Luna Rossa is sailing ahead of schedule

We expected to see Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli back out on the water mid-week but in a surprise boost to their schedule, and a fabulous reflection on the professionalism of their shore team, the Italian LEQ12 was back out for a beautiful Sunday afternoon session looking better than ever.

The mast has been fully repaired with steel tips at the top of the double-skin mainsail tracks and the stern gantry that was damaged is back to best. But it was an early start for the shore team who stepped the mast under what the recon team called: “a very severe protocol” – understandable as any errors at this stage of the campaign are so costly in terms of time lost and with the clock ticking down to the time when the designers must finalise their designs for the AC75 (and that’s fast approaching), time on the water is everything for the Italians.

But it was a perfect set and clearly lessons have been learned all round. The team also set their data tool, replete with cameras, this time on the outside foil of the port arm and the sailors towed out into the ‘Angels Gulf’ or ‘Golfo degli Angeli’ at 11am sharp. As is becoming a not-so-rare sight now at the training venues, a school of dolphins accompanied the LEQ12 and hats off to the recon photographer for capturing some magical shots of these most welcoming of marine mammals.

Jimmy Spithill was back on the steering wheel, sharing helming duties with Nacra 17 sensation Ruggero Tita and the team started the session with their medium sized J2 to begin with for the first hour and a half before the falling breeze, that dipped to a patchy 8-10 knots, called for the larger J1 for the rest of the afternoon. Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli completed 11 runs in total but due to the instability in the wind, only four were self-take-offs with the chase boat called in to get the boat up on foils for the rest.

The Recon Team noted that the: “transition from displacement to foiling mode appeared unsteady,” and “that maximum boat speeds of approximately 35 knots (recorded via RIB GPS) while bearing away with a TWA (True wind Angle) of 110-120 degrees, tow-to-fly runs allowed the LEQ12 to foil on reaching courses and find stronger wind puffs in the Gulf.” Gybing certainly appeared to be the favoured option in the conditions but only one was successful foil-to-foil with the other resulting in a splashdown. Further tacks and gybes were executed in displacement mode.

As a shakedown sail on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Cagliari, with 20-degree heat and only light clouds above, it was the perfect entrée for the week ahead with the next scheduled session being on Tuesday.

On-Water Recon-Unit Notes

• Due to unstable breeze strength out of a total of 11 foiling runs, only 3-4 self take off, transition from displacement to foiling mode appeared unsteady.

• Shifty wind conditions in the "Golfo degli angeli" (Angels Gulf) with TWS varying between 16, 10 and 8 knots (according to anemometer located 2 meters above sea) and directions N, NNW NW

• Hoisted sails looked well shaped beside some occasional wrinkles and clew sail patch flapping on deck

• Performance of portside foil monitored with sensor, maximum boat speeds of approx 35 knots (RIB GPS) while bearing away with TWA 110-120 deg, tow-to-fly runs allowed the LEQ12 to foil on reach courses and find stronger wind puffs in the gulf.

• Onboard today: Jimmy Spithill, Ruggero Tita, Vittorio Bissaro, Umberto Molineris, Andrea Tesei, Marco Gradoni

• Total Gybes: 2 – 1 foil-to-foil, 1 touchdown

Sails Used:

M1: (LR_LEQ12_Mn1-1S-1P): 4 hours 30 minutes

J1: (LR_LEQ12_J1-1): 2 hours 5 minutes

J2: (LR_LEQ12_J2-1): 1 hour 30 minutes