Silver Bullet hits water

Peter Burling and Ruggero Tita were the nominated helms and took their time to settle into a whole new way of working onboard the AC75 which is a considerable step-up from the one-design AC40s.

Manoeuvres were conservative, with gybes performed on two foils for added stability, while frequent pauses allowed technicians to carry out inspections and fine-tune onboard systems – but the boat nevertheless demonstrated encouraging speed, recording more than 40 knots during its first sustained foiling run.

It was also a full crew onboard, with Burling and Tita joined by trimmers Umberto Molineris and Vittorio Bissaro with Maria Giubilei in the 5th person pod (to port) and Marco Gradoni in the starboard pod, making a total of six-up through the session.

Overall, the day combined an extensive commissioning programme with a cautious but encouraging first sail for Luna Rossa’s new AC75, with the team overcoming a series of delays before the AC75 was finally launched in the late afternoon.

The boat was first fitted with an extensive array of cameras, sensors and monitoring equipment as engineers gathered critical data from the outset, while a minor rigging issue and a subsequent mainsheet-system problem further pushed back the sailing schedule.

Once clear of the harbour however, the yacht was towed offshore to stronger breeze where the crew completed final preparations before hoisting sails, and while the AC75 appeared unsettled at times in the building chop, the new yacht nevertheless showed promising pace during its maiden foiling runs.

The team wrapped up testing shortly after 8pm, concluding what was widely viewed as a productive first day for the Italian challenger.

Speaking afterwards, Max Sirena CEO of Luna Rossa spoke about the Day and said: “It is always a pleasure, no? Every time when you put this lady in the water, there is quite a lot of emotion from the team, and it’s probably part of the deal we have with this place.

“Every time when we splash this boat for the first time, it’s blowing over 20 knots for day one, but it’s good! I think we are quite happy of the day, and what we achieved, and we nailed everything that was on the book to tick off. So it’s good.”

He added: “Obviously, we all know it’s not the same boat of Barcelona, no? And I think every team, once they’re going to splash the boat, like the Kiwi, I’m pretty sure they have a new stuff to check and to test. And it’s always an important day, the day one, no? Because you got immediately feedback and answer. So, I think it’s enough to see the faces of the people around the base tonight, and so it’s good.”

Asked what the big developments will be in this cycle, Sirena also commented: “It’s hard to tell. Obviously, it’s going to be the third cycle of this type of boat, so like always in the past, after many campaigns with the same class, the gap between boats is getting closer and closer. Which is great because it means everyone is pushing pretty hard, both on the technical side and also on the sailing team and playbook.

“So, I think it’s going to be an interesting Cup, the next one in Naples, and I think we’re going to see really good match racing pre-start manoeuvres, and I’m pretty confident everyone is going to play on that field.”

Next sailing day is scheduled for Friday 12 June 2026.

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lunarossachallenge.com