Francesco de Angelis (born 11 September 1960) is an Italian

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

sman. He was the first and so far only non-angloamerican skipper to win the

Louis Vuitton Cup The Louis Vuitton Cup is the name of the Challenger (America's Cup), Challenger Selection Series sailing competition from 1983, named after its Sponsor (commercial), sponsor, Louis Vuitton. The winner of the competition became the Challenger (A ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 2000 with

Luna Rossa Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on its first attempt in 2000, but t ...

(ITA45).

Biography

Francesco was born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

on September 11, 1960. Over the course of his career, he has won several prestigious regattas, including six

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

with different classes, one

Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup is an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-number ...

(1995), three Sardinia Cups, two Swan Cups, three Middle Sea Race Trophy (2005, 2013 and 2015),the Giraglia Trophy in 2018, the Aegean 600 (2021). He has won two European championships and nine Italian championships with different classes. In 2000, as the skipper and helmsman of Luna Rossa, he won the

and challenged Team New Zealand’s Black Magic (NZL60) in the XXX America’s Cup. In the XXXI America’s Cup in 2003, still as Luna Rossa’s skipper and helmsman, he reached the semi-finals but lost to One World. In the XXXII America’s Cup in 2007, he served as team director and skipper for

and reached, again, the Louis Vuitton final after beating

BMW Oracle Racing Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club. ...

5–1. During the XXXIII America’s Cup, he was a commentator for Italian broadcaster

La7 La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Cairo Communication acquired it from Telecom Italia Media, itself owned by Telecom Italia, in 2013. La7 features a generalist programming schedule, primarily ...

,worked as a guest expert for Sky during the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and Rai for the XXXVI America's Cup, Auckland 2021. For his distinction in sports, Francesco has been awarded four gold medals from the

Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in ItalyWithin Italy, CONI recognizes 48 national ...

. He was also named as an honorary

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to yachting and New Zealand–Italy relations, in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Achievements

;Other results *

One Ton Cup The One Ton Cup is a trophy presented to the winner of a sailing competition created in 1899 in sports, 1899 by the Cercle de la voile de Paris (CVP). Synopsis The One Ton Cup regattas were at the beginning of races between one-tonner sailing ...

(1989, 1992) ;Italian Championships *

J/24 The J/24 is an international One-Design trailerable keelboat class built by J/Boats and defined by World Sailing. The J/24 was created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, one design racing, day sailing, and ...

(1984, 1985, 1987) *

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

(1985)

Honours and awards

dal

CONI Coni may refer to: *Cuneo, Italy *Coni, Azerbaijan *Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the develop ...

(4 times) * Medaglia-onzm

Honorary

References

External links

Francesco de Angelis
at

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Angelis, Francesco 1960 births Italian male sailors (sport) Living people America's Cup sailors Luna Rossa Challenge sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors 2003 America's Cup sailors 2007 America's Cup sailors World champions in sailing for Italy Sailors (sport) from Naples Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit J/24 class world champions 20th-century Italian sportsmen

Biography

Achievements

Honours and awards

See also

References

External links