Sailing

Naples under scrutiny: environmental, social and technological challenges for the America's Cup

From the critical issues of Bagnoli to the lack of infrastructure, the obstacles to overcome for the city hosting the world's oldest sailing competition

by Alex D'Agosta

18 November 2025

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4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

During episode 883 of one of the most popular online talk shows in the United States when it comes to top-level sailing, Sailing Illustrated, hosted by Tom Ehman - a key figure in the America's Cup, former right-hand man of Larry Ellison and protagonist of the unlimited-budget campaigns of Oracle Racing and the Golden Gate Yacht Club - the discussion on the history of the trophy quickly turned into a close analysis of the present and future of the competition. And above all on the delicate challenge represented by its Italian edition in Naples.

The guests were Margherita Marshall (née Bottini) and John Knox Marshall, a couple who have known the America's Cup for over forty years, from different and complementary perspectives. She, a reporter and photographer of the Italian campaigns since the days of Azzurra and Il Moro di Venezia, has closely followed the birth and development of Luna Rossa and worked alongside Vincenzo Onorato on Mascalzone Latino in Valencia. He, an engineer and sailor of the highest level, three times winner of the Cup - once as a crew member and twice as technical manager - is a member of the America's Cup Hall of Fame, an institution that celebrates those who have contributed in an exceptional way to the history of the trophy. Two voices that combine technical expertise, historical memory and independent judgement.

Both members of the New York Yacht Club, the club that has held the Cup for 132 years and forged its tradition, bring a far-reaching vision and credibility that is hard to match. It is also for this reason that what started as a celebratory dialogue turned, during episode 883 of the programme, into an articulate and uncompromising examination of the forthcoming America's Cup in Naples, its criticalities and the opportunities it could offer.

A dialogue that lit a beacon

The first node is Bagnoli. Bottini defines it, without hesitation, very differently from recent chronicles: 'The solution we will see in Naples will be temporary. Bagnoli is a seriously polluted area, with an industrial past that requires huge works. It is a dream that has lasted thirty years'. A direct blow to the heart of the official narrative. The renderings do not erase the reality: land that has not been completely reclaimed, building sites that are advancing slowly, infrastructure still to be built.

Another critical point: the marina that is not there. Bottini recalls a simple but decisive fact for a competition of this level: 'The two historical yacht clubs in Naples are private and those arriving with big boats do not stop in the city. They go to Capri, Sorrento, Procida'. A truth known to those who sail, rarely spoken with such clarity in a public debate.

On the social front, the analysis is no softer: 'In Bagnoli there is already tension between residents and institutions. They fear being pushed out of the neighbourhood to make way for the rich with their yachts'. Not a detail: it is one of the most delicate potential friction points of the whole project.
The discussion soon widens to the Italian situation: 'In Italy everything becomes political,' Bottini observes. 'Every day an article comes out, and every day a new controversy is born'. A very high level of attention that amplifies every critical issue.

At this point Ehman turns the conversation to the technical heart of the Cup. John Marshall enters with a judgement that weighs more than an opinion: 'AC75s are not yachts. They are space machines'. The problem, he explains, is not the speed, but the loss of connection with sailing as athletes and the public understand it: 'You don't see the crews. You don't see the human gesture. Everything is shielded'. Bottini adds an illuminating detail: "The protocol prevents the sailors from touching the sails. They press buttons. Everything is electronic'. It is the synthesis of a transformation that moves the Cup from the sporting sphere to the technological one.

Engineer Marshall insists on a crucial point, despite the fact that he himself was the creator of major innovations in his campaigns with Dennis Conner: 'There is a huge disconnect between what the Cup produces and what sailors want. We no longer tell the sea, we tell engineering.

The most sensitive part comes when it comes to governance. Margherita Bottini says it without metaphor: 'The Cup was not won, but sold at auction. In Italy we regret it. It was a mistake'. John Marshall elaborates: 'The clubs no longer want to be custodians of the Deed of Gift. To defend it would cost millions. In fact, the Cup is on the global market'. Harsh words, especially since they come from someone who knows America's Cup tradition and NYYC history truly from the inside.

And Naples? Ehman asks whether 'the city is up to the challenge'. Ms Marshall replies with poise: 'Italians, when needed, can work miracles. Naples can offer something unique. But a lot more work is needed than is being said now'.
Marshall agrees: 'The Cup works when the foundations are solid. Logistics, ports, security: nothing can be improvised'.
The result is a complex picture: international enthusiasm, enormous potential, but also technical, social and structural criticalities that require clear and quick decisions.

A rigorous assessment, made all the more weighty by the fact that to pronounce it are two people who do not just comment on the America's Cup: they have lived it, built it, and partly defined it. The two guests thus demonstrated that to really understand the America's Cup, a very difficult and articulated event, you have to listen to those who do not talk about it to promote it, but to protect what the Cup has always been: a sporting and cultural heritage that cannot afford any grey areas.

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