New York Yacht Club International Women's Championship: Invited skippers announcement no. 2

by New York Yacht Club 8 Jul 07:22 PDT September 12-19, 2025

The strength of bonds forged in competition is a common theme among the second group of skippers and teams invited to compete in the 2026 New York Yacht Club International Women's Championship.

In many cases, these bonds link sailors competing onboard the same boat. But there's also a lot of value in the relationships and trust developed between sailors that compete regularly against one another. Assembling an all-star crew from different boats is a time-tested way to build a squad that has the potential to ascend to the top of the podium at the world's most competitive sailing events.

"There is a lot of talent in the Pacific Northwest," says Christina Wolfe, from Orcas Island, Wash., who has made a name for herself in the doublehanded division of some of the world's most prestigious ocean races. "The NYYC International Women's Championship seemed like a great opportunity to pull together an international team for the event. Many of us race against each other in various regattas, but we'll now have the opportunity to race with each other."

The second group of five invited skippers to the International Women's Championship includes Ragna Agerup (NOR), Sarah Douglas (CAN), Julia Gross (SWE), Hannah Swett (USA) and Christina Wolfe (USA).

The inaugural edition of the New York Yacht Club International Women's Championship will take place September 12 to 19, 2026, at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I. The regatta will utilize the Club's fleet of 20 IC37s. The 37-foot keelboat was designed by Mark Mills to a brief developed by the Club. The IC37 is a powerful, sporty platform that rewards cohesive crew work and athleticism. The International Women's Championship is supported by founding partner Rolex and regatta sponsor Helly Hansen.

Wolfe won US Sailing's 2023 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award on the strength of some superb finishes in major offshore races. In each case, she sailed doublehanded with her husband. For this event, she'll be racing with a significantly larger crew.

"Team captain Joy Dahlgren initially reached out to several of the women to gauge interest, and then the project quickly developed into a four-yacht-club, cross-border initiative," says Wolfe. "Our team will be able to train together on a IC37 sailing out of Royal Victoria Yacht Club, and we will be leveraging coaching and sailing resources from the significant talent pool in our area and beyond."

In addition to Wolfe and Dalhgren, other members of the team include former U.S. Sailing Team member Jen Morgan Glass and Maura Dewey, who sailed with Concord Pacific Racing in the 2024 PUIG Women's America's Cup.

New York Yacht Club member Hannah Swett has been sailing with her core crew for more than a quarter century. Swett, Joan Porter and Melissa Purdy were all teammates on the Mighty Mary campaign for the 1995 America's Cup. Prior to that, Purdy and Swett were teammates on Brown University's national championship sailing team.

"I've been involved with the IC37 class since its inception," says Swett, the 2003 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. "When the notice went out about applications for this event, my 'girl crew,' with whom I have sailed with for decades, all called and said, 'We're doing this together, right?' and so the team was born. It may not come as a surprise to some, but we are all highly competitive and enjoy our time on the water together. I've sailed with some other great people in the class over the last few years, but this regatta gives me a chance to sail with my crew that I have sailed with the most."

Swett will represent the host club in the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup this coming September, a unique opportunity to sail the IC37s in a regatta upon which the Women's Championship is modeled.

For Julia Gross, the International Women's Championship is a way to further the connection developed between some of Sweden's top female sailors at the PUIG Women's America's Cup last fall.

"The core of our team naturally evolved from our time together in the Swedish Challenge powered by Artemis Technologies during the 2024 Women's America's Cup," says Gross. "We're a group of former and current Swedish national team sailors with experience in various Olympic classes, and we really thrived sailing together as a larger team in that campaign. When the project concluded in October 2024, we knew we wanted to keep that energy and collaboration going. The International Women's Championship became the ideal next goal—a way to stay connected, continue growing as a team and compete at a high level."

Among the sailors joining Gross will be Olympic medalists Vilma Bobeck, Rebecca Netzler and Lovisa Karlsson.

Norwegian twins Maia and Ragna Agerup, who finished 14th in the 49erFX class in the Rio 2016 Olympics, will form the core of a team that has emerged directly from the New York Yacht Club's IC37 fleet, specifically Rear Commodore Peter Cummiskey's Ursa Minor team.

"The Ursa Minor team has historically had 50-percent women on board which has continued this year," says Maia Agerup (far left), who will serve as tactician while Ragna (immediate left) drives the boat. "We therefore didn't need to fill a lot of spots for the Women's Championship. We have been carefully selecting other sailors who we know will fit our culture and who are highly accomplished dinghy and big boat sailors.

"Most of us are participating in the IC37 circuit this summer and will be training next summer leading up to the Women's Championship. Some team members are competing internationally in the J/70 class in addition to plenty of good practice in Oslo, Norway."

Other members of this Transatlantic team include U.S. Olympic Trials runner-up Christina Sakellaris and Hailey Ullmann.

"It was important to us that Canada was represented on the start line and Team RCYC was built with intention and purpose, with national pride in mind," says two-time Olympian Sarah Douglas, who will skipper an entry representing the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. "Our group combines talent, grit and a shared drive to push each other forward. Chemistry is everything in this kind of racing, and we're focused on building a cohesive unit both on and off the water.

"We have three women who are currently competing in the IC37 on Team Defiant and will be representing RCYC at the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup in September 2025. In addition to me, two of our sailors are Tokyo 2020 Olympians and those two have just competed in the 2024 Women's America's Cup."

The remaining invited skippers for the 2026 New York Yacht Club International Women's Championship will be announced in the coming weeks.