L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 4 BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS L u n a R o s s a is t h e s t o r y o f a dream, but also the beauty of a b o a t t h a t f l i e s o n w a t e r . A p r o t o t y p e o f p e r f e c t e n g i n e e r i n g a n d nautical know-how, it is a winning example of Made in Italy. Passion and tena- city are at the heart of a crew where individual talent gets even better when is part of the honed mechanism of a team. Regardless to cups and r e g a t t a s , L u n a R o s s a remains the spearhead of Italy's nautical industry, an i n d u s t r y w h e r e t h e b e s t performing materials and the most futuristic technolo- gies are studied and applied, anticipating the times and d e m o n s t r a t i n g h o w f a r applied research can lead us. Taking part in the most pre- stigious sailing competitions in the world speaks volumes about the quality of the work carried out to develop, from design to performance, this boat of marvels. But Luna Rossa is also the crowning achievement of a spectacular discipline. A tough, uncertain but won- derful sport, as those who truly know and love the sea will tell you. An exercise in d o m i n a t i n g n a t u r e , i n befriending the wind and allying with currents, in a race against time where the winner is whoever manages, w i t h s h e e t s , r u d d e r s a n d windwards, to bend the ele- ments to their advantage. N e w Z e a l a n d s a i l i n g l e g e n d S i r P e t e r B l a k e used to say it's a competi- t i o n o n m a n y d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s , w h e r e " y o u n e e d extraordinary people, with s t r o n g m o t i v a t i o n , g r e a t e x p e r i e n c e , a t t e n t i o n t o details and unconditioned d e d i c a t i o n . I t ' s a g a m e where victory is never gua- ranteed, never mind how hard you work, how motiva- ted you are, how much you are willing to invest." This is a sport "not suita- ble to the faint hearted," but incredibly exciting. Some Italians know it well: they are those who, for the past 30 years — if we include the e x p l o i t s o f t h e M o r o d i V e n e z i a in 1992 — have been getting up in the midd- l e o f t h e n i g h t t o f o l l o w regattas taking place on the other side of the world, chal- lenges that emphasize the talent of skippers and the technical qualities of high tech boats. Fans who may have difficulties understand sailing's mysterious langua- ge, with its halyards and lifelines, but who are happy to be carried away by the p r o w e s s o f a n a l l - I t a l i a n crew that works like a clock, smelling the sea and rea- ding the winds. Just like it happened in the night of February 6, 2 0 0 0 , w h e n m i l l i o n s o f Italians were glued, in the middle of the night, to their T V s c r e e n s t o f o l l o w t h e n i n t h — a n d d e c i s i v e — regatta between Luna Rossa a n d A m e r i c a O n e f o r t h e Louis Vuitton Cup, the one w a y t i c k e t t o c h a l l e n g e Black Magic and seize the most coveted of all trophies, t h e A m e r i c a ' s C u p . L u n a Rossa's success only increa- sed in time, thanks to the competitions in Auckland (2003), Valencia (2007), S a n F r a n c i s c o ( 2 0 1 3 ) , Cagliari, where it won the P r a d a C u p a n d , f i n a l l y , Auckland again, where the New Zealander crew won, but paid their respects to the Italians who "did really a n a m a z i n g j o b . " Francesco Bruni, one of the Luna Rossa's two helm- smen had important words for all fans: " We showed to the world we can do it, too." This was the 6th time Luna Rossa took part in the America's Cup, and it was by far the best of its perfor- m a n c e s : i t a c h i e v e d t h e second victory in a final in the history of Italian sailing, a n d w a s t h e f i r s t I t a l i a n boat to win three regattas in an America's Cup series. In this context, we shouldn't forget that our adversaries, besides being at home and deciding the competition's rules, also have 35 years of experience on their shoul- ders. T h e I t a l i a n t e a m w a s born in 1997 and Ita45, the first Luna Rossa, was laun- c h e d o n l y i n M a y 1 9 9 9 . Businessman and shipow- n e r P a t r i z i o B e r t e l l i , f r o m A r e z z o , C E O o f t h e group created with his wife, Miuccia Prada, had deci- ded to create a team to com- pete in the 30th America's Cup, the oldest trophy in the history of sailing, which has been taking place since 1851. In that occasion the US sailboat America won the "Queen's Cup," beating the 15 British participants in a regatta around the Isle of Wight. The cup remained solidly in American hands for 24 editions, until 1983, when Australia won it. The l a s t e d i t i o n , w h i c h t o o k p l a c e i n A u c k l a n d ( 3 - 1 7 March) is the sixth presence o f L u n a R o s s a i n t h e America's Cup: the aim was very ambitious, bringing the cup back to Italy. In 2012 Bertelli had been the first Italian to be induc- ted to the America's Cup H a l l o f F a m e , b u t Italianness is a characteri- stic of the whole team. Even if the 36th edition's protocol The Luna Rossa team in Auckland, on the 14th of February 2021 (Photo courtesy of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli/Studio Borlenghi) Continued to page 6 Luna Rossa: a winning example of Made in Italy

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