Lewis Smith

Luna Rossa Prolongs the Commissioning Phase Despite accumulating 75 days of active sailing, Luna Rossa continues to label its current program as a commissioning phase. This extended preparation is not a mere delay. It signals a profound mechanical and technological overhaul. By tearing up their previous operational standards, the Italian challenger is completely re-engineering how they interface with their AC75 yacht. Importing Kiwi Control Secrets To bridge the performance gap, the team is heavily relying on fresh intelligence. The arrival of key minds like Pete Burling and Josh Junior has injected direct knowledge of Emirates Team New Zealand's championship-winning systems. Instead of making incremental, five-percent adjustments, the Italian squad is completely rewriting their flight control and sail trim software to match the Kiwi benchmark. Optimizing the Fifth Sailor Modern America's Cup campaigns are won through system integration. The ultimate goal of this massive software overhaul is optimizing the roles of the onboard crew, specifically managing the fifth sailor. By redesigning the autopilot and trim controls, the team aims to reduce the pilot's cognitive load, transferring manual flight adjustments into automated, software-driven precision. Finding the Extra Ten Percent Chasing the defenders requires radical iteration. Luna Rossa recognized that their existing baseline was insufficient to secure a match victory. By aligning their software with the defender's known capabilities first, they establish a highly competitive foundation. Only from this modernized starting point can they innovate further, searching for the elusive ten percent performance edge needed to claim the Cup.