America's Cup, Luna Rossa's first test in Cagliari: the AC75 flies at 42 knots ahead of the Naples regattas.

The road to the legendary America's Cup stops in Cagliari, where Luna Rossa's new technological marvel tasted the salt of the water for the first time. The AC75, nicknamed Silver Bullet, made its eagerly awaited first sea trial in the Gulf of Sardinia, taking its first operational steps ahead of the key regattas that will be held in the waters of Naples . Aboard the flying multihull, helmsmen Peter Burling and Ruggero Tita approached the session with extreme caution, having to contend with a completely new sailing mode introduced on the new vessel. The gybes were executed with the utmost caution, keeping both daggerboards lowered to ensure the structure's stability, while the entire training session was punctuated by continuous stops and starts necessary to allow engineers to come aboard and verify the perfect efficiency of every single hardware and software component.

Despite the cautious and methodical approach, the silver hull had no trouble flexing its muscles, reaching an estimated speed of forty or forty-two knots during the first real acceleration on the water's surface. The training session involved the full crew, consisting of six professionals who divided duties between the two sides of the boat for the duration of the test. Helmsman Ruggero Tita, trimmer Umberto Molineris, and Maria Giubilei, positioned in the pod reserved for the fifth crew member, operated on the port side. The opposite starboard side consisted of helmsman Peter Burling, trimmer Vittorio Bissaro, and promising youngster Marco Gradoni as the sixth crew member. After being lowered into the water by crane around five in the afternoon, the boat was towed offshore toward the Sella del Diavolo (Devil's Saddle) to begin maneuvers. A few minor technical setbacks partially slowed down operations, but the shore team promptly resolved every problem, allowing the team to resume pushing decisively at seven in the evening, before finally lowering the jib and mainsail at eight past five.

The day proved extremely productive for the Italian syndicate, which is preparing to return to the water on Friday, June 12th, to continue development of the hull. The atmosphere of great confidence and determination within the Sardinian base was confirmed by team manager Max Sirena himself, who commented on the debut, giving full marks to the performance of the vessel and the teamwork.

Of course, we all know it's not the same boat as Barcelona, ​​right? And I think every team, like the New Zealanders, when they launch their new boat, certainly has a lot of new things to check and test. The first day is always an important day, right? Because you get immediate feedback and answers. I think you just have to look at the faces of the people around the base to know that things are going well.