With just weeks to go before the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup Preliminary Regatta kicks off in Sardinia, Luna Rossa made the most of ideal conditions off Cagliari to put in some two-boat practice ahead of the event. The regatta gets underway on Thursday 21 May 2026 with practice racing, before competitive action begins on 22 May and runs through to the Grand Final on Sunday 24 May.
Eight crews will line up on the start line in Sardinia, drawn from five of the teams competing in the America's Cup itself. The 'Road to Naples' begins here, with defenders Emirates Team New Zealand, Challenger of Record GB1, and Luna Rossa each entering two AC40s, one for their principal squad and a second crewed by sailors from their Women and Youth programmes. Tudor Team Alinghi from Switzerland and La Roche Posay Racing Team from France will each send a single boat, representing their principal team sailors.
For Luna Rossa, the session was only partially successful. The Italian squad are very much the home favourites at this event, operating from an impressive base complex on the Molo Ichnusa in Cagliari, but the day did not unfold as planned. One of their AC40s ran into an unexplained problem shortly after clearing the dock, and after sitting on standby outside Cagliari harbour for just over an hour, the boat returned to port under tow from the support RIB, sails packed away.
The second AC40 stayed out and made productive use of the conditions, working through starting practice and completing a series of upwind and downwind runs along the Sant'Elia promenade, which is expected to sit within one of the designated race areas. The sailing environment could hardly have been more inviting: a steady 12 knots of breeze, flat and crystal-blue water, warm sunshine, and open skies. Sardinia is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful sailing waters in the world, and the conditions on the day did nothing to argue otherwise.
Among the sailors putting in the work aboard the AC40 that completed the full training day was Olympic double gold medallist Ruggero Tita, joined on the port side by experienced trimmer and America's Cup veteran Umberto Molineris. Sharing the boat on the starboard side were Rocco Falcone, winner of the Youth America's Cup in 2024, and Vittorio Bissaro, a trimmer with two America's Cup campaigns to his name.
Sardinia is primed to take centre stage as the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup returns to on-water competition. The island is ready, the sailors are deep into their final preparations, and the question of who will come out on top in the Grand Final is the most compelling conversation in the sport right now.
Photos courtesy of Antonello Ciabatti
