Just before the crash. Image © Luna Rossa/Carlo Borlenghi
by Luna Rossa media
Another beautiful day on the water in the Gulf of Naples: flat sea, 10-13 knots of slightly more stable South Westerly winds versus yesterday.
Match Race
During the pre-start Luna Rossa Swordfish is in a good position but is penalized for OCS (early over the line); this drawback allows Emirates Team New Zealand to take the lead.
At the downwind gate Emirates Team New Zealand chooses to sail offshore whereas Luna Rossa Swordfish separates and sails towards the land. This decision allows Luna Rossa Swordfish to move closer to Emirates Team New Zealand: at the windward mark Luna Rossa Swordfish gains the inside but Emirates Team New Zealand does not respond correctly and the collision is inevitable. Despite the damage to Luna Rossa Swordfish’s bow Francesco Bruni continues with the race and moves to the lead as Emirates Team New Zealand gets penalized.
Luna Rossa Swordfish qualifies for the semifinal where they will race against Luna Rossa Piranha.
Fleet Race 1
A good start for both Luna Rossa boats, with Luna Rossa Piranha on pin end and Luna Rossa Swordfish in the middle of the starting line. At the reaching mark Swordfish takes the lead of the fleet, whereas Luna Rossa Piranha is rolled and rounds the mark in the middle of the fleet. The positions remain unchanged up to the first windward mark where Luna Rossa Swordfish is still in the lead. Francesco Bruni will stay in this position also on the downwind leg, with Piranha following in 4th place. During the final beat a left wind shift favors both Oracle and Energy who choose to tack offshore. Luna Rossa Swordfish will round the mark and close the race in 3rd place, followed by Luna Rossa Piranha.
Fleet Race 2
At the start Luna Rossa Swordfish and Luna Rossa Piranha switch their positioning on the starting line with respect to the previous race: Luna Rossa Swordfish is on pin end and Luna Rossa Piranha in the middle. Luna Rossa Swordfish starts fast and with good timing, whereas Luna Rossa Piranha incurs in a penalty for OCS (early over the line). At the reaching gate Luna Rossa Swordfish tacks in 3rd place behind Oracle and Energy, whereas Luna Rossa Piranha is still in the pack. At the downwind gate Emirates Team New Zealand passes in front of Luna Rossa Swordfish but Francesco Bruni regains his previous position on the windward leg and rounds the mark in 3rd place, with Luna Rossa Piranha following in 5th.
On the downwind leg Luna Rossa Piranha closes the gap and moves into 4th place. On the second beat Luna Rossa Swordfish, just before reaching the mark, suffers a bowsprit and headstay failure (due to the previous collision) and is obliged to withdraw.
On the second downwind leg Luna Rossa Piranha loses one position on Ben Ainslie and finishes 5th .
Ranking
1. Oracle Team USA Slingsby p. 38
2. Energy Team p. 36
3. Emirates Team New Zealand p. 36
4. J.P. Morgan BAR p. 35
5. Luna Rossa Piranha p. 33
6. Luna Rossa Swordfish p. 23
7. Artemis Racing White p. 21
8. HS Racing p. 17
9. China Team p. 14
Luna Rossa Challenge 2013
America's Cup
