By Alexander Smith
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Sailors celebrated the start of the first America’s Cup for women this weekend with some tight races and spectacular splash-downs in challenging Mediterranean conditions off Barcelona.
The America’s Cup has been dominated by men throughout its 173-year-history and the new event has been set up to offer women a pathway by bridging the gap in experience.
“It’s a massive deal for our sport,” Britain’s Saskia Clark said on Saturday when asked about the significance of the event.
“All of us have a collective responsibility that we need to nail this next week and be awesome and take up our space in this world so that when you are an up-and-coming youngster, you know that you belong here,” the British Olympian told Reuters.
There are 17 Olympic medal winners in the women’s fleet, which includes both veterans and emerging sailing talent.
With the 12 teams split into two groups for the series, the leading three in each will qualify for this week’s semi-finals, with the top two progressing to a head-to-head “match” final.
The British clinched the first race on Saturday, but Italy successfully navigated the shifting winds and big waves to emerge top of their group with three first places, leaving Britain in second and New Zealand in third.
“These boats are absolutely incredible, the performance is incredible and the combination of skill and getting it right is a real challenge,” said Clark, laughing as she recounted how the crew survived a massive splash-down on the finish line.
On the other side of the draw, which was sailed in testing conditions with fluctuating winds on Sunday, the Netherlands stamped their mark on the competition, recovering from a disappointing first race to secure a third and two firsts.
The Dutch crew, which includes Olympic women’s skiff gold medallists Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz, had only had two days’ practice in the one-design AC40s, which “foil” above the water, relying on simulators beforehand to hone their skills.
“The Olympics can be pretty stressful. I think this is a bit more relaxed, it’s a lot of fun,” Duetz said on the live America’s Cup broadcast as the Dutch team celebrated.
Behind the Dutch are local favourites Spain, who sailed consistently on home waters, in second and Australia in third.
(Reporting by Alexander Smith; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
