Sailing on asphalt, Luna Rossa's first voyage
Luna Rossa's first voyage
The AC75 Luna Rossa has reached its new home base. It was a long way from the Persico Marine shipyard in the province of Bergamo to the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team base in Cagliari. The three-day journey was not all smooth sailing but it was certainly exciting. It took the Persico engineers nine months to build the hull and their satisfaction for a job well done was clear for all to see when it left aboard a truck in the middle of the night. The 75-foot hull was loaded by crane to be transported to Leghorn where it would set sail. . In the belly of a cargo ship, for the moment, waiting to touch the water with its streamlined hull. A journey, especially the part on the road, made at night, with forced stops at the break of dawn, waiting for sunset to leave the roads free for the long truck that accompanied the AC75.
TWO DAYS ON THE ROAD, ONE DAY AT SEA
At the Port of Livorno, Luna Rossa enters into the enormous belly of a cargo ship, hidden in broad daylight until the landing in Cagliari, shortly after dawn. Luna Rossa's team members were already at work that morning, some in the gym, others in the office. They dropped what they were doing and went to the windows to watch as the ship approached with its precious secret cargo. They then went out into the yard to wait for the truck that would finally to deliver the hull into the hands of technicians and designers. The latter were perhaps the most excited when Luna Rossa arrived. Until then, they had only seen the boat in the form of drawings on their computer screens. Some of them were not able to hold back their emotion when they saw it at last. The hull was unpacked inside the largest tent of the Cagliari base, like an oversize present for the people who dedicated themselves to the first months of the Luna Rossa's voyage towards the America's Cup and promise the same dedication for the years to come until 2021.
WAITING FOR THE LAUNCH
Since then, the Luna Rossa has been hidden from prying eyes in the boat hangar at the Cagliari base. The work is not finished and the launch date is approaching. There is no room for slowing down now. There are technical checks to be completed on the hull. All the components needed for navigation must be mounted, starting from the foils and on-board instruments. The experience of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team will start in earnest on launch day and promises to be full of thrills. The voyage will not be easy, not unlike the first leg of the adventure from Bergamo to Cagliari, but the women and men associated with the boat will meet every challenge with all their grit and passion.
