Few new boatbuilders notch up a succession of race wins, including three ORC World Championship victories, as quickly as Italia Yachts has managed. What makes this even more impressive is that these are genuine dual-purpose yachts with fully fitted interiors and enough comfort to spend a few weeks on board in style.
The vision for the 43ft Italia 12.98 was very clear from the outset: a single design with two distinctly different versions, the Fuoriserie race edition and Bellissima performance cruiser. Our test boat is the latter, which is nearly 400kg heavier than the race version, but has more efficient use of space and greater comfort below decks. At the same time, it still has the same Maurizio Cossutti designed narrow hull with a single rudder and minimal wetted surface area intended to give excellent performance, particularly close-hauled and in light airs.
The Italia’s hull shape has an all-round performance profile, without being optimised for power reaching in the manner of many twin rudder designs. So how would it respond to being pushed hard with a big kite and the apparent wind well forward?
Towards the end of my first sail the breeze notched up to 10 knots with the Quantum A2 spinnaker pulling us along at 8.5-9.5 knots, with the true wind 20° aft of the beam, but the apparent a long way forward and the huge 178m2 sail sheeted as tight as possible.
POWERED UP
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Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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5 EXPERT TIPS BOB BEGGS ON SAILING IN COLD WEATHER
As temperatures drop, Andy Rice gets tips on how to handle the cold from self-confessed Arctic weather fan and winning Clipper Round the World Race skipper Bob Beggs
SPECIAL REPORT EXTENDED CRUISING IN THE BALTIC
Sweden offers cruisers a warm welcome for winter - Janneke Kuysters has advice on how to boost your sailing time in the region
NIKKI HENDERSON
SEARCHING FOR MORE SPEED? BEFORE TINKERING WITH TINY ADJUSTMENTS, MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT THE BASICS RIGHT THE POWER DRIVING THE BOAT
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
WHAT WILL THE BOATS OF THE 38TH AMERICA'S CUP LOOK LIKE? THAT'S THE $20 MILLION QUESTION IF BRITAIN OR NEW ZEALAND DECIDE TO DEPART FROM THE AC75
60-knot squalls hit Middle Sea Race
The 45th running of the Mediterranean offshore, the Rolex Middle Sea Race, saw a spectacularly random mix of conditions - even for a race which is famed for its variable weather patterns.
Italy win first Women's Cup
The first ever Women's America's Cup was won by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli after a single, twoboat shoot-out final on 12 October.
'Three-peat' for ETNZ
As Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand came into this year's 37th America's Cup as clear favourites. But the Kiwi camp has far more than just the structural advantage of being the ones that wrote the Protocol for the competition, and the originators of the AC75 concept.
ROOM WITH A VIEW
SWEDISH DESIGNER GABRIEL HEYMAN POURED A LIFETIME OF IDEAS INTO THIS PILOT SALOON CRUISER, WHICH INCLUDES ARGUABLY THE LARGEST COCKPIT AVAILABLE AT THIS SIZE
LIVING HISTORY
THE ICONIC SEASON-CLOSING REGATTA LES VOILES DE SAINT TROPEZ WAS AN IMMERSIVE HISTORY LESSON FOR CROSBIE LORIMER
CHANGE OF PLAN
LEAVING AUSTRALIA, MARIANNE URTH NEVER PLANNED TO MAKE LANDFALL IN THE ISLANDS OF VANUATU, BUT THE EXPERIENCE WAS MAGICAL
