They had only just got into position for their first practice race when disaster struck for the British team – who were already facing technical difficulties – in the Gulf of Naples during the very first pre-regatta for the 38th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup. At the collision with a support boat from the Tudor Team Alinghi The British AC40 foiler was damaged on Tuesday. Skipper and helmsman Dylan Fletcher got off with just a black eye.
"Unfortunately hit the rib" during training
“The lads didn’t see the RIB in the middle of the course about three minutes before the start. They jibed and unfortunately hit the RIB,” said GB1 CEO Ian Walker, summarising the collision, which could have had far worse consequences. Afterwards, the Swiss lent the British team a foil. One night shift later, Dylan Fletcher and his crew were able to continue their preparations for the second America’s Cup pre-series race, whilst their own damaged foil arm was being repaired.
The official launch of the AC40 Summit on Wednesday evening had also shown that Naples can be a lively place! Whilst strong winds lashed across the Bay of Naples, the opening ceremony for the second pre-regatta of the 38th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup took place on the island of Nisida as the sun set. This is where the Cup teams have set up their temporary bases for this weekend’s mini AC40 summit – with a direct view of Bagnoli, where the team headquarters are currently being completed at breakneck speed.
But first, this weekend will see action on the AC40 test and training boats battled for the current sporting supremacy in the America’s Cup. Although the results of the second pre-season regatta – like those of the first in Cagliari – will have no bearing on next year’s main races, they can certainly provide an insight into the teams’ sporting strength. The three-day regatta, featuring eight fleet races and a match race final between the top two teams is accompanied by many fascinating questions.
Six fascinating questions about the America’s Cup pre-regatta in Naples
Can the Luna Rossa senior team repeat their success in Cagliari, where the Azzurri managed to relegate the defending champions, Emirates Team New Zealand, to second place? Can Luna Rossa’s strong women’s and youth team shine as brightly as they did in Cagliari, when they almost stole the show from all the Cup stars and finished third? And just how strong will the Kiwis, led by skipper Nathan Outteridge, be, having now been training intensively in the Cup waters?
Another intriguing question is this: following the technical setbacks in Cagliari and the collision during training in Naples, how will the British Team GB1, with Dylan Fletcher, go about making the comeback to the top they’ve been hoping for? Or this one: How will the American Racing Challenger Team USA, a relative unknown so far, fare on its debut?
All eyes in Europe are also on France’s La Roche-Posay Racing Team. Just how strong will the Franco-Spanish crew combination be, featuring SailGP sailors Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botin, along with trimmers Jason Saunders and Florian Trittel? Following their recent SailGP victory on Lake Geneva, Botin and Trittel will be up against many opponents, some of whom are also well known from the ‘Formula 1 of sailing’. with the satisfying feeling of victory.
The Tudor Team Alinghi are also looking to score points, with a British and a New Zealand helmsman – Paul Goodison and Phil Robertson – pushing hard. It’s also interesting to take a look at the skippers of the nine crews: two of them – Hannah Mills (Cobham-Ultra GB2) and Margherita Porro (Luna Rossa 2) – are female skippers. One is a double Olympic champion in the 470 class and a SailGP strategist for Team Emirates GBR, whilst the other co-won the first Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona and has been a key member of the Italian team ever since.
The build-up to the Cup tie, live on YouTube
This first AC40 regatta in Naples will be less of a ‘mini America’s Cup’ and more of a highly focused sporting competition on identical speedboats. For the first time, racing will take place on the original Cup course for 2027. This will provide the teams with valuable information on wind conditions, currents, wave patterns, laylines and the typical local wind shifts, which they will use in the coming months to develop their AC75 yachts.
The race course will be situated in the natural stadium of the Gulf of Naples, directly in front of the Lungomare promenade along Via Francesca Caracciolo – roughly between Naples’ oldest city fortress, Castel dell’Ovo, and the Posillipo coastline. Mount Vesuvius provides a spectacular backdrop. Each of the up to eight fleet races will last a maximum of 25 minutes. The races will take place in a wind range of approximately 7.5 to 21 knots.
If the organisers’ plan goes to plan, three fleet races will be held on both Friday and Saturday, starting at 2 pm each day. For the final day on Sunday (27 September), two more fleet races involving all the teams are scheduled, followed by the showdown between the two top teams. Click here for the Live stream on Day 1 (Friday 24 September) on YouTube. The teams are testing crew line-ups, some of which are already familiar to them, whilst others are new.
An overview of the teams competing in the second pre-regatta for the 38th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup
- Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL, Seniors): Nathan Outteridge (skipper/helmsman), Seb Menzies (helmsman), Andy Maloney (trimmer), Iain Jensen (trimmer)
- Emirates Team New Zealand Women’s & Youth (NZL): Jake Pyke (skipper/helmsman), Erica Dawson (helmswoman), Serena Woodall (trimmer), Josh Armit (trimmer)
- Luna Rossa 1 (ITA, Senior): Peter Burling (skipper/helmsman), Marco Gradoni (helmsman), Maria Giubilei (trimmer), Gianluigi Ugolini (trimmer)
- Luna Rossa 2 (ITA, Women & Juniors): Margherita Porro (skipper/helmswoman), Massimiliano Antoniazzi (helmsman), Maria Vittoria Marchesini (trimmer), Giovanni Santi (trimmer)
- GB1 (GBR): Dylan Fletcher (skipper/helmsman), Ben Cornish (helmsman), Bleddyn Mon (trimmer), Andrea Tesei (trimmer)
- Cobham-Ultra GB2 (GBR): Hannah Mills (skipper/helmswoman), Ellie Aldridge (helmswoman), Sam Webb (trimmer), Matt Beck (trimmer)
- La Roche-Posay Racing Team (FRA): Quentin Delapierre (skipper/helmsman), Diego Botin (helmsman), Jason Saunders (trimmer), Florian Trittel (trimmer)
- Tudor Team Alinghi (SUI): Paul Goodison (skipper/helmsman), Phil Robertson (helmsman), Nicolas Rolaz (trimmer), Pietro Sibello (trimmer)
- American Racing Challenger Team USA (ACR Team USA for short): Harry Melges IV (skipper/helmsman), Lucas Calabrese (helmsman), Hans Henken (trimmer), Michael Menninger (trimmer)
Click here for the race route for the first Naples Mini Summit:
The La Roche-Posay Racing Team is sponsored by the German-French couple Stephan Kandler and Bruno Dubois. Here’s a closer look at the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge quartet, bolstered by a Spanish player for the match against Naples:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter