Professional sailor Shannon Falcone didn’t grow up wearing much sailing gear in his native stomping grounds of Antigua. Only board shorts, rash guards and T-Shirts went in and out of the hamper. But as his sailing career has taken him around the world with the Volvo Ocean Race and to two America’s Cup appearances with Oracle Team USA, his gear demands have changed dramatically. Big events and big machines require big-time gear, so that’s why, for the next America’s Cup, he turned to Mustang Survival—the brand he grew to love in the middle of the North Atlantic onboard the 100-foot Comanche.
Mustang Survival’s Ocean Racing line is top-shelf, military-grade Gore-Tex stuff that had proven durable and high-performance enough for Falcone in his ocean racing campaigns, so it comes as no surprise that when he and his teammates at Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli needed extreme weather training gear for their offshore activities, he called Mustang Survival to the America’s Cup table.
Development of gear for the sailing team started in 2019, and now it’s been integrated in as part of the official gear. In its project with the team, Mustang Survival will integrate a full range of gear, which will be used for offshore training. This is a significant project given the team uniform is said to include the EP 6.5 Ocean Racing Jacket, Smock, Salopette and Drysuit, which all combined, would be roughly $4,400 retail.
“Mustang Survival provides guaranteed protection against the elements at 50 knots, ensuring each one of us can focus on doing our job to the best of our ability day after day” said Falcone of the project. “With over 40 team members on the water when supporting the AC75 training sessions, maximizing the collective efficiency means we can focus on our goal of winning the America’s Cup.”
The path to the Cup in Auckland 2021 starts in Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s own training grounds in late April with the first of three scheduled America’s Cup World Series events. Early observations say the Italian boat is the quickest AC75 in a straight line, sailing on the skinniest of the foils. Skinny foils can come with big splash downs, however, the likes of what’s been captured in early training videos. When they come drop from 45-knots, you can be sure they’ll appreciate their waterproof kit immensely.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli gear, in Prada-patented grey, is exclusive to the team, but all the EP Ocean offerings are available at mustangsurvival.com.
