America's Cup: Luna Rossa - Two long days for Top Guns
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 16 Oct 11:52 BST
Luna Rossa - October 15, 2026 - Cagliari © Ivo Rovira / America's Cup Recon
Luna Rossa put in two long five hour sailing days in Sardinia, getting the most out of the perfect conditions for AC75 sailing.
The days appear to have been relatively incident free, aside from an issue with one of the sail batten ends at the point where it connected to the mast.
The rudder issues which beset the team five days earlier appear to have been resolved, and the appendage was tested on the first day of this week's sessions.
Luna Rossa October 15, 2026 - Sailing Day 25 - Cagliari, Sardinia
Crew List:
- Port Helm: Marco Gradoni (ITA)/Ruggero Tita (ITA)
- Starboard Helm: Peter Burling (NZL)
- Port Trimmer: Gigi Ugolini (ITA)/Vittorio Bissaro (ITA)
- Starboard Trimmer: Umberto Molinaris(ITA)
- P5: Maria Giubilei (Port) P6: Shore crew (S'bd)
Wind & Sea Conditions:
- Afternoon: Sunny
- Wind: @13:10 4.5-6kts 190°, @14:35 5-7kts 185°, @15:00 9-11kts 180°, @16:45 9-11kts 180°
- Sea State: Quite Flat
Times and Tacks
- Dock Out: 1230hrs
- Sails Dropped: 1720hrs
- Time elapsed: 4hrs 45minshr
- Foiling time: Not available
- Tacks: Not available
- Gybes: Not available
Recon Unit Report
With a schedule and to-do list similar to those of the previous sailing day, the team rolled out at 11:15. The rudder was still the latest mounted version, R05-F. The starting crew consisted of Marco Gradoni (helm), Umberto Molineris (trim), and Maria Giubilei (5th) on port, and Peter Burling (helm), Gigi Ugolini (trim), and mast and shore crew personnel (6th) on starboard. Later in the day, Marco Gradoni was replaced by Ruggero Tita, Vittorio Bissaro replaced Gigi Ugolini, and mast and rigging technicians rotated through guest position 6. The team docked out at 12:30, just as the offshore Maestrale breeze was about to die as the day warmed up.
At 12:50, the M2-1 was hoisted with the larger jib J1-1, and the team began the session with a tow-to-fly, as the seabreeze was marginal, with 4.5–6 kts from 190°. While still under tow, the boat occasionally appeared trimmed bow-up; it was unclear whether this had been planned as part of the rudder test. After becoming foilborne and spiking the tow at 13:00, the team headed upwind for some warm-up tacks. The majority of these were touch-and-go exits, considering the marginal and still quite patchy pressure. Further upwind, the pressure appeared more stable, and the team bore away to execute some gybes, also these mostly touch-and-go. At 13:23, the boat decelerated, and the team debriefed.
During an attempt to take off independently, the boat seemed almost foilborne before coming to a sudden stop. Sailmakers and sailors gathered around the lowest starboard batten 1, as it appeared to have an issue with its hardware in the mast track. After becoming foilborne following a self-takeoff at 14:06, the team started sailing upwind, and additional bow-up trims that immersed the rudder blade were observed on both tacks. A long straight-line port-tack board followed, during which the boat appeared to have a slightly higher ride height but a more bow-down trim. As this board ended, the boat bore away onto starboard tack for a long straight-line run, during which crew members were observed taking a closer look at the jib track and main clew. Additional gybes were executed before the team switched to running some pre-starts. It is assumed that the boat is racing against the simulator during these routines. Besides some full circles, double tacks and gybes were noted more frequently during these tight manoeuvring sequences. After four pre-starts, the team sailed two legs focusing on back-to-back manoeuvres before decelerating at 14:54.
The seabreeze had increased further to 9–11 kts from 180°, and therefore the J1-1 was lowered and the J2-1 hoisted. After becoming foilborne through a self-takeoff, the boat executed some initial tacks, all well under control. During these boards, the boat sailed on a beam reach for quite a while on both tacks before switching to VMG upwind straight-line sailing, perhaps to lock in some performance numbers. After bearing away on port tack, the team executed another intense series of consecutive gybes before turning upwind and repeating the same sequence with tacks. A large number of manoeuvres were practised, with very few execution mistakes noted during this stint. Similar to the rudder tests on previous days, instances of trimming the boat up were observed during this session before the boat stopped at 15:41. A new set of batteries was brought on board, and the sailors rotated.
The pressure had remained quite stable at 9.5–10.5 kts, and the boat was foilborne again at 15:55. Additional series of manoeuvres were executed within seconds of each other, both upwind and downwind. Instead of performing a one-board round-up, the team opted for jks. The team continued with aggressive round-ups and bear-aways on starboard tack. The boat was stopped briefly at 16:42 but quickly became foilborne again at 17:00 for the last sailing stint of the day. This session unfolded similarly to the previous one, with a particular focus on double tacks and gybes. On the second one-board round-up, the rudder stalled, and the boat fell into displacement mode.
After recovering within a short time, the team practised several pre-starts before heading back to the harbour. Some improvements could be noted in the execution of full circles, with the boat exiting the circles at greater speed than on the previous day. After two final legs of manoeuvring in series, the team headed into the harbour at 17:20 to lower the sails after another long, productive day.
Additional Images:
Luna Rossa October 14, 2026 - Sailing Day 24 - Cagliari, Sardinia
Crew List:
- Port Helm: Marco Gradoni (ITA)/Ruggero Tita (ITA)
- Starboard Helm: Peter Burling (NZL)
- Port Trimmer: Gigi Ugolini (ITA)/Vittorio Bissaro (ITA)
- Starboard Trimmer: Umberto Molinaris(ITA)
- P5: Maria Giubilei (Port) P6: Shore crew (S'bd)
Wind & Sea Conditions:
- Afternoon: Sunny
- Wind: @13:10 3-4kts 190°, @14:05 8-9kts 195°, @15:00 11-13kts 195°, @16:40 9-11kts 195°,
- Sea State: Flat
Times and Tacks
- Dock Out: 1230hrs
- Sails Dropped: 1720hrs
- Time elapsed: 4hrs 45minshr
- Foiling time: 132mins
- Tacks: 48
- Gybes: 44
Recon Unit Report
For their 24th sailing day, the team rolled out at 11:15.
Cased cameras were still noted on port wing. At dock-out, the main M2-1 was loaded on board, and measurements confirmed that it was still the M2-1. On this day, it appeared with even wider reinforcement on both skins of the mainsail head, between the first two red stripes. The starting crew consisted of Ruggero Tita (helm), Umberto Molineris (trim), and Maria Giubilei (5th) on port, and Peter Burling (helm), Vittorio Bissaro (trim), and mast and shore crew personnel (6th) on starboard. Later in the day, Marco Gradoni replaced Ruggero Tita, Vittorio Bissaro was replaced by Gigi Ugolini, and mast and rigging technicians rotated through guest position 6. The team docked out at 12:30, just as the offshore Maestrale breeze was about to die as the day warmed up.
In dead wind, M2-1 was hoisted with the larger jib J1-1, and the team began the session with a tow-to-fly, unfolding into a longer tow towards Sarroch. Once the still-light seabreeze was found from 190° at 3–4 kts, the tow was released, but the boat quickly returned hullborne. On the second attempt, the boat managed to stay alive for two minutes before falling hullborne while exiting a gybe. The team opted to stay put and await better seabreeze filling in the bay.
Foilborne following a self-takeoff at 13:31, the team bore away and headed downwind, where the pressure seemed to be more intense, beginning to execute some gybes. Exiting the second manoeuvre on port tack, the boat's condition looked fragile, with significant ride height that almost ventilated the elevator blade for several seconds. As control was regained, the boat trimmed up and started drilling some tacks before decelerating at 13:55. While sailing upwind, some tests were observed in which the boat was trimmed bow-up immersing the rudder blade. Similar to previous days, these tests recurred throughout the day in most sailing modes.
The J1-1 was lowered at 14:00 and the J2-1 hoisted instead, as the seabreeze had increased to 8–9 kts from 195°. Foilborne following a self-takeoff at 14:20, the team started sailing upwind, mostly straightline. The focus appeared to be on trimming the platform and endplating the skeg onto the flat water. Some occasional tacks were executed during this run before the team bore away and sailed downwind, with occasional gybes in between. A crew member was observed taking a closer look at the mainsail clew and track while sailing. Two pre-start routines followed before the team sailed an upwind course. A tack-bear-away led the team onto the downwind leg, after which the boat stopped at 14:50 for a debrief with the coaches. The seabreeze had increased further to 11–13 kts from 190°, and therefore the J2-1 was lowered and the J3-1 hoisted. During this second stint, very smooth sailing and only a few minor mistakes were observed. Batteries and sailors were swapped before the third foiling stint began.
For the third stint of the day, the boat took off unassisted at 15:12. After sailing some upwind and downwind boards, suspected rudder-load tests were executed, with the boat sailing from a beam reach into aggressive round-ups and bear-aways. These runs were executed exclusively on starboard tack, unfolding into very long boards during which the platform was again trimmed bow-up. Later on, the boat returned to the virtual racecourse to focus once again on pre-start practice, sailing two legs before decelerating at 15:40.
Back foilborne at 16:10, the team continued with aggressive round-ups and bear-aways on starboard tack. After some additional straight-line boards, the team switched to intense manoeuvring practice. A total of 10 consecutive tacks were observed, each occurring within 7–8 seconds of the previous one. The boat then executed a tack-bear-away with an early gybe to repeat the same practice for downwind manoeuvring, but ended up stalling the rudder while exiting the second gybe. Once resettled, the boat took off for two boards but lost balance, developing significant windward heel before finally decelerating at 16:37.
At 16:45, the seabreeze had begun to decrease to 9–11 kts, and the J2-1 was rehoisted instead of the J3-1. Back foilborne at 16:58, the boat seemed to pick up where it had left off and quickly started executing a series of gybes before turning up and running an additional series of tacks. After the last downwind leg, a minor mistake during the round-up led to excessive ride height and leeward heel. The crew recovered quickly, and the boat continued practising round-ups and bear-aways on both tacks before moving into pre-start manoeuvring. During these routines, the team appeared less successful at executing full circles compared with the previous day. The breeze had remained unchanged, still at 9–11 kts from 190°. The team headed into the harbour at 17:20 to lower the sails after a long, productive day, with approximately 132 minutes foilborne, 48 tacks, and 44 gybes.
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