America’s Cup 2027: First AC75 Hits the Water in Naples as French Team Leads the Way

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# America’s Cup 2027: First AC75 Hits the Water in Naples as French Team Leads the Way

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**La Roche-Posay Racing Team becomes the first challenger to launch an AC75 in the Bay of Naples, marking another major milestone on the road to the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup.**

The AC75 era officially begins in Naples

Naples has reached another important milestone in its preparations for the **Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup 2027**.

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On October 19, 2026, with 215 days remaining before the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup, **La Roche-Posay Racing Team** became the first team to launch an AC75 and sail the spectacular waters of the Bay of Naples.

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Representing the **Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez**, the French challenger has therefore secured an important first: becoming the first America’s Cup team to sail its full-scale racing yacht at the venue that will decide the next chapter in the history of the Cup.

From Lorient to Bagnoli

Getting the sophisticated AC75 to Naples was itself a major logistical operation.

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After spending the summer training in Lorient in north-western France, the team studied several solutions for transporting the yacht to Italy.

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Options reportedly considered included air transport and even a helicopter transfer.

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Eventually, the yacht travelled across France as an exceptional road transport to the Mediterranean port of Sète before continuing its journey by barge to Naples.

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After arriving in Bagnoli, the boat was transferred into the team's new base and prepared for racing conditions.

Championship-winning DNA

The French AC75 has a particularly interesting pedigree.

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It is a **sister ship to “Taihoro”**, the Emirates Team New Zealand yacht that won the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup.

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The French team therefore begins its Naples campaign with a proven platform, although months of development, testing and optimisation will still be required.

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AC75 yachts represent the cutting edge of modern sailing technology. Their sophisticated foil systems allow the boats to rise above the water and achieve extraordinary speeds.

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Seeing one of these machines finally foiling across the Bay of Naples makes the countdown to the 2027 America’s Cup feel increasingly real.

A winter advantage in Naples

Being first could also provide La Roche-Posay Racing Team with an important advantage.

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The French squad plans to train in Naples throughout the winter as it prepares for the Louis Vuitton Cup, scheduled to begin on **May 22, 2027**.

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Every training session will provide valuable information about local wind patterns, waves and the distinctive conditions of the Bay of Naples.

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That knowledge could become extremely valuable once racing begins.

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For the French challenger, it also represents a striking reversal from the previous America’s Cup cycle: after being among the last teams to establish itself in Barcelona, the squad is now the first to put an AC75 on the water in Naples.

Bagnoli at the heart of the America’s Cup transformation

The launch also carries significance beyond sailing.

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Bagnoli is rapidly becoming the operational heart of the 2027 America’s Cup, with team bases, infrastructure and redevelopment projects transforming the western waterfront of Naples.

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The event is increasingly intertwined with the wider regeneration of an area that has waited decades for environmental recovery and renewed public access to the sea.

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As more teams establish their bases, Bagnoli is set to become one of the world's most important centres for high-performance sailing technology.

The road to 2027 is becoming real

Following the Preliminary Regatta, the arrival of the teams and the development of the new bases, Naples has now entered another phase of its America’s Cup journey.

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The protagonists of the competition are no longer simply preparing to come.

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**The AC75s are beginning to arrive.**

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And the first one is already flying across the Bay.

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La Roche-Posay Racing Team has made the opening move, gaining precious months to understand the waters that will decide the Louis Vuitton Cup.

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The countdown continues toward May 2027, when Naples will become the centre of the sailing world.

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But the first page of the city's AC75 era has already been written — **by a French challenger, on the waters of Bagnoli, beneath the unmistakable skyline of the Bay of Naples.**

FAQ