After days of sunshine and fair sea breezes in the Bay of Naples, conditions changed for the opening day of racing at the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta, with cooler, unstable air bringing showers and thunderstorms.
It initially made for a frustrating wait, but when the breeze finally arrived, the AC40 fleet was treated to 14–15 knots, gusting to 18 knots, and a short chop for two eventful opening races.
ARC Team USA strikes first
After two false starts to the racing schedule, ARC Team USA made an impressive competitive debut.
With the fleet starting on starboard tack, Harry Melges and Lucas Calabrese found clear air in the middle of the course after an early tack onto port.
Together with trimmers Michael Menninger and Hans Henken, the American crew quickly established themselves at the front of the fleet.
Luna Rossa 1, with Peter Burling and Marco Gradoni co-helming, chased hard, but ARC Team USA extended its advantage to almost 250 metres and remained in control through the six-leg race.
Behind them, Hannah Mills and Ellie Aldridge aboard Cobham-Ultra GB2 pushed Luna Rossa 1 all the way to the finish, while Luna Rossa Women & Youth finished fourth.
For ARC Team USA, it was an impressive first race victory and an encouraging start to their Naples campaign.
Drama in race two
Conditions strengthened for the second race, with gusts reaching 18 knots and a challenging swell adding to the difficulty.
There was drama immediately at the start when La Roche-Posay Racing Team was over the line early. While attempting to return and restart correctly, the boat nosedived and capsized.
All sailors were reported safe and the boat was quickly righted.
Cobham-Ultra GB2 was close to the incident, with Hannah Mills taking evasive action to avoid a more serious collision.
Luna Rossa takes control
Once racing settled down, Luna Rossa 1 took command.
The Italian team led to the left side of the course before crossing the fleet on port tack and establishing a lead they would not relinquish.
Tudor Team Alinghi, with Paul Goodison and Phil Robertson co-helming, remained their closest challenger, while Nathan Outteridge and Seb Menzies aboard Emirates Team New Zealand worked their way through the fleet to claim third.
Emirates Team New Zealand Women & Youth, co-helmed by Jake Pye and Erica Dawson, finished close behind in fourth.
ARC Team USA was unable to repeat its opening-race success after a poor rounding at the second leeward gate dropped them to seventh.
After the opening day, Luna Rossa 1 leads a tightly packed leaderboard, with plenty still to play for as racing continues on the Bay of Naples.
#AmericasCup #TeamUSA #LunaRossa #sailingnews #yachtracing
Interested in seeing more Racing News? Click here
Follow our America’s Cup coverage Click here
