Luna Rossa ship first AC75 on slow boat to Auckland

From early September the Luna Rossa team will begin the transfer to Auckland where the Prada Cup will get underway in just under five months.

Boat 1 will go by cargo ship that will take about two months to arrive in New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the new Luna Rossa 2 is being finalized.

The second AC75 is not set to leave the Persico Marine shipyard until early October, when it will immediately be loaded onto an Antonov cargo aircraft, for transport to Auckland.

The Luna Rossa team hope to be able to prepare their new AC75 and ready to sail in the Gulf of Hauraki in New Zealand by the end of October.

This means a considerable time off the water for the team, while the New Zealand and American teams are taking every opportunity to continue training on the AC36 course areas.

Everyone is reported to be very happy with the new boat.

Which is a welcome situation considering that it is the result of the data collected and studied over the past months, and the experience gained through countless hours of sailing Boat 1, on the waters of Cagliari up until now.

No team has shown their second AC75 design yet and it seems we will have to wait for them to complete their new hull fit-out in Auckland before the great reveal.

The first Luna Rosa AC75 hull is a ‘skiff’ style, and this is believed to be the style now favoured by Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Team UK for their second hull, although nothing is yet confirmed.

This will leave little time to get the new hulls up to speed, with the first competitive AC75 event set for 17 to 20 December . . . The one and only remaining event of the three originally intended for the America’s Cup World Series event.

Then things get serious with the PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series scheduled for 15 January to 22 February 22, 2021.

And then finally the actual 36th America’s Cup Match from 6 to 15 March 2021.

Luna Rossa Team close their Cagliari base for move to New Zealand