With the current Marseille Sailing competitions of the 2024 Olympic Games the Nacra 17 catamarans are undoubtedly one of the most spectacular boat classes. Germany's foiling aces Paul Kohlhoff and foresailor Alica Stuhlemmer are in eighth place ahead of the medal race, which has been postponed until tomorrow. Shortly before their second Olympic participation together, the Kiel crew set a new personal speed record: 33.5 knots. Only the surfers achieve similar speeds on their IQFoil boards, and only the kiters are even faster.
At least when it comes to Olympic sailing. Because a video recently highlighted the current ranking. The Italian Nacra 17 crew Gigi Ugolini and Maria Giubilei can be seen training in foil mode on their Instagram channel. Spectacular enough, you might think. But then a shiny, silvery projectile comes roaring up from behind. After blinking once, it's clear: the new AC75 of the Italian America's Cup syndicate Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli is passing the suddenly seemingly tiny catamaran with a significantly higher angle to the wind and a few knots more boat speed downwind.
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37th America's Cup: fast-paced and exciting?
In the video description, the team aptly writes: "When you think you're the fastest in the bay ... but you're in Barcelona." That's where the countdown to the 37th edition of the most prestigious sailing competition is currently underway. In 15 days, the first starting shot will be fired for the final pre-regatta, where the foiling monohulls will meet for the first time. Only a little later, things will get serious in the challenger series as part of the Louis Vuitton Cup when it comes to determining the opponent of the New Zealand defenders in the final Cup match.
Even experienced Cup experts are still finding it difficult to determine who is currently in the lead. Rarely have there been such diverse designs that are nevertheless at a similar performance level. From the voluminous "Britannia" to the extremely minimalist and flat "Patriot 2.0" to the Kiwis' perfected defender yacht, the entire design spectrum is represented. However, the different orientations could logically lead to strengths in different conditions. The decisive factor in the battle for the silver jug is therefore likely to be the best area analysis and undoubtedly the best sailing team.
"There are just too many conflicting factors to have the optimum boat in all conditions. Our sailors and design team are confident that we can get every potential second out of our boat across the entire wind range, but some boats will have their sweet spots and it's about having more of them than the opposition," confirms Ray Davies, two-time America's Cup winner and coach at Emirates Team New Zealand.
Nacra 17: Luna Rossa helmsman wants Olympic gold again
Should his team also defend the upcoming America's Cup, it would go down in the history books. The New Zealanders would then be the first team to win the oldest trophy in sailing three times in a row.
However, Luna Rossa's Silver Arrow, among others, could throw a spanner in the works. Not only was the design convincing before Barcelona, but the crew also seemed to be competitive. Not least because of helmsman Ruggero Tita, who is currently on course for gold at the Olympic Games - in the Nacra 17!
