experts have no sailing experience and so we have to direct them a bit – there’s such a huge pile of data it’s easy to lose your way. SH: Does the simulator also help you analyse the manoeuvres? XF:Every little bit helps, but honestly it can’t be compared to sailing. But when sailing is sometimes not possible we use it a lot on those days. Also, to compete boat against boat and be able to build a playbook of movements, especially the starts. It is an important tool but it is evolving all the time. It is never perfect and everything must be modelled according to the reality at sea. We saw how the French team received their AC40 very late, but working hard with the simulator they had already made incredible progress by the first preliminary Vilanova i La Geltrú regatta… SH: At the end of that regatta you were not very happy and you told me about the Ineos team’s lack of training in the AC40… XF:Yes, it’s true. And now the rest of the team clearly felt the same. It is one thing to give priority to the test programme, because in the end the Cup will be won by the big boat, the real boat. But there were two events to race beforehand and a minimum of time should be dedicated to preparing for them. The AC40 is a difficult toy to navigate and it seemed that we had
completely forgotten about the Vilanova i La Geltrú regatta! Further- more, it was a difficult venue due to little wind but some waves, conditions that you need to have trained for a lot or the others take your colours away. Which is what happened. With simpler conditions, flat seas and medium wind, the handicap of not knowing your boat properly is less obvious. Although the result in Jeddah was not very good either, at least
we sailed better as a result of having trained a little more with the AC40. It’s a shame there isn’t another event with this boat. But it’s history now.
SH: Has not having two AC40s like Alinghi, TNZ or American Magic been very detrimental? XF: Definitely. Having two boats to be able to train is the basis of everything in racing, not only here in the America’s Cup. But that is no excuse, the Italians sailed much better than us and they don’t have two AC40s either. That is the choice we made three years ago, building a custom
test boat and betting more heavily on the design for the AC75. We must maintain focus, and although these races with the AC40 have not gone well for us it is important to work with the LEQ12 prototype we have… We have also learnt a lot from big mistakes made design- ing, building and operating the LEQ12; however, the same thing must not happen with the new AC75 as time is short anyway. SH: Speaking about the Italians, were you surprised by the perfor- mance of the two Luna Rossa kids in Jeddah? XF: Well, one is a ‘kid’ and the other is not, Ruggero is the best sailor in the world in the Nacra 17. But the question may not be that they are so young but if the others are too old? (laughing, but with rather a serious expression!) I think Marco’s performance surprised us all, but after watching
it again it wasn’t crazy. They sailed very well, but let’s not forget that these were fleet races and the America’s Cup match races are a different scenario. It is also true that Marco’s crew had sailed together for very little time (a few days at most – ed), but his talent and the powerful ambition of youth should not be underestimated. Both Spithill and Bruni also have a lot of talent and they have
proven experience; and let no one forget that they proved to be a great duo in Auckland. But I’m glad there’s a ‘shakedown’ with the new talent and the old. It’s long overdue in the Cup… but at the same time it makes you think. SH: The British raceboat will be ready in May? XF: Yes, I hope a little earlier – because from there you first have to learn to sail it. One of the things we have seen in the one-designs is the big differences between the sailors. Differences that come from learning about the boat, sailing it well, controlling its systems. This puts more emphasis on the importance of knowing the big boat as
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