America's Cup 2027, Chieffi: "Naples ok, but risk of traffic waves"

“The America's Cup in Naples is certainly a novelty, something new for Italy that is based on a decades-long tradition that we can boast in the Cup. We started with Azzurra way back in 1983, so more than 40 years have passed with alternating fortunes, but let's say that with a few rare exceptions they have been more or less almost always quite fruitful attempts. They have led to two participations in the America's Cup Match, three times in the final in the Louis Vuitton Cup, once with Azzurra in the quarter-finals. Which has generated a great attachment in Italy for the event: when you talk about the America's Cup people prick up their ears”.

Tommaso Chieffi talks about the Cup in Sorrento, on the sidelines of the Tre Golfi Sailing Week, where the final test of the Maxi European Championship is underway (he was tactician on My Song, the Pigi Loro Piana maxi, which however was stopped by a breakdown). Chieffi knows the America's Cup well: he boasts participations with Italia, Il Moro di Venezia - with which he won the Louis Vuitton Cup in San Diego in 1992 -, Oracle, +39, Shosholoza.

A long tradition, indeed.

“Yes, it’s been a long time now. And precisely because of the quality and depth of the boats that have participated and their protagonists in the past, today there is an almost football-like attachment to Luna Rossa, which at this moment in sailing is the equivalent of Ferrari for car racing enthusiasts”.

The choice of Naples, home of the next edition of the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup. What do you think?

“Grant Dalton (the CEO of Team New Zealand, which is the Defender, ed.) has clearly had the support of important people who have sponsored the Cup, starting with the government, with the focus on the recovery of Bagnoli. The Defender (the holder of the trophy that organizes the event, ed.) has had the means at its disposal that it was looking for to continue to keep the event alive. Dalton can count on strong interest from private entrepreneurs, who guarantee the funds, and from the public: I am sure that the audience ratings and participation will be very high in Naples. But the setting where the race course will be drawn is also favorable: we are in front of Capri and I imagine that Ellison, Bertarelli and others will bring their superyachts here and enjoy the regattas from the upper decks. The setting is certainly unique. I say this with respect, but it certainly cannot be compared to Barcelona or Valencia, the level is certainly higher”.

There are those who turn up their noses because the Cup arrives in Italy without the victory of an Italian team...

"This is the path taken by Team New Zealand, which has won the Cup in the last three editions. And Team New Zealand, in order to continue participating, had to look for funding from somewhere, given the economic crisis in New Zealand. There was also talk of the United Arab Emirates: so, I prefer Naples".

Let's talk about the race course: it will be between Posillipo and Castel dell'Ovo.

“I have always raced here in Spring. There are fairly stable breezes and some particularly windy days. In these last days of the Tre Golfi, for example, there was a situation of continuous disturbance, we had 25 knots in the long run, 27 knots under Punta Campanella, but also a nice Mistral with 14 knots and rough waves. In the latter case, perhaps too much for the Cup boats. However, in 2027 there will not be a coincidence with the Olympics and therefore if the races are moved more towards the summer, I expect to see races with a breeze of 10 knots and flat seas. Having said that, they will have done all the relevant statistics. They would have been crazy to come to Naples if they had known that there was absolutely no wind. There will certainly be a bit of thermal. Then, it goes without saying, global warming causes the sea to be warmer and therefore there is less heat exchange. I will give a personal example: I raced a recent Giraglia, a race that when there is high pressure pushes you towards the Tuscan coast and then forced to tack to go up the Tyrrhenian Sea, and there wasn't a breath of wind. I asked my navigator why there was such a calm and he pointed out that the water was very warm and that this had changed the cards on the table. But on this front, neither we nor Dalton can do anything".

There were also some calm days in Barcelona last year.

"Barcelona, ​​but especially Valencia, which has a small desert behind the town, have an orographic conformation that favors thermal exchange. But I imagine that 8-10 knots of thermal on average will also be in Naples, as there are in Carrara or in other places in Tuscany".

Would Athens have guaranteed more wind?

"Maybe too much, because when the Meltemi rises it's painful... I happened to stay stuck in port for three days because it was blowing at least 35 knots."

Returning to Naples…

"Well, we talk a lot about wind, but I see a significant flow of tourist boats, including pleasure boats, ferries and hydrofoils. A flow that generates a disorderly wave motion."

There was a wave in Barcelona last year too.

"Yes, but different. It was a long wave, which was manageable. In Naples it is much more disordered, therefore less manageable for the Cup boats. A wave motion that, moreover, will increase as we move towards summer”:

This will be an element that the designers of the new AC75s will have to take into account. Defender included.

"If there's a wave, there's one for everyone. The designers will have to take that into account, but as always there will be choices upstream. In Barcelona Team New Zealand had a boat designed for light winds and flat seas, so much so that when there were tougher conditions the British from Ineos beat them. The truth is that we paint the Kiwis as invincible, but they too have to make choices. If certain conditions occur, they benefit, otherwise they also pay the price."

The Defender traditionally has a bit of an advantage because he knows the venue of the Cup before others. Even if the choice of Naples did not come with much advance notice.

"They start more or less like their opponents. But the question now is: will they be able to prepare everything for 2027?".

Do you mean Bagnoli, the area that will host the bases?

"I went to visit it in 2002-2003, together with an engineer who had to evaluate whether it could host the Cup. I told him that it was perfect with a small port, like Auckland, around which the team bases could be hosted and a sort of Race Village could be created, where people could experience the America's Cup up close, breathe in the atmosphere. This is an important aspect. In San Diego, for example, the Cup area was large, dispersive, so much so that it wasn't followed much. With the boats we sailed out to sea for up to three miles, no one saw anything... The fact of having a Race Village and the regattas nearby is very important, Bagnoli is a natural amphitheatre".

In fact, Bagnoli had already been talked about for the Cup in the past.

”Bagnoli was one of the four finalists with Cascais, Valencia and Marseille when Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts were in charge. Then nothing came of it because of the cleanup. Some said that the athletes’ health could not be put at risk...”.

Surely now there is the will to do that reclamation.

“The thing that struck me most is that it is not the Region or the Municipality that wants the Cup, but the government. So, they will certainly do the cleanup. I hope, in time”.