Sailing legends onboard Argo Challenge

Argo Challenge © Argo Challenge

The Argo Challenge journey, aiming for participation in the Youth and Women's America's Cup, with international crews of disabled sailors, within the 38th America's Cup, is moving forward quickly. The event will take place in Naples in 2027.

Argo Challenge will begin its sailing season by participating in the 71st Tre Golfi Regatta and the Maxi European Championship, scheduled for next May in Naples and Sorrento.

"I am honored and enthusiastic, with the colors of the Yacht Club Gaeta, to contribute, also personally with my boat 'Fra Diavolo', to this project in which I firmly believe, with the sailors of Argo and their worth, we will compete in important international events with a great message, but always with the objective of winning!' " declared Vincenzo Addessi, President of the Yacht Club Gaeta.

In recent days, two sailing legends have come aboard Argo: Helena Lucas and Damien Seguin.

"I am excited to be part of the Argo project. Having the opportunity to be involved in the 38th America's Cup events against the world's best sailors and knowing that it is a fair playing field is incredible. It's something I loved about the 2.4mR Class and I wished it could have been an Olympic class, but this is even better!" declared the 'golden girl' of British sailing, who made history by winning Paralympic gold in the 2.4mR class at London 2012.She became the first ever female winner in the male-dominated Paralympic class and Great Britain's first-ever Paralympic gold medalist in sailing. Helena went on to win bronze in Rio, making her Great Britain's most successful Paralympic sailor.

Damien Seguin, famous worldwide not only for his five World Championship victories in the Paralympic 2.4 class and three Paralympic Games medals—gold in Athens 2004 and Rio 2016 and silver in Beijing 2008—but above all for his two participation, with a seventh place, in the Vendée Globe, added: "I am, today, certainly the skipper with a disability with the most experience in all types of boats, from small Paralympic boats to ocean racing foilers, and I have managed to win on every platform despite my disability. Participating in a project linked to the America's Cup is a dream. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate that we can be different, competent, and highly performant".

It's not only France and Great Britain on Argo.

Confirming the international nature of a project that is building increasingly solid foundations to achieve its goals, also aboard are:

• Rafa Andarias, a great Spanish Paralympic sailor.
• Fia Fielddhall, a talented Swedish sailor.
• Antonio Squizzato, a recent winner of the 2.4mR World Championship.
• Alessandra Franchi, a promising young Italian sailor.
• Umberto Panerai, a water polo legend, who has been on Argo since the beginning.