In many respects, the spotlight of the Naples Preliminary Regatta shone into the darker corners of all the team’s preparations for the main event, the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup, that starts on the 22nd May 2027 in the super-charged AC75 yachts. In interview, many of the sailors alluded to the fact that next year and the development of the ‘big boat’ had been their main priority, but also that the Naples regatta was a reminder of just how intense and competitive the action is going to be when the gloves come off and the America’s Cup trophy is on the line.
What was striking was the operational efficiency of the shore teams, all of whom are at a high level in terms of boat preparation and handling. With the AC40 yachts being essentially one-design and with strict controls on development, the shore teams could work to a pre-determined template – a luxury that will not be afforded to them with the AC75s, all of which have design nuances and bespoke electronic systems. That places an enhanced load on the shore teams and specialists who are tasked with delivery excellence every single time the boat is launched. In Naples, there was great camaraderie amongst the shore teams – it won’t be the same again.
The world’s top sailors competed for the trophy in Naples. On the line was much more than silverware, however. Everyone wanted a good result to drive momentum and belief into their campaigns, but as ever with the America’s Cup, where famously ‘There is no Second,’ many came away ruing costly errors whilst others were buoyed by flashes of performance. Let’s take a look team by team in this comprehensive Naples debrief:
Luna Rossa 1: Winners
Much was written and said pre-regatta when the news that Luna Rossa CEO Max Sirena had shuffled the sailor pack and installed a new-look team alongside skipper, and three-time America’s Cup winner, Peter Burling. In came the mercurial Marco Gradoni on co-helm, joined by Marco’s co-helm in the victorious Youth America’s Cup win of 2024, Gianluigi Ugolini on trim. Sat behind Burling was Women’s America’s Cup winning trimmer Maria Giubilei, the first women to deservedly break through to a principal team on merit. If there was doubt or concern about how the team would gel, it was a false dawn. Quite simply they were magnificent. Winning the first three practice races and then the opening race on Day 1 was a significant marker of intent. By the final day they topped the leaderboard by a distance and then put on a masterclass, never being behind at any gate on the final day, winning the final two fleet races and the match-race final to lift the title. Even in victory the sailors still saw room for improvement and that is the calling-card of this team with continual learning and never being satisfied by performance. It’s a mighty challenge coming from the Italians but the big question after such a dominant performance is around the crew line-up for the AC75. Has Gradoni shown enough to force his way past double Olympic gold medallist Ruggero Tita and get the co-helm spot? And does Gigi Ugolini get a trimming role? Maria Giubilei looks set for the AC75 fifth sailor spot and could easily combine trim with data analysis and systems controls. All eyes on the recon over the coming months to see what Luna Rossa elect to do.
Emirates Team New Zealand: Runner-Up
Nathan Outteridge, skipper of ETNZ, was kicking himself after the match-race final for an execution error in the final countdown to the start that handed the positional advantage to Luna Rossa. Despite making the final, there was a sense that ETNZ struggled to get going in the earlier fleet races and regularly found themselves back in the pack and fighting. They will take some comfort from the fact that they were resilient and forced results when it mattered but were very conscious of the threat from La Roche-Posay Racing Team who, but for one capsize when leading, could have made the final ahead of the Kiwis. On the positive side, Seb Menzies the new co-helm and designated AC75 driver, was strong throughout the regatta, and the trimming team of Andy Maloney and Iain Jensen are undoubtedly world-class. Jensen was the former 49er crew for Outteridge when they won the Gold medal at London 2012, and his influence on tactics around the racecourse and trim calls should not be under-estimated. ETNZ return to New Zealand with full concentration on the AC75 development and will be doubling-down on their match-racing craft in the simulator.
La Roche-Posay Racing Team: 3rd
Ahead of the regatta in Naples, both Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge were on record as saying that they expected the French team to do well. They weren’t wrong. La Roche-Posay Racing Team were the talk of the town taking two race wins, narrowly missing out on a third after a poor gybe execution that lead to a capsize on the final leg whilst leading, and two further race podium places. Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botín were fascinating to listen to on the onboard comms, piecing together the tactics and calling the wind. It was, however, a collaborative effort, with Florian Trittel and Jason Saunders, the two outstanding trimmers, also contibuting regularly and this four-way communication loop was by far the most vocal of any team in Naples. They will take a lot of positives from the regatta and will be pleased with both their speed and their ability to find killer clean-air lanes off the starting line. Now with the team’s AC75 in Naples, and the team permanently in residence, it will be an interesting winter of development and training for a team that many are picking to surprise come the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup.
ARC Team USA: 4th
Very little was known performance-wise about ARC Team USA’s training in Pensacola pre the Naples regatta, but what they showed right from the very first race was that they meant business. A stunning win opened their account and sent USA fans wild. Furthermore, the American team came with a positivity that was infectious and a flat team hierarchy and culture that was impressive. No nominated ‘skipper,’ the helming duties were shared by Harry Melges IV and Lucas Calabrese with the former being the defeated finalist in the 2024 Youth America’s Cup and the latter being the co-helm onboard the American AC75 in the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final. That talent and promise was matched by world-class sailors Michael Menninger and Hans Henken on trim, and their communication loop was solid. Melges and Calabrese made particular mention of how the team could bounce back from adversity in races and post good results in the next and having scored a race win in the opening race there was a feeling of business as usual and expectation. Results thereafter were mid-table but improving and a third place in the final race meant ARC Team USA leave Naples with a clear pathway to improvement. Impressive debut. ARC Team USA are the dark horses for Naples next year and there will be renewed expectation on their shoulders having finished fourth overall.
Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth: 5th
A switch of helming positions saw skipper Jake Pye take the starboard pod alongside co-helm Erica Dawson sailing from the port side, and there were plenty of positives to take away from Naples including a sensational, and opportunistic, race win. A team that is building for the immediate future both in terms of their Women’s and Youth America’s Cup line-ups, they were always in the hunt through the races and improving fast on a day-by-day basis. Self-critical and highly analytical, this young team impressed mightily. On trim were Olympian Josh Armit and match-racing expert Serena Woodall who both acquitted themselves with distinction and are high on the learning curve as they split to their respective teams now ahead of next year’s regattas. The final race was a showdown for the Women & Youth title and ETNZ showed maturity beyond their years, eclipsing the Italian Luna Rossa Women & Youth team, finished ahead in the final race by a whisker to win on count-back and lay down a marker for next year. A highly impressive performance that was more than deserved after a week of highs and lows and plenty to reflect on.
Luna Rossa 2: 6th
Margherita Porro, skipper of Luna Rossa 2, came away disappointed to narrowly miss out on the Women & Youth trophy in Naples, but knows that the next generation talent she is leading are in a good place to challenge for both the Women & Youth America’s Cup regattas next year. In Max Antoniazzi, co-helm alongside Margherita, Luna Rossa have discovered another great talent who will simply get better and better whilst in Giovanni Santi, they have a trimmer who has really impressed since his debut in Sardinia in May. These two will be the bedrock from which the Italians build their Youth team and have exciting options to join them with the fast-driving Lorenzo Sirena most likely to join Max on co-helm. Equally, the Women’s team for Luna Rossa will be strong. Margherita is rapid and can hold her own against the principal teams, as she proved in Naples, and Maria Vittoria Marchesini who trimmed this week, could easily step into the port-helm role and was part of the winning Women’s America’s Cup team in Barcelona in 2024. The team took a lot away from Naples in terms of execution around the racecourse in big fleet racing and will be looking for improvements over the winter in close-quarters action. Plenty more to come from this exciting campaign and it will be fireworks in Cagliari when the Youth and Women’s teams are defined and go head-to-head.
Tudor Team Alinghi: 7th
Going into the final day, Tudor Team Alinghi were sat on the podium in third and eyeing the possibility of a place in the final. It was not to be, and the sense of frustration poured from Paul Goodison, the new skipper, who rued some poor execution errors right when it mattered most. The Swiss, despite the disappointment at the end result, will leave Naples reflecting on a lot of positives. Around the racetrack they were fast and able to hold lanes and angles with the very best. Co-helm Phil Roberston and Goodison gelled well and the communication loop with Pietro Sibello and Nicolas Rolaz on trim was a marked improvement on their first outing in May in Sardinia. Two second places and a third in races two to four were undoubtedly the highlights that Tudor Team Alinghi will focus on in the de-brief as prime examples of their ability to get in with the front-runners and stay there. Goodison was keen to look to the future and with their AC75 raceboat on track for delivery this winter, it will be an intense training period as they bring it up to speed. The overall result says one thing, the Swiss team’s performance on the water suggests something very different. A team to watch, for sure.
GB1: 8th
Even before the very first pre-regatta practice racing, GB1 were on the back-foot. A collision with the Tudor Team Alinghi chase boat damaged the starboard foil and had to be swapped out for a Swiss spare whilst it was repaired by the shore team. Come the start of the regatta, further problems ensued on the opening day when a flap on the newly repaired foil fell off and left GB1 struggling for grip and pace. Not to be defeated, the team stormed the podium in the first race of day 2 and by the end of the regatta a string of three fourth places underlined the potential in the team. The finishing result was one thing but the message from skipper Dylan Fletcher and co-helm Ben Cornish was a reflection on not enough ‘time in the boat,’ with the team concentrating their training time heavily on AC75 developmental work. Bleddyn Mon and Andrea Tesei, the GB1 trimmers, once again impressed and there was a pervading sense that there is plenty more to come from this talented team and that Naples was a blip. “It never rains but it pours,” said Fletcher wryly.
Cobham-Ultra GB2: 9th
A team that is very much building for the Women & Youth America’s Cup regattas next year, Naples started with a solid and morale-boosting third place in race one, proving to everyone that they could cut it with the favourites. However a string of mid-fleet results relegated the British team lead by Hannah Mills OBE, to the bottom of the standings with the sailors regretting small mistakes that proved so costly at this level. The big positives were in how Mills and co-helm Ellie Aldridge gelled through the week with great comms and boat-on-boat awareness. Matt Beck and Sam Webb are talents for the future and will have taken a lot away in terms of critical execution at key moments, but on balance the team will take heart that they could fight hard in the pack and when clear, could mix it with the best. As with GB1, the team have been involved with development work for the AC75 and rued ‘time in the boat’ in AC40 one-design mode, but will be eyeing both the Youth & Women’s America’s Cup regattas with determination.
