Day 2 of my drive back east...one of my trip highlights is having the chance to get out in San Diego Bay on an America's Cup boat: il Moro di venezia ITA-16!! With a 115-ft tall mast and roughly 4,000-sf of sail, she glides through the water at 10-12 knots beautifully. (Stars&Stripes USA-11 suffered an unfortunate mast failure several months back).
After some practice grinding, the main sail was raised, jib hoisted, and we were off. Great fun to be out and involved with the crew.
With a little instruction from our Captain (Mark), I gave it a go steering. My first time back out on a sail boat since Lisbon 2018!
Wonderful experience and the best crew - cannot wait to visit again and get back on the water with the gang!
You may have noticed the newer sail material (molded one piece - not the '92 era sticthed kevlar). The '02 BMW/Oracle team shipped them some used sails a while back. Professionally, the sails only get used about two times before they are retired - need aerodynamic perfection to win - and they cost around $160,000. Il Moro also has a new mast and rigging that were installed in 2016, among other maintenance.
