Women's America's Cup: Puig Women's America's Cup heralds new dawn as female sailors take centre stage

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, one of the world’s leading fashion and beauty companies, the building blocks for the Puig Women’s America’s Cup could be assebled and the global interest the event engendered was encouraging.

Alongside the established America’s Cup teams who all fielded impressively well-trained athletes, 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 and offered 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.”

“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.”

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

Set in the glare of the global broadcast in-between the first two races of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, the spectacle that Athena Pathway and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli put on was worthy of any America’s Cup duel. It was tight from the start with the Italians gaining the tiniest of leverages and eking 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.

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.

Accepting their award on the evening of Sunday October 13 on the main stage of the Race Village from the Puig Brand Ambassador, entrepreneur and model, Karlie Kloss, they raised the magnificent trophy in triumph and became beacons for the sport and icons to thousands of girls around the world who now have a clear pathway and target to make it to the apex of sailing – the America’s Cup.

The Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, spoke at the awards saying: “The Puig Women’s America’s Cup is more than a regatta. It is the symbol of the conquest of equality, of the empowerment of women also in the world of sport, and of a fairer future. What has happened here this week will encourage many young women around the world to also compete and follow their passion and show that for women athletes there are no limits. There are no limits!”

The Puig Women’s America’s Cup achieved on every level, on every metric, and 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.”

The future for women’s sailing has never looked brighter this stunning inaugural edition of the Puig Women’s America’s Cup.

Text and images courtesy of the America’s Cup. Read more at americascup.com.