America's Cup: Premiere off Cagliari - Luna Rossa's Silver Arrow is back

It was not long ago that Team Luna Rossa shone in May in the first pre-regatta for the America's Cup off Cagliari. There the Azzurri A team won the first showdown between defenders and challengers on the smaller AC40 foilers with a strong performance by helmsmen Peter Burling, Ruggero Tita and their trimmers. Italy's young talent also shone with Marco Gradoni, Margherita Porro and their crewalmost snatched overall victory from the Cup legends. Team Luna Rossa Heimatrevier put on an impressive show.

38th America's Cup: Luna Rossa's Silver Arrow flies again

But now it's time to get down to business with the large AC75 yacht. Team Luna Rossa let her off the leash for the first time in the late afternoon and evening of 10 June during the ongoing refit in her home waters off Cagliari. Something the New Zealand defenders had already done in March, when they let their winning yacht "Taihoro" fly again for the first timeThe Italians are now doing it. As helmsmen, Peter Burling and Ruggero Tita took their time to get used to working on the AC75 again.

The Recon observation team, which closely follows and films each team in the 38th Louis Vuitton America's Cup, noted its observations: "The usual cameras were attached to the foils. Antennas and a forward-facing recording device could be seen on the media mast. Identical devices were mounted on the spreaders, while vibration dampers were attached to the shrouds. There seemed to be a small problem with the mast positioning."

The Recon team continued: "Once the boat was ready to sail, it was lowered into the water with a crane at 5 pm. The team completed the remaining preparations quickly. No heeling tests were carried out on the quay, indicating that the team had previously tested the FCS - which may be explained by the modified 'dome' boat shape."

The first AC75 test: cautious, still a little unstable, but already fast

As soon as the team had left the harbour, the Recon team observed this: "The sea breeze broke in. The cameras on the starboard wing were switched on and the LiDAR system was installed. The boat was towed out to sea towards Sella del Diavolo. Sail designers had boarded the support boats and were focussing on the new mainsail, which was hoisted at 6 pm. During the installation of the mainsheet system, a defective part caused a delay. Team members returned to the base to get a replacement part. It remained unclear which part had failed."

In the meantime, the wind had picked up to 14 to 16 knots. At around 7 p.m., the team began to accelerate on two boards. According to the Recon observer, the boat still seemed "quite unstable" in terms of lean and ride height. A cautious jibe under reduced sails, various interruptions to training and repeated interventions by the technicians demonstrated the early stages of working with the new old boat. According to the rules the radical Cup turnaround for the 38th America's Cup, that only AC75 yachts that have already been built may be used. But they have optimised the teams to the maximum. And continue to do so.

The Azzurri rocket was not lacking in speed during the first test run. The Silver Arrow reached an estimated speed of 40 to 42 knots. The team should be satisfied with the work done so far to adapt to the new rules at the start. In addition to Burling and Tita, trimmers Umberto Molineris and Vittorio Bissaro as well as Maria Giubilei (port) and Marco Gradoni (starboard) were also on board in the 5th person positions. This meant that there were always five male and one female sailor on board during the entire session.

In the seventh America's Cup attempt: first AC75 checklist completed on the water

Afterwards, Luna Rossa's CEO took stock. Max Sirena said after the premiere for the converted Italian AC75: "It's always a pleasure! Every time you put this lady in the water, the enthusiasm in the team is huge. I guess that's just part of being in this place. Every time we launch this boat for the first time, the wind blows over 20 knots on the first day, but that's good! I think we're pretty happy with the day and what we've achieved. We did everything that was on the checklist."

Max Sirena also said: "Of course we all know it's not the same boat as Barcelona, right? And I think that every team, as soon as they launch the boat, like the Kiwis, certainly have new things to check and test. The first day is always an important day, isn't it? Because you get immediate feedback and answers. So I think it's enough to see the faces of people around the base tonight. That's good."

Emotions run high in the team every time we put this lady in the water." Max Sirena

When asked what the most important developments will be in this 38th America's Cup cycle, Max Sirena answered cautiously, saying: "It's hard to say. It's obviously the third cycle of this class of boat and, as always in the past, after many seasons in the same class, the gap between the boats is getting smaller and smaller. That's great because it means everyone is pushing themselves pretty hard, both technically and in terms of sailing teams and tactics."

An exciting America's Cup: sailing skills high on the agenda

Sirena is convinced that the challenger round for the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup will be close and therefore exciting. The sailing qualities of the crews are likely to become more important as the optimised AC75 yachts move closer together technically. Sirena said: "I think it's going to be an interesting Cup, the next one in Naples. I think we will see some really good match racing manoeuvres before the start. And I'm pretty confident that everyone will be on their game in this field."

His team Luna Rossa with "new Italian" Peter Burling, who won the America's Cup three times in a row with Emirates Team New Zealand before switching to Luna Rossa, will have nothing to hide. Luna Rossa's next sailing day in the home waters of Cagliari is scheduled for 12 June.

She's sailing again! "Luna Rossa's" first outing in the new Cup cycle. The song for the clip is called "Where it begins" and is by Macaron. A good fit: