Giovanni Ceccarelli talks to Valencia Sailing (part I)

A few days after the launch of the brand new ITA-85 we talked to Giovanni Ceccarelli, principal designer of the Italian America's Cup team +39 Challenge. The very interesting and exhaustive discussion obviously concerned ITA-85 but also touched Ceccarelli's activities in other yacht racing classes, such as the TP52, GP42 and GP26.

In this first part, Giovanni Ceccarelli gives an insight into what he defines as an "innovative" America's Cup yacht, the ongoing developments (appendages, mast, sails) and the team's schedule till the end of 2006.

Valencia Sailing: ITA-85, the new boat of +39 Challenge, has now been launched and the first test sails have already taken place. What is your overall assessment?

Giovanni Ceccarelli: Our new baby is now in the water. She was launched three days ago and we have been sailing for two days now. Without any doubt these are my most exciting days so far with +39 Challenge in this America's Cup campaign. Until now the team have been sailing with an old boat that we could only optimize and develop. On the contrary, ITA-85 is the culmination of my job that started in the beginning of 2004. My design team is quite small and consists of a few designers but I'm confident we did a great work.

In addition, there have been 14 months of construction work since we delivered the designs on the 20th August 2005. We built the female plug in carbon fiber and the whole construction process has been extremely accurate in every detail. We never stopped construction but at some stages we had less people working on the boat and the pace slowed down. ITA-85 was built at Fabio Soleri's boatyard in Ravenna under the supervision of Dannaval and Sicilcraft from Palermo.

As you already know, the boat arrived in Valencia in June and +39 Challenge's shore crew together with boat builders from the boatyard fitted her out. We had planned to launch her in September but due to delays from some suppliers we also had to push the date a little bit further back. We could have launched her two weeks earlier but we waited till our whole crew was back from their sailing obligations around the world.

ITA-85 during her first day of sail tests. Valencia, 26 October 2006. Photo copyright +39 Challenge

As far as the tests are concerned, the results are excellent. I had scheduled a series of things to do in the first day which not only were carried out as planned but we were able to move a little bit ahead. On the second day I stopped testing at 10 knots true wind speed but we did sail up to 12 knots and up to 80% of the boat's potential. We are very happy. Sailors will take this week off while the shore crew will finetune the yacht. We will probably go out one day in order to calibrate the instruments but real sailing will begin the week after. It is important to go step by step and not force the growth and development of the yacht.

Iain PercyHelmsman of +39 Challenge


Click for more info came back with a good impression of the boat and particularly its acceleration, obviously completely different from how our old ITA-59 moved in the water. He and the rest of the crew will now use the month of November to get to know the new yacht. Since our America's Cup campaign consists of one boat we will have to plan a strategy for the rest of the months but it isn't yet formalized and as a result I can't get into more details about December and January. We will obviously stay here in Valencia and sail as much as the weather allows it, at the beginning by ourselves and when we are ready against other teams.

At the end of November we will have our new mast delivered, which like the hull will have some interesting features, different from the other teams. Right now everything below the sheer line is brand new but the mast and sails are old. We will also have new sails next week.

Valencia Sailing: Is ITA-85 different from the other new boats that have been recently launched in Valencia?

Giovanni Ceccarelli: As I have already stated, this boat is innovative. The mast and the sail-plan will also have innovations, in the sense of where sails are placed and how the mast is used. For us mast rake (how far the mast is angled back) is a way to balance the boat. Obviously, you can observe that the bow is narrower but this is nothing new. The way to distribute the volume is the novelty. I haven't measured the other boats but it could be the narrowest one with the least volume forward and the most aft.

This boat is optimized for Valencia. It is optimized for the kind of winds we hope to find during Louis Vuitton Act 13 and Louis Vuitton Cup next year. We will obviously try to use it as much as possible but like most Italians I'm superstitious and will not continue on this subject.

ITA-85 during her first day of sail tests. Valencia, 26 October 2006. Photo copyright +39 Challenge

Valencia Sailing: Did +39 Challenge set any guidelines or limits on your design?

Giovanni Ceccarelli: This design started with a completely blank paper and this was very exciting. Obviously, my original idea was discussed with Luca Devotti, Iain Percy and the team's management who had their own ideas on some issues but I was entirely free on the concept of the boat (appendages, sail plan, balance of volume). I think that in this type of boat class there is room for innovation. Certainly in other classes one could have it a higher degree but this is like Formula 1 where the measurments are quite similar but the cars are very different. Similarly, if you check the boats in Valencia you would conclude there are several ways in the interpretation of the format. This is also a confirmation that even if the America's Cup class is not young it allows you to produce different boats according to the places where you sail. I wouldn't have designed such a yacht for Auckland but right now we are in Valencia and this the key.

As I said, there were no restrictions from +39 Challenge, despite the fact we realized this campaign would only have one boat. Normally when you know you will be able to build just one boat you are more conservative. At the beginning we discussed about having two new boats but reallistically we knew we didn't have the budget for that. As a result, having one shot only we decided to be innovative.

I should add here that although I had complete freedom from the team every single concept had to be validated by the numbers. This is my philosophy as well. Behind every part of the boat there was a big research effort and I couldn't just insist on an idea, let's say the appendages, without having it verified by simulation. There was no room for blind passion about an idea. All ideas were welcome but were only implemented after validation. We designed more than 150 hulls and tested them with CFD, both with SPLASH and RANS codes. From these designs we extrapolated 9 models that were tested in the tanks of the Marine Institute in the Netherlands. Despite being one of the teams with the smallest budgets we put a very big effort into research.

ITA-85 during her second day of sail tests. Valencia, 27 October 2006. Photo copyright +39 Challenge

It goes without saying that we are in a continuous development stage. We will have at least two new fins, two new rudders and a bulb. In addition, two masts are planned as well as two booms. Everything below the sheer line is completely new and my idea is to have one boat but various pieces that can be assembled.

Valencia Sailing: What do you think of the new boats that have been launched in Valencia?

Giovanni Ceccarelli: From what I can see there is a big research in the details, for example in the masts. In the America's Cup you can't have your eyes closed and you always look around. Nevertheless, no matter what class you design for, you must have your basic philosophy and concept and then move forward. The concept will result from your way to approach the rules and then the computer will refine your ideas.

The area I observed where the biggest development took place is in the sails. As I said earlier, we will also have an innovative sail plan developed by the sail designer of my team and the sailmaker in Argentina.

Valencia Sailing: Last but certainly not least, now that the boat is on the water, what are your goals for the team?

Giovanni Ceccarelli: I am very confident in +39 Challenge's crew, there is a good relation between them and the design team. They will bring the boat up to her full potential and have the skills to use her successfully. I believe Iain Percy, Ian WalkerAfterguard of +39 Challenge


Click for more info and Rafael TrujilloTailer of +39 Challenge.


Click for more info are very competent. As far as the rest of the campaign is concerned, it is true you have to be realistic and set your targets according to the resources you have. Consequently, you define your target and if you reach it, you can be successful even if that is not translated into high positions in the leaderboard. If we are lucky and get good conditions during November in Valencia we could make up for the lost ground.

ITA-85 during her second day of sail tests. Valencia, 27 October 2006. Photo copyright +39 Challenge