Winds of change: how AC40 boats are advancing women’s racing at the highest international level

New to this America’s Cup is a series of events aimed at advancing women’s sailing and raising their profile on the world stage, Marilyn Mower shares.

Although a few women were present in the America’s Cup’s earliest regattas, their participation over the years has been inconsistent: Susan Henn (1886) aboard the Irish challenger Galatea, Enid Wyndham-Quin aboard her father’s challenger Valkyrie II (1893) and Phyllis Sopwith aboard Endeavour in 1934 and 1937. 

The American defenders were just as few and far between, with only Edith Hope Goddard Iselin, who celebrated victory three times between 1895 and 1903 on Vigilant, Defender and Columbia, Gertrude Vanderbilt on Ranger (1930), and Elizabeth “Sis” Hovey aboard the J Class Rainbow in 1934 sailing as crew.

In 1995, after a 61-year drought, Bill Koch, who won the Cup in 1992, sponsored an all-women America3 challenge aboard 12-Metre Mighty Mary skippered by Dawn Riley, with Leslie Egnot helming and Annie Gardner navigating. They were eliminated by Dennis Connor and Stars & Stripes, who was beaten in turn by the Kiwis.

And that was it. As Riley once quipped, a woman’s chance at getting a crew position on an elite offshore racer was largely determined by her answer to the question: “Can you cook?”

Not all that is down to sexism; today’s Grand Prix boats have such heavy loads that muscle and body mass are important, although women have been sailing in fair numbers in endurance races.

Credit Grant Dalton, CEO of America’s Cup Events, with being among the first to see the AC40’s potential, originally developed for training and testing, as a perfect platform for women’s racing at the highest international level and to build the next generation of sailing stars.

The boats are truly plug and play. All were built by McConaghy to a single design with foils and systems by Emirates Team New Zealand, and all use a strictly limited sail inventory. But the keystone that makes these perfect for the women sailors is that instead of cyclors creating the power for the hydraulic controls à la the AC 75s, the AC 40s are powered by lithium-ion batteries, so it’s all about the sailing.

In 2023, Barcelona-based Puig, a global premium beauty and fashion company, committed to underwriting the Women’s America’s Cup as a pathway to future participation by more female athletes. Upwards of 70 athletes in Barcelona will compete for the 2024 Puig Women’s America’s Cup.

For Abby Ehler, offshore sailor and Puig Women’s America’s Cup event co-ordinator, “The Puig Women’s America’s Cup is the most exciting initiative that I’ve seen for female participation in sailing in my career. This will strengthen the pool of sailors aiming to make it to an elite level and supporting those pursuing technical shoreside roles. We are providing a platform and opportunity for female sailors globally and creating high-profile role models that will inspire young girls at the grassroots of our sport.”

The AC40 is new for the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup and has been chosen as the boat for both the UniCredit Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup events. The multi-use foiling monohull is also used for sailing and testing purposes by all the confirmed teams.

First published in the September 2024 issue of Life under Sail.