RECON LOG: PERFECT CONDITIONS IN CAGLIARI FOR LUNA ROSSA TRAINING DAY
As the timeline for the start of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta Sardinia shortens, Luna Rossa’s training intensity increases. With two AC40s competing in the Prelim Regatta, the Italian team have been blooding new talent as they usher through the next generation of foiling superstars that will defend their Youth & Women’s America’s Cup titles in Naples, and will taste their first competition in Sardinia from the 21-24th May 2026.
On Wednesday 18th February, the Italian challengers put an aggressive morning schedule together which included an opening session on tacking practice – one of the key areas for development in this cycle – before going into a whirlwind of some eight pre-start practice sessions.
Match-racing pre-starts are something that all the teams practice relentlessly in the simulator ashore, but time on the water in the real world is vital and it’s an area that the Luna Rossa coaches have been focussing on in their training leading up to the Prelim Regatta.
With the wind light on the Bay of Angels and set from the north-west at 11 knots increasing to 14 knots, the water was flat and near-perfect for practice. The team docked out early at 9am and were back alongside at 1.45pm.
Interestingly, Marco Gradoni and Ruggero Tita were again paired together on one AC40 with a trim team of Umberto Molineris and Gigi Ugolini (Marco’s co-helm in the Youth America’s Cup) whilst Margherita Porro and Josh Junior co-helmed the second AC40 with established America’s Cup trimmer Vittorio Bissaro and new Youth sailor for Luna Rossa, Giovanni Santi who was the 29er World Champion in 2024.
Luna Rossa are looking mighty in the lead up to the Prelim Regatta on the 'Road to Naples' for the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup, but who makes the final cut in terms of sailing the AC40s still feels wide open at this point.
Magnus Wheatley