Please select your home edition
Edition
Armstrong 728x90 - Wing FG Board Range - TOP

British sailing star says Women's America's Cup is 'mind-blowing'.

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/nz 12 Sep 2021 04:05 PDT 12 September 2021
Tokyo2020 - Day 4 - July, 28, - Enoshima, Japan. Hannah Mills & Eilidh McIntyre (GBR) Womens 470 © Richard Gladwell - Sail-World.com / nz

Hannah Mills, the most successful female sailor in Olympic history has enthusiastically welcomed the announcement of the AC40 foiling monohull, and the creation of a Womens America's Cup event as part of the regattas surrounding the 37th Match for the most prestigious trophy in sailing.

"It's a bit mind-blowing, but I think it's exactly where the sport needs to go," the British sailing star told the Times (UK).

The announcement of the new Womens event, which will be sailed in a 40ft version of the AC75, America's Cup class, has answered calls for women sailors to have a pathway into the high-profile America's Cup.

Mills who is already part of the Great Britain SailGP team, has been non-committal about continuing for a fourth Olympic cycle in the what used to the Womens Two-Person dinghy event, sailed in the 470 class. As part of sweeping changes made by World Sailing, the event in which she won two Olympic Golds and a Silver, will change to a Mixed Two-Person dinghy for the 2024 Olympic Regatta to be sailed in Marseille.

Last October the SailGP circuit, backed by IT mogul Larry Ellison and contested in 50ft foiling wingsailed catamarans, announced that a requirement for Season 2, would be the inclusion of at least two women in each of the now-nine national teams.

Mills joined the Ben Ainslie led British SailGP team prior to the Tokyo2020 Olympic regatta, where she won her second Gold medal last month. She would logically combine her SailGP career with the Womens AC40 event, and become one of the first women to enjoy a regular, year in year out, professional sailing career.

The Volvo Ocean Race, now rebadged as The Ocean Race, was the first to create required opportunities for professional female sailors with the introduction of male/female crew ratios for the 2017/18 race. However racing 40,000nm around the world is not everyone's cup of tea, and it would seem that the Olympic's loss is SailGP's and the America's Cup teams' gain.

Of course, professional female sailors now enjoy almost the same options as their male counterparts, and can elect to be part of an America's Cup and SailGP team. Or run an Olympic program into an America's Cup campaign, or join one of the teams in The Ocean Race - following the lead of Martine Grael, double Olympic Gold medalist in the 49er FX.

Given that few of the sailors at Tokyo2020 showed any interest, when questioned in the Medalists Media conferences, in moving across to one of five new events, it will be interesting to see who is selected for the AC40, which will start sailing in October 2022. Before that, there will be several months of long days on the AC simulator before stepping on board the real thing.

Certainly there would seem to be no shortage of candidates for the AC40 crews, with the revamped Olympics likely to become just a staging post for professional sailing careers of both genders.

The AC40 is all electric, meaning that there is no requirement for grinders, and for the female crews it means that sailing ability rather than physique will determine selection - playing nicely into Hannah Mills and others of her ilk.

For the full Times UK story click here

Related Articles

America's Cup: Luna Rossa's Challenge accepted
According to local media the Italian team, Luna Rossa has had its Challenge accepted by the Kiwis. Leading America's Cup journalist, Fabio Pozzo, reports that the Italian team, Luna Rossa has had its Challenge accepted for the 2027 Cup in Naples. Posted on 12 Sep
America's Cup: ETNZ's design boss on new AC75 Rule
Kiwi design chief, Dan Bernasconi on recycled AC75 hulls, electric power and other rule changes. Kiwi design chief, Dan Bernasconi on the use of recycled AC75 hulls, the switch to full electric power, and other changes. He claims there is plenty of performance gain left in the AC75 for the designer teams. Posted on 12 Sep
America's Cup: Class Rule and Tech Regs out
The America's Cup Class Rule and Technical Regulations for the Naples Match have been published With the clock ticking down to the start of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup in Naples in 2027, the AC75 Class Rules and Technical Regulations have been issued to all teams and published with a focus on cost containment. Posted on 11 Sep
America's Cup: Running silent and deep, again.
A look at the flotsam that has surfaced as the Cup teams again go into deep and silent negotiation. A look at the state of the Cup - given the three weeks of silence since the hasty final Protocol signing. Previously a long deep dive by the teams has indicated that a lot of negotiation is underway. Here's what we've seen floating on the surface. Posted on 10 Sep
From The Other Side - The State of the Sport
The editors of Sail-World New Zealand and Inside Great Lakes Sailing discuss the state of sailing. The Editors of Inside Great Lakes Sailing and Sail-World New Zealand got together last week to shoot the breeze in an unscripted video discussion, without any pre-arranged "talking points" about various aspects of the sport. Posted on 5 Sep
Youth America's Cup set to continue in Naples
The Youth America's Cup is a sign-post to the future direction of the America's Cup itself. Since its inaugural event in 2013, the Youth America's Cup, designed as a competition for sailors under the age of 25, has always been the most remarkable sign-post to the future direction of the America's Cup itself. Posted on 4 Sep
America's Cup: Carlo's insights 1983-2024
Leading Italian lensman Carlo Borlenghi has been shooting the America's Cups for 41 years Carlo Borlenghi is the go-to photographer for many of the world's top sailing events and has covered every America's Cup since 1983 when he was assigned to the Azzurra team for Italy's first challenge. Posted on 30 Aug
America's Cup: A seismic shift for sailing
For the first time in its 174-year history, female sailors will be mandated onboard AC75s This week's announcement from the America's Cup felt momentous. For the first time in its 174-year history, female sailors will be mandated onboard AC75s at the pinnacle of our sport. Posted on 15 Aug
America's Cup: The Brave, New Protocol
The just announced Protocol for the America's Cup has many innovations and a few fish hooks The just announced Protocol for the America's Cup has many innovations, and maybe a few unintended consequences around the mandatory re-use of 2024 vintage AC75 hulls. Updated with a look at how the new Cup structure could work. Posted on 12 Aug
America's Cup: A "ground breaking" partnership
An innovative Protocol for the 2027 America's Cup has been agreed between RNZYS and RYS An innovative 11th hour Protocol for the 2027 America's Cup has been agreed between the Challenger of Record and the Defender. It creates a commercial framework for the current and future Cups, eases nationality rules, and has a quota for female sailors. Posted on 12 Aug
Mackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOMRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERSea Sure 2025