Luna Rossa, another trouble but then recovers: 4-4 with Ineos

The air in Barcelona is not entirely healthy for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli who once again breaks something that might not even break and then recovers. In short, it continues to deliver mixed emotions to its fans. She breaks, then recovers and wins, thrills. It also happened on the fifth day of racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup final, where he won a disastrous 'nose diving' followed by a beautiful victory to remain in a tie, 4 to 4 with Ineos Britannia. The 'nose diving' happens when the balance holding the boat in the air is broken, the wings supporting it underwater lose lift (like a plane in an air pocket, more or less) and the boat plummets into the water from the bow. Very scenic, it is not an unexpected event, we have seen it, if not often, frequently especially with the smaller boats, the AC40s, but even with the AC75s it happens.

Why did it happen? Luna Rossa at the exit of the first gate, after she had won the start and controlled the English boat, attempted a complex and difficult manoeuvre that failed as it should have. Something similar to what had happened to American Magic in 2021 that instead of sinking had taken off due to acceleration. When the boats go from upwind to downwind they undergo violent acceleration, in fact that is when the best speed is recorded. Imperfection and manoeuvring errors are part of the game, what perhaps should not happen is losing fairings or rather 'fairings' that flew into the water too easily.

After the incident Luna Rossa remained stationary in the middle of the field waiting for spare parts to arrive in a hurry from the base and also in the hope that Ineos Britannia would not be able to finish the race. In the midst of the difficulty the Italian team reacted and put the boat in a position to race in the second race. Skipper Max Sirena also got in on the action himself. "In the nose diving a lot of water got into the gap of the jib sheet carriage," said cyclor Enrico Voltolini, "and tore the fairings. Enrico is not only a cyclist, he also has other roles as a nautical engineer.

Unfortunately, this matter allowed Sir Ben Ainslie to bring home a valuable point, in addition to the one lost due to broken mainsail battens. "Our sport is made up of these things," said the English baronet helmsman, "I could say that we lost a race because the maximum time expired while we were in the lead.

A draw was more than necessary and Luna Rossa's team put together a sensational start with perfect control of their opponent in the second race, ending the day with yet another draw. Such an intense battle in the challenger selection can be remembered from 2000, when Luna Rossa was against Paul Cayard's America One and ended at the last race not without controversy.