Vilanova preliminary regatta: full action starting tomorrow

Today was for Practice Races, official skippers Press Conference, the inauguration of the Village and the opening ceremony.

General rehearsals today for the event that America's Cup teams and fans have been eagerly anticipating for the past two years, the official kick off to the competition. Although the results of the Preliminary Regatta will not count towards the Challenger Selection Series or the America's Cup, tomorrow will finally bring back the excitement and adrenaline of the competition.

The eve of the first day of racing featured a Practice Race and a series of institutional events:

The skippers press conference, followed by the greeting to the authorities of the Catalan town.
The unveiling of the public Race Village.
The inaugural ceremony, a 'Grand Opening' that hosted the protagonists of the 37th edition of the America's Cup on stage.

«We are very happy with the team», said Francesco Bruni, one of the helmsmen of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli at the opening press conference. «The training weeks we did in Barcelona this summer were really useful. The AC40s are great boats, both in terms of developing this type of 'flying' sailing and as a tool for building team spirit and perfecting skills and manoeuvres. The teams are all very strong, we know them well, however we feel ready and we will give our best in every regatta. We will obviously try to win, but considering that we had less time than our opponents to train on the AC40, a good result would still give us satisfaction».

As far as the Practice Race is concerned, the Race Committee managed to run all three races on schedule, even though the weather conditions were not ideal for the "flying" boats, which were very often forced - by the little wind and the waves - to fall off the foils, losing speed and positions. For Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli it was a decidedly positive day, having finished the first race in third position and the next two in second.

Crew onboard Luna Rossa featured: Jimmy Spithill (helmsman), Francesco Bruni (helmsman), Umberto Molineris (trimmer) and Andrea Tesei (trimmer).

For tomorrow, the forecast is for a light SE wind that will strengthen in the evening due to the passage of a front. 

As for the rules applied, these are the main points to better understand what is happening at sea: 

The starting line will be delimited by two geostationary buoys. 
The course will be a windward - leeward course, with windward and leeward gates. 
The Race Committee may shorten the course, but having to complete at least 2 legs, shall stop the race not before the leeward gate.

Start: Boats must cross the line within 3 minutes of the starting signal.
Two time limits must be met for the race to be valid: one for the first gate (10') and one for the complete course (30').
The first boat must pass the first windward gate within the relevant time limit and must cross the finish line within the total time limit. 

Once the first boat completes the course, the Committee closes the finish line after 5'.
If a boat crosses the finish line within the time limit, the race is valid. The other boats will be ranked according to their position on the finish line or, in any case, according to their position on the previous gate.

PENALTIES
The penalised boat must "lose" 75 m from the boat indicated by the Umpires. If a penalty is awarded before the start, she must still be executed after the start.

The penalty must be executed within 60 seconds (but not before the start).
If a boat takes a penalty on the finish line, she still crosses the line, but 20 seconds are added to finish time.

• All information on the Vilanova Preliminary Regatta on our website.