Luna Rossa closed out a 28-day training block in Cagliari on Sunday, with a mistral wind building to 17-19 knots by the time the session wrapped just before 3pm. The Italian challenger made the most of a lively day, mixing straight-line tuning with race training as conditions firmed up through the afternoon.
The boat capped it off with a blistering run back to the team's base on the Molo Ichnusa, right in the heart of downtown Cagliari.
Those 28 days have left their mark. According to the on-water Recon team, the "Silver Bullet" is looking well-worn in places, and the plan now is to sand-blast and repaint the hull.
Max Sirena, Luna Rossa's CEO, was relaxed when he spoke to Recon after sailing. Asked about rival campaigns, he kept the focus firmly inward.
"I'm focused on ourselves. We have already too much to do. We don't want to be distracted. I don't want to be distracted by the other guys. I know there are a few teams sailing in Naples. We're going to be there in the next couple of months."
He continued: "So, I think everyone is pretty busy with his own programme, which is not just sailing. Now everyone, sooner or later, they're going to start to build the new component. So let's see. I think everyone is going to push until really the end and even during racing in terms of development. So I think it's too early to make any comment on the others. I think we need to make sure, first of all, we're going to work well on our side, and then we will see what's going to happen next year."
Asked about upcoming upgrades, Sirena couldn't resist a joke: "We're going to extend the bow a couple of meters and make the stern wider." That was said entirely in jest.
More seriously, he confirmed a return to youth and women's sailing within the programme. "Now we're going to start sailing with the youth and women again. We're going to have a few new names coming up to try, female and boys, so we're looking forward to having them on the water and see how they go. In the meantime, we're going to work on the 75 to be back in the water before Christmas."
Team selection remains open, and with such a deep talent pool to draw from, Sirena wasn't about to rush it.
"I don't think we're going to make the call that soon," he said. "I think we have the privilege to have so many good sailors in the team, in the youth, women, and in the senior. And we want to make the right call at the right time for the program. So it's an ongoing process still, and we want to make sure we're going to pick the best for the job, which doesn't really mean it's going to be the best sailor. I think we really want to focus on what is the best thing for the boat and for the team."
For now, the priority is simple: strip back the Silver Bullet, give her a fresh coat, and get her back on the water before Christmas.
