From 5th to 13th October in Barcelona, using the same format as for the Youth, six crews from the challenges competing in the 37th America‘s Cup as well as six invited crews will compete in the AC40 on the Puig Women’s America’s Cup. Tip & Shaft takes a look at this first for women.
It took 173 years and 37 editions to see the Cup really open up to women! “My first reaction is: finally! My second is: I can’t wait to be there,” sums up Manon Audinet, skipper and starboard trimmer on the French crew of Orient Express L’Oréal Racing Team. For almost a year and a half now, the European Nacra 17 vice-champion has been through all the selections to join the women’s team, while acknowledging that “the Cup is both the ultimate project and one that I would never have dared to imagine. It’s a turning point in my career and for women in sailing”.
And with good reason: the existence of an all-women’s competition for the world’s oldest trophy is an historic first, announced more than a year ago by the New Zealand defender. “We’re lucky enough to be part of this generation of female sailors who are breaking new ground, so we hope to lay the foundations for the future, and that this is just the beginning of the process,” enthuses the 32-year-old from La Rochelle.
In practice, of course, there are no formal restrictions preventing women from taking part in the America’s Cup. In fact, some women have taken part in the event since the 19th century, and an all-female American crew, Mighty Mary, led by Dawn Riley, even took part in the Defenders Series in 1995. But these exceptions only served to confirm the reality of overwhelming male domination of the event, which for a long time had been organized on boats requiring extremely intense efforts.
“On board, it’s no longer
the muscle that counts”
“We’ve gone beyond that parameter alone with the latest technological advances,” enthuses Aloïse Retornaz, port trimmer on the French crew. The AC40s, these 11.30 metre flying monohulls capable of speeds in excess of 45 knots, are “insanely complex and have forced us all out of our comfort zone”. But they also put everyone on an equal footing: “On board, it’s no longer the muscle that counts. You hold the boat with your fingertips, it’s all a question of precision, there’s no physical fatigue, just immense mental fatigue with concentration. The only thing that allows you to progress is the hours you’ve flown and the experience you’ve accumulated”, continues the bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in the 470, who did a lot of simulator work with her team-mates before getting the French AC40 back, when the men were able to sail the AC75.
“It’s not ideal, but we couldn’t afford to have two AC40s. On the other hand, we made the choice to have everyone on the same base, which enabled the women to be fully integrated, to follow the debriefings, and to share as much of the feedback from the men’s team as possible,” points out the co-director of the Orient Express Racing Team, Bruno Dubois, who is delighted with this new opportunity. “Choosing to run a separate event rather than imposing quotas on board means we can increase the critical mass of women who will be able to train on these boats, and that’s what counts. Out of the 60 who will be competing in Barcelona, there may be 5 or 10 who will stand out from the crowd and be able to continue sailing at this level.
As with the young sailors, the qualification phase will see the teams entered in the 37th America’s Cup competing in a fleet, with six others invited teams in a second group, six others invited. The top three teams from the two groups will meet in the semi-finals, with the top two teams contesting a final match racing duel on 13 October. “What’s interesting is that we don’t know the level of the others. We know a lot of them individually, especially those who have just come through the Olympics, but there are a wide variety of profiles and, especially as a crew on these boats, we don’t know what it will be like,” analyzes Aloïse Retornaz, who believes that “the ability to adapt will play a big part, especially after a month without sailing. The question is: who’s going to get back to their sensations the quickest?
“This step towards 100% women
is inevitable”
Beyond the pure result, the event will in any case be “an important first step in bridging the huge experience gap in America’s Cup racing“, enthuses Victoria Low, the director of the World Sailing Trust and a pillar of the Magenta Project, which works for the feminization of sailing, 21 of whose beneficiaries will be taking part in this competition, in ten of the twelve crews entered.
Although he has not been spared the controversy – particularly concerning salaries in the Swiss team, where women are paid significantly less than men – it is “a step in the right direction, even if there are still shocking inequalities and, like society in general, we‘re not upwind of the buoy”, says Corinne Migraine, vice-president of the French Sailing Federation.
I think we’re all agreed today that what’s desirable for our sport is gender diversity,” she continues. But this step towards 100% women is inevitable if we are to guarantee equal opportunities in the long term. It forces men to share their experience, and women can access costly and complex projects that were previously inaccessible. We’re pushing back the glass ceiling for the girls of tomorrow, who will have the choice of building their sporting career freely and proving that they have as much a place in it as men”. And Manon Audinet concludes: “For the moment, it’s a regatta alongside the men, but it’s up to us to push to show that we want it at least as much as they do. We’ve got the cards in our hands.
Photo: America’s Cup
