PUIG WOMEN’S AMERICA’S CUP UPDATE

The month of May was perhaps the busiest month overall for the Women’s teams so far as they emerge blinking from their simulator work to start practising for real whenever they can on the AC40s and a myriad of other foiling classes. In May, we also had the unveiling of the magnificent Puig Women’s America’s Cup Trophy designed by Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola- full story HERE.

Emirates Team New Zealand:

Definitely the highest profile as the Kiwis have allowed recon to follow their progress, the Women’s teams have been receiving gold-dust on-water tuition from the senior team with Peter Burling, Sam Meech, Josh Junior, Marcus Hansen and Ray Davies accelerating their progress.

Line-ups or just watching the full AC team in training has been invaluable and we’ve seen Gemma Jones stepping up and trimming for the test squad against the LEQ12 almost daily through May. Ray Davies, the team coach, has been impressed with how they have all developed and the commitment to early mornings and late evenings in Auckland’s early winter will surely pay dividends come the European summer up in Barcelona.

Athena Pathway (GBR):

The British have not only been lighting up Barcelona on a daily basis but they have kept their fans in the loop throughout May with outstanding social media and website posts. The team are now based at the shared facility in Badalona and have put in a big May with tons of time on the water. Olympic Bronze medallist and International Moth ace Chris Draper has been leading the coaching whilst Hannah Mills OBE has led the sailors on the water.

A number of the squad will compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and then return (hopefully with medals) but the grind goes on. New sponsor SunGod, announced in May, is providing some eye-catching eyewear whilst the support of Cobham Ultra has really kick-started this exciting pathway team.

Alinghi Red Bull Racing:

The Swiss team announced in May the innovative ‘Alinghi Red Bull Racing Shore & Tech Pathway’ that has given a number of young sailors who attended and interviewed at their Youth & Women’s summer selection trials last year, a fantastic taste of life in the heart of an America’s Cup team.

The internship programme sees the lucky candidates Alex de Weck (data analysis), Morgan Lauber (boat builder), Matthieu Sistek (designer), Jann Schüpbach (electronics) shadowing key roles within the team and is a great initiative to encourage the next generation through. In terms of sailing, the Swiss announced that the rest of the Alinghi Red Bull Racing Women’s team members were onsite at the end of May for a sailing camp in the team’s two equalised AC40s that have arrived back from their Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, winter base.

NYYC American Magic:

NYYC American Magic's women and youth sailors have been busy preparing for the upcoming 2-month summer training block on the team's AC40. The sailors are now beginning to arrive in Barcelona and move into their apartments around the city and the team are completing the final preparations at the new training base in Badalona, where they will be sharing a shed with the Athena Pathway Project and the Artemis Swedish Challenge Women and Youth teams. NYYC American Magic's youth sailors have been busy supporting the first few weeks of sailing with the team's new AC75, and all of the members of the women's team had the opportunity to spend a few days in the AC40 simulator together this month. It was a first to have all of the women on site at the same time, and they were able to complete a first round of safety training in preparation for sailing next month as well. Everyone is excited to translate time in the simulator to time on the water and make the most of AC40 training days before the Youth America's Cup kicks off in September.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli:

As the senior team called time on their AC75 training in Cagliari, and the boat began to be packed up for transportation to Barcelona, Luna Rossa’s shore team switched into gear and gave the Women’s team a week of training on the team’s one AC40.

Led by multiple Olympian Giulia Conti, the Italians are expected to field first-class teams in both events. No direct update from the team but plenty happening with the Italians.

Orient Express Racing Team:

Orient Express Racing Team issued an update at the time of their AC75 reveal that their Women’s America’s Cup team has been notching up time on the AC40 in Barcelona and recently secured a 5^th place in the first round of the ETF26 series in Murcia – vital team building and skill honing opportunities. The following week, along with the Youth team, the Women returned to Barcelona for a fresh round of training on the AC40. At the end of May Jessie Kampman secured a bronze medal at the Formula Kite World Championships.

SailTeam BCN:

Having announced their sailing team for both Youth & Women in April, the Spanish team have been getting as much time on the water as possible in May and even had the use of an AC40 for a while from one of the main America’s Cup teams who shall remain nameless but the team were immensely grateful. Plenty of simulator time for the sailors has ensued but no formal update on progress from the team in May.

Concord Pacific Racing (Canada):

The big news on the 23^rd May was the announcement of the Concord Pacific 2024 Team Canada Youth & Women’s teams: Concord Green Energy, along with lead sponsors RBC and TELUS, has unveiled the Concord Pacific Racing squad for Canada’s first-ever campaign at the historic Puig Women’s America’s Cup and UniCredit Youth America’s Cup and supported by official sponsor Dilawri Group and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, the Concord Pacific Racing squad features top talent from across Canada, with a dynamic blend of seasoned veterans and emerging stars, including decorated Olympians and SailGP athletes.

The Concord Pacific Racing Women’s team is:

• Isabella Bertold (Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, Captain)
• Ali Ten Hove (Kingston Yacht Club)
• Maggie Drinkwater (Royal Vancouver Yacht Club)
• Mariah Millen (Royal Canadian Yacht Club)
• Maura Dewey (Royal Victoria Yacht Club)

JAJO DutchSail Team:

Coached by Annemieke Bes, Pieter-Jan Postma and Cas van Dongen, the JAJO Team DutchSail have been busy upskilling the twelve sailors throughout May with plenty of simulator training and online match-races being held between the Dutch and NYYC American Magic, Canada and Australian teams. The JAJO Team DutchSail is led by Sander van der Borch with skipper Odile van Aanholt.

Team Germany: 

The great news coming out of the German America’s Cup team is the news that the Youth & Women’s teams have received vital sponsorship from HypoVereinsbank who will add sponsorship of the German Foiling Academy to UniCredit's overall sponsorship of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup. The Foiling Academy supports the German Youth and Women's Teams with the final selection expected to be announced in August 2024. The further news came from the team at the end of May that “some of the Women's Team participated in the 69F Youth Foiling Gold Cup in Torbole.

There was a week of training followed by a week of racing. Daily training sessions took place in strong north winds in the morning and beautiful south winds in the afternoon. There was excellent team dynamics, and valuable experiences were gained. Despite some other teams having more experience with the 69F, they were beaten in some races. The other participating teams were also mixed teams under 25 years old, including another Cup team on-site.”

Swedish Challenge powered by Artemis Technology:

Having completed their final training on the team’s dedicated AC40 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Swedish Challenge are now en route to the shared facility (with Athena Pathway and NYYC American Magic) at Badalona just along the coast from Barcelona. The final selections have been made for the Women’s team and they are eyeing the beginning of June to start an intensive period of at-venue training. This is looking like a very impressive campaign being formed and the Swedish are many people’s picks to do very well in both competitions.

Team Australia Challenge:

Having confirmed their full teams at the end of April, Team Australia have been hard at work on their simulator, busy challenging the likes of Emirates Team New Zealand, Concord Pacific Racing and JAJO DutchSail to daily virtual sessions. No immediate update from the team but a number of team members will be heading to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the team will re-group thereafter.