Third unopposed point for Luna Rossa

More Louis Vuitton Cup speed trials

Luna Rossa collected its third unopposed point on the board at the Louis Vuitton Cup, the Italian team lining up with a still absent Artemis Racing.

The on-water umpires disqualified the Swedish team some 10 minutes after Luna Rossa started under Rule 60.5 of the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing America’s Cup edition.

The Italian AC72 sailed the 12 miles course in 27 minutes and 25 seconds reaching a top speed of 38.37 knots on the first reach of the course.

On board today were Nick Hutton (Bow), David Carr (Pit Grind), Max Sirena (Pit/Skipper), Giles Scott (Hydraulic Grind), Pierluigi de Felice (Trim), Wade Morgan (Primary Grind), Marco Montis (Freestyle), Lele Marino (Wing Grind), Xabi Fernandez (Wing Trim), Francesco Bruni (Tactics), Chris Draper (Helm).

For only the second time in two weeks, tomorrow it is back to a proper two boat race in the Louis Vuitton Cup when Luna Rossa will once again go up against Emirates Team New Zealand. The Italian team is on the back foot, sailing the sistership of the Kiwis Mk1 AC72 so it will be interest to see if helmsman Chris Draper can prevent being nailed in the pre-start as he was last time. 

“Obviously we have lots of ground to make up on the Kiwis, and we knew it,” said Draper. “We’re sailing better, tacking better, our upwind performance seems better, and the jibing is getting there. We’re feeling more confident handling the boat, and hopefully we’ll have bridged the gap when we’re racing tomorrow.”

Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand then line up once again on Tuesday.