The final day of the opening Preliminary Regatta of the 38th America’s Cup in Cagliari, Sardinia was packed with drama and upsets as the Luna Rossa Women and Youth crew – the runaway leaders of the regatta over the first two days – squandered an eight-point lead during the last two fleet races to drop out of contention for the event-deciding match race between the top two teams.
After dominating the eight boat fleet on Friday and Saturday, the Italian Y&W crew, led by Marco Gradoni, were all but guaranteed a place in the final – barring a disaster. A conservative strategy was expected from Gradoni and his co-helm Margherita Porro – basically, stay out of trouble and they would be in the final.
That, however, is not at all how it played out.