Big day for Luna Rossa in Cagliari as they continue their AC75 ‘commissioning’ programme, and after initially postponing to allow the offshore Mistral to abate and usher in the oncoming sea-breeze. Peter Burling, the new skipper of Luna Rossa, once again led the team on the water and was joined by mercurial Youth America’s Cup winner Marco Gradoni on helming duties.
With the sea-breeze taking time to fill, the Italian team took the opportunity to execute down-range manoeuvres and impressed the on-water recon team with mainly dry tacks and gybes. However, the Luna Rossa day was about to take a turn as the recon team recounted saying:
After the first roundup, the yacht appeared with significant windward heel and cant, almost immersing the inboard half of the starboard wing while still in sailing mode. As the yacht bore away, the boat entered the first gybe from starboard to port in a very bow-down trim, and the rudder pierced, resulting in an impressive nosedive. The Rudder Elevator was out of the water before the bow touched the water. Besides a broken wand and several fairings that had to be taped together, there was no major damage to the boat.
Luna Rossa introduced the new rudder form earlier in July and have been adapting to its nuances and the smaller elevator – the horizontal hydrofoil that provides both pitch stability and lift – ever since. Today they found the limit but after some inspection, the team continued sailing before technicians boarded and checked out the stern for what looked to be a hydraulic issue.
Sadly for the Italians, after a brief sail, they called time on the day at 2.30pm CEST and towed back to their impressive Molo Ichnusa base in the Port of Cagliari.
ON-WATER RECON REPORT 15 JULY 2026: Rolling out at 9:10, additional GoPros on the starboard wing were removed while the newest cameras on the mast were still mounted. As the boat was craned in, with the dying offshore Maestrale still blowing, the team postponed dock-out to 11:15 to catch the first light sea-breeze.
The starting crew consisted of Marco Gradoni (helm), Gigi Ugolini (trim), and Maria Giubilei (5th) on port, and Peter Burling (helm), Vittorio Bissaro (trim), and an engineer, Structural William Brooks (6th), on starboard. As the day ended up short due to a hydraulic issue, no sailor was rotated, with only Foil Designer Francisco Azevedo taking the 6th position. Before leaving the harbour, the newest mainsail, M2-1, was hoisted at 11:30 and paired with the newest J1-1.
The first session started at 11:55 with a tow-to-foil by the chase boat, and the yacht started sailing upwind in the lightest air so far, 4–6 kts from 145°, blowing over some minor remaining swell of 0.3 m from the same direction. The yacht sailed some shorter boards upwind and downwind. Manoeuvring looked very consistent, with mostly dry manoeuvres even in the lightest air.
After the first roundup, the yacht appeared with significant windward heel and cant, almost immersing the inboard half of the starboard wing while still in sailing mode. As the yacht bore away, the boat entered the first gybe from stbd to port in a very bow-down trim, and the rudder pierced, resulting in an impressive nosedive. The Rudder Elevator was out of the water before the bow touched the water. Besides a broken wand and several fairings that had to be taped together, there was no major damage to the boat. Just as the team seemed to resume sailing, technicians gathered around the main track, resulting in another postponement due to a possible hydraulic issue, which appeared to be fixed at first.
At 13:35, the boat was finally foilborne again for the second session after a tow-to-fly. After a very short flight, the yacht stopped again, and it seemed the suspected issue was not fully solved yet. Jib car, main car, and mast trims were then tested, with the usual trim vibration producing an unusually loud oscillating noise.
No major issue followed, as the boat executed a self-take-off at 13:48 with the breeze increasing to 7–9 kts. On a couple of tacks, the board drops seemed inconsistent, as the board did not drop gradually. As the yacht bore away, several bear-aways to roundups were practiced before finally heading downwind for some gybes. Also on the final gybe, the port board seemed very canted and was not dropping gradually. Several tacks were then executed before stopping.
Sails were dropped, and the team called it a day due to a hydraulic issue. By 14:30, the boat was being towed into the harbour after approximately 33 minutes of foiling time, completing 15 tacks and 12 gybes.
