The Women’s America’s Cup | A Huge Success

The Women’s America’s Cup event was a huge success! From the outset, the programme was ambitious – recognising that the opportunity to sail in high performance foiling yachts was limited and that the skills-gap needed to be narrowed. With the outstanding support of Puig, the building blocks for the Puig Women’s America’s Cup could be assembled.

Taking it up a notch

Established America’s Cup teams and invited teams, representing yacht clubs from Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Germany registered their intent and began extensive training programs. Many concentrated on simulator time, but some, like the Swedish, bought their own AC40 yacht offering valuable on-water training time to their crews.

As the event neared, the excitement levels rose and an opening four races between the America’s Cup Teams was some of the closest and most intriguing fleet racing that we have ever witnessed in foiling yachts. Then came two days of racing with the invited teams and across eight races we saw everything – lead changes aplenty and spills and thrills.

Silvia Mas, skipper of Sail Team BCN, observed: “It’s been an incredible event, it’s the first time there has been an America’s Cup for women. To see the twelve teams on the start line was amazing, it was a hard battle, and you could see that race after race the teams were getting better and it was getting tighter. I think this is a huge door that is opening for the next generations and I’m sure in the future we will see the women on the big boats with the men.”

Ricardo Pinto / America’s Cup

“The level of the fleet was incredible, among these women there were a lot of Olympic medallists, golds, world races. It was amazing to see women of such a high level competing together on the start line, and even more so in these high-tech flying boats from which you are constantly learning. Definitely, the best experience of my life.”

Emerging talent

What emerged from the two groupings was real talent, which is no surprise considering that in total there were no less than 17 Olympic medalists on the racetrack. The stand out teams were Athena Pathway, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, Sail Team BCN, JAJO Team DutchSail, Swedish Challenge powered by Artemis Technologies and Emirates Team New Zealand. These teams contested a late afternoon, four-race Semi-Final that was notable for its intensity. Sail Team BCN won two races but had a poor result in the second race. In a series that rewarded consistency, Athena Pathway and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli emerged on top and advanced to the match-race final.

A tight duel 

Set in the glare of the global broadcast in-between the first two races of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, the level of sailing by Athena Pathway and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was worthy of any America’s Cup duel. It was tight from the start with the Italians gaining the tiniest of leverages and eeking out a small gain. From there they defended like heroes over four laps of the course and survived a late charge by the British on the final downwind leg to win and become the very first Puig Women’s America’s Cup Champions.

Ricardo Pinto / America’s Cup

Led by the outstanding Olympic talent of Giulia Conti, co-helmed by Margherita Porro, and with trimmers Maria Giubilei and Giulia Fava, the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team were the worthiest of winners.

The team accepted their award from Puig Brand Ambassador, entrepreneur and model, Karlie Kloss.

Giulia Conti, Skipper of the winning Puig Women’s America’s Cup team, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli was elated, saying: “I think it’s a huge stepping stone in the history of sailing, especially for women. When I was a little girl I was always looking up at Luna Rossa, but I was always seeing the guys and I never saw a woman, but I think we showed the whole world what we are capable of and how well we can sail.”

Asked what she would say to young girls aspiring to be like her, Conti added: “Dream big, because dreams can actually be achieved. For myself, I had a very long journey through three Olympic Games and never achieved that medal that I really wanted so badly. I had the opportunity to come back in the Puig Women’s America’s Cup and it’s the most amazing feeling ever, so never give up on your dreams because someday it can happen.”

Ivo Rovira / America’s Cup

A close match 

Britain’s most decorated female Olympic sailor, Hannah Mills OBE, spoke about the impact of the Puig Women’s America’s Cup, saying: “Ben Ainslie and I set up Athena Pathway, to try to inspire, particularly, young girls coming through the sport of sailing – or ones who might want to try sailing – to showcase that there is much more opportunity coming, whether it’s on the water, racing, or off the water in shoreside roles. We’ve really delivered on that in terms of what we’ve created here, so that for me is everything.”

A brilliant concept

John Bertrand, the America’s Cup winning skipper of Australia II who ended the New York Yacht Club’s 132-year tenure over the competition, said, “The Kiwis, and in particular Grant Dalton need to be congratulated. To conceive the AC40 as part of the entry fee into the 37th America’s Cup was a big-picture master stroke. The beneficiary was the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup sailed not only in state-of-the-art AC40 foilers, but broadcast to a worldwide audience. The racing, the television pictures, the commentary were all to a level not seen before. The standard of racing was world class. This has now launched Australia back into the Cup through our women sailors. Exciting times.”

A milestone achieved

The Puig Women’s America’s Cup achieved on every level and on every metric. The resonance around the sailing world, from the very top to the grass roots of the sport, cannot be underestimated.

Grant Dalton, CEO of America’s Cup Events, sees a bright future, “It was always obvious to us that women’s sailing in the America’s Cup needed a kick-start and with the support of Puig and the excellent guidance of Abby Ehler and Daryl Wislang, what’s been achieved here in Barcelona is nothing short of remarkable. The athletes not only performed, but put themselves on the radar of current and future Cup teams and there’s no going back. This is just the start for female athletes to earn their places, by right and by experience, on future America’s Cup boats.”

(Magnus Wheatley)