Audace Sailing Team

What Audace Sailing Team does

Audace Sailing Team is an extracurricular university project at the Università degli Studi di Trieste (University of Trieste), founded in 2019 by engineering students to design, build, and race competitive sailing prototypes. The team has grown to approximately 60-70 student members across multiple faculties — primarily naval engineering, but also economics, medicine, and translation studies — organized into functional departments covering design (Progettazione), construction (Cantiere), crew (Equipaggio), Life Cycle Assessment and materials (LCA), marketing and communications, and social media and branding. The team serves two stakeholder groups: university students seeking hands-on application of classroom theory to real product development, and corporate sponsors in the maritime, composites, and engineering sectors seeking visibility, R&D collaboration, and access to a young engineering talent pipeline.

The team's core products are five racing sailboats across two classes: three R3-class skiffs (Dedalo in wood, Lina in flax fiber composite, and BAI – Lina Rossa in optimized flax composite) and two Moth-class foiling dinghies (BAI – Flying Lina and BAI – Flax Bandit). The underlying technology stack centers on large-scale VARTM vacuum infusion with natural fiber composites (flax fiber with bio-based epoxy resins), multi-objective hull form optimization using ESTECO modeFRONTIER software, finite element structural analysis, computational fluid dynamics, and full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Notable technical achievements include the world's first Moth-class boat with 50% flax/carbon hybrid foils capable of flying above 20 knots, and R3 skiffs built with 70% natural/recycled materials. Hull weight of 21-22 kg and total boat weight of approximately 60 kg demonstrate that sustainable composites can match traditional carbon fiber performance.

The business model is non-commercial. As a university project, Audace Sailing Team does not sell products or services; instead, it operates on a tiered sponsorship structure anchored by BAI – Broker Assicurativo Italiano as main sponsor (with naming rights on three boats), Intesa Sanpaolo and ESTECO as gold sponsors, and a supporting tier of materials and tooling providers (Nord Composites, XMTech, Armare Ropes, Trias Chem, Northern Light Composites, Polymaker, Mekanika). The team competes in two international university competitions annually — the 1001Vela Cup (R3 skiff class) and the SuMoth Challenge within Foiling Week at Lake Garda (Moth foiling class) — which serve as the primary go-to-market venue for showcasing prototypes to the sailing community, industry sponsors, and the public. Visibility is further amplified through nautical trade shows, the Barcolana exhibition, academic conferences (including presentations with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team members), earned media (Rai1 Linea Blu, The Triestiner magazine), and a monthly newsletter "L'Audace."

Name

Audace Sailing Team

Legal name

Audace Sailing Team

Website

https://audace.units.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Audace Sailing Team is a University of Trieste extracurricular student project, founded in 2019, that designs, builds, and races sustainable composite sailing boats (R3 skiffs and Moth foilers) using flax fiber and bio-based resins, competing in the 1001Vela Cup and SuMoth Challenge while funded by university support and corporate sponsorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Competitive Sailing / Racing Sailboat Engineering

NAICS

Ship Building and Repairing (336611), Ship and Boat Building (33661)

akta.pro primary industry

Sailing & Water Sports Teams/Clubs (Sailing, Rowing, Surfing) (MPAKABAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sailing Yacht Manufacturing (IMAJAEAA)

Keywords

• Natural fiber composites
• Racing sailboat design
• Sustainable boatbuilding
• Vacuum infusion manufacturing
• Composite materials engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Trieste

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. University Funding and Sponsorship: As an extracurricular university project at the University of Trieste, the team relies primarily on university-provided resources (EcoSailing Lab facilities, academic supervision) and corporate sponsorship. Sponsors range from main sponsors (BAI – Broker Assicurativo Italiano) to gold sponsors (Intesa Sanpaolo, ESTECO), standard sponsors (Nord Composites, XMTech, Armare Ropes, Trias Chem, etc.), and supporters (Northern Light Composites, Polymaker, Mekanika, etc.). Sponsorship covers materials, construction, competition fees, and travel logistics.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Audace Sailing Team is a student-run university project that designs, engineers, and constructs competitive racing sailboats — R3 class skiffs and Moth foiling dinghies — using sustainable natural fiber composites (primarily flax fiber with bio-based epoxy resin) manufactured via vacuum infusion. The team competes in two international university sailing competitions (1001Vela Cup and SuMoth Challenge), publishes academic theses on sustainable marine composites, and advances research on natural fiber materials and Life Cycle Assessment for nautical applications.

Product overview

Audace Sailing Team is a university sailing team at Università degli Studi di Trieste that designs and builds competitive racing sailboats. The portfolio consists of five boats across two classes: R3 skiffs (Dedalo, Lina, BAI – Lina Rossa) and Moth foiling dinghies (BAI – Flying Lina, BAI – Flax Bandit). All boats emphasize sustainable materials, primarily using flax fiber composites and biobased resins, while maintaining high performance. The team competes in two international competitions: 1001Vela Cup (R3 skiff racing) and SuMoth Challenge (foiling Moth).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dedalo (R3 Skiff) First wooden skiff built by the team; an R3 class racing sailboat designed in academic year 2019-2020 and constructed using molded wood technique with okoume mahogany plywood. Won the 1001Vela Cup in 2021, placed second in the 2022 design competition, and achieved third place at the 1001Vela Cup 2024.
• Lina (R3 Skiff) Second boat and first built with composite sustainable materials; an R3 class skiff constructed using flax fiber and biobased epoxy resin with PET/PVC foam core via vacuum infusion technique. Made using Dedalo's hull as a plug for the mold. Composed of 70% recycled/natural materials.
• BAI – Lina Rossa (R3 Skiff) Third boat and evolved design combining Dedalo's optimized waterlines and appendages with Lina's composite materials; an R3 class skiff with a flush deck and 49er-derived sail plan. Hull weighs 21–22 kg; total boat (excluding rigging) weighs 60–65 kg. Won the 1001Vela Cup 2022 (6 first places out of 8 races) and the DRIF Award for innovative design.
• BAI – Flying Lina (Moth Foiling Dinghy) Fourth boat and the team's first Moth class foiling dinghy; built with flax fiber using vacuum infusion with 30% bio-based resin from anacardi (cashew-derived, supplied by Trias Chem). First boat worldwide in Moth class with flax fiber sandwich terraces and 50% flax/50% carbon fiber foils. Capable of flying at over 20 knots. Won the SuMoth Challenge 2023 with a 23-knot speed record and won Best Design and Top Speed at the 2024 SuMoth Challenge.
• BAI – Flax Bandit (Moth Foiling Dinghy) Fifth boat in the fleet, referenced in the fleet overview on the team website as a follow-on Moth foiling design building on the BAI – Flying Lina platform, sharing the same flax/carbon and natural-fiber sustainability theme.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hull of Bai-Lina Rossa weighs only 22 kg; full boat (excluding rigging) weighs approximately 60 kg
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• BAI – Broker Assicurativo ItalianocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain sponsor (main sponsor tier) of Audace Sailing Team. BAI's name appears on multiple boats (BAI-Lina Rossa, BAI-Flying Lina, BAI-Flax Bandit), indicating a deep naming-rights sponsorship. Provides primary financial support enabling boat construction and competition participation.
• Intesa SanpaolocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGold sponsor providing financial support as part of Intesa Sanpaolo's sport sponsorship initiatives. Listed on team website as a key partner supporting the project.
• ESTECOcoreTechnology or IntegrationGold sponsor providing modeFRONTIER software (multi-objective optimization platform) used for hull form optimization. The software enables the team to find the best compromise between stability and resistance within class regulations.
• Northern Light CompositescoreTechnology or IntegrationStartup partner collaborating on recyclable natural fiber composite research. Worked with the team on flax fiber and Elium thermoplastic resin composite characterization for nautical applications. Multiple thesis projects conducted in collaboration with this partner.
• Nord CompositessupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor providing composite materials and technical support for boat construction. Supplies materials used in the VARTM vacuum infusion process.
• Trias ChemsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor supplying bio-based resin (30% derived from cashew shells) used in BAI-Flying Lina's construction. The resin enables sustainable composite manufacturing while maintaining performance requirements.
• Yacht Club MonfalconesupportingOthersHost venue for 1001Vela Cup regatta; provides sailing infrastructure, Laser Vago boats for professor-student races, and organizational support for regattas.
• XMTechsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor supporting the team with technical materials and services for boat construction.
• Armare RopessupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor supplying rigging ropes and cordage for the team's sailing vessels.
• FG CAE AnalystsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor providing finite element analysis (FEA) software tools and support for structural validation of hull and foil designs.
• Smart CAEsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor providing additional CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) tools and expertise supporting the design and simulation workflow.
• Marlin Yacht PaintssupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor providing hull paints and coatings for the team's boats, contributing to boat aesthetics and hydrodynamic surface performance.
• SeripiavesupportingTechnology or IntegrationSponsor providing technical materials and services for boat construction.
• MekanikaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporter of the project providing innovative manufacturing solutions and support for student engineering projects.
• Officine TL CompositisupportingTechnology or IntegrationSupporter providing expertise and materials for composite manufacturing processes.
• University of Trieste (DIA Department)coreOthersThe parent institution providing the EcoSailing Lab facilities, academic supervision (Professor Rodolfo Taccani as tutor), Open Badge recognition, and institutional support for the extracurricular project. The team's official email is [email protected].
• Yacht Club AdriacosupportingOthersSailing club where the team conducts year-round training sessions with its boats, providing access to water facilities and sailing infrastructure.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Northern Light Composites: Italian startup developing recyclable natural-fibre and Elium thermoplastic composites for nautical applications, with whom Audace has an active R&D partnership and multiple joint theses. Highly comparable as a peer on materials, use case and geography, though commercially structured rather than academic.
• Bcomp: Swiss natural-fibre composites specialist whose flax-based reinforcements are used in motorsport and marine applications including America's Cup teams. Comparable to Audace on natural-fibre composite technology and performance-grade applications.

Others

• Yacht Club Italiano / Yacht Club Adriaco: Historic Italian yacht clubs providing sailing infrastructure (training venues, regatta hosting, mooring) comparable to the institutional role Yacht Club Adriaco and Yacht Club Monfalcone play for Audace's training and the 1001Vela Cup.
• Foiling Week: Organiser of the Lake Garda event where SuMoth Challenge is hosted; serves as the primary competitive venue for Audace's Moth class entries and the principal ecosystem hub connecting student foiling teams with industry sponsors.

Broad incumbents

• Team Malizia: Professional offshore sailing team co-led by Boris Herrmann with a publicly stated sustainability and science programme. Comparable to Audace in integrating sustainability research into a sailing performance organisation.
• 11th Hour Racing Team: Professional offshore sailing team with sustainability as its core brand pillar. Comparable to Audace in its explicit integration of natural-fibre composites, LCA-driven design and sustainability storytelling, but operating at The Ocean Race scale rather than university sailing.
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli: Italian professional sailing team competing in the America's Cup, with whom Audace's academic conferences and sustainability agenda share direct cultural context. Comparable as a sailing team pursuing performance under class rules, though at the professional rather than university level.

Direct peers

• Università di Padova Sailing Team: Italian university sailing team regularly appearing in the same regattas as Audace. Comparable as a peer university-led sailing project with overlapping competition footprint and talent model.
• Politecnico di Torino Sailing Team: Italian university sailing team competing against Audace at 1001Vela Cup and SuMoth Challenge. Most directly comparable peer as a student-led R3 and Moth programme with a similar engineering-led mandate.
• KIT Karlsruhe Sailing Team: German university sailing team competing against Audace in SuMoth Challenge. Directly comparable in operating model (student-led research-and-build programme for Moth foilers) and competition calendar.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC05jH4VzzSyhLappz0vOeCw
• Facebookfacebook.com/audacesailing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/audace-sailing-team
• Instagraminstagram.com/audace_team/?hl=it

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Audace Sailing Team