Barcelona's women’s sailing team 'sets basis' for future America's Cup championships

The 37th edition of the America's Cup is bringing change to Barcelona, the city’s harbor and coastline, and also in the sailing world and the competition itself.  

For the first time in the 173-year history of the America’s Cup, there will be a women’s event in this year's edition in the Catalan capital, and Barcelona's own sailing team will be competing. 

There will be representation from Sail Team BCN in the women’s and youth races, as they, together with Real Club Náutico de Barcelona (RCNB), will be the Spanish challengers for the event.  

The Unicredit Youth America's Cup took place between September 17 and 26, right before the Puig Women's America's Cup from October 5 to 13. The competition takes place after the Louis Vuitton Cup and before the final match of the 37th America's Cup. 

Abby Ehler, the coordinator of the youth and women’s competitions, explained to Catalan News that “having a stand-alone women’s event at this level of our sport really marks a turning point."  

She, a professional sailor, thinks it is important to create a specific competition "because it gives experience and importance to women, to showcase their talent on their own stage." 

Women's Sail Team BCN 

Sail Team BCN has presented a team of six women aged between 20 to 40, with various medals in Olympic Games and World Championships. 

Despite having done most of the training in a simulator, the Sail Team BCN feels ready to take on the challenge that this competition presents, and are looking forward to the opportunity that this new category represents for women in sailing and in sports as a whole. 

"The moment has finally come to have the first ever Women's America's Cup and we are on the right path, but we need to keep on working because there is a lot to be done still," María Cantero, one of the trimmers of Sail Team BCN, told Catalan News during a training session.  

One of the aims of the women's team for the competition is to "create more opportunities for the future," María explained. 

"I think we have the chance to set the basis for a Spanish team that can go on to compete on future America's Cup competitions as well, and that is one of the realistic expectations we have," Paula Barceló, another of the team's trimmer, explained. 

"But if we can qualify from the first series and step into the semifinals that would be a really good result," she added. 

There will be twelve teams at the start of the competition, six of them already take part in the male's America's Cup competition: New Zealand, Great Britain, US, Italy, France, and Switzerland. The other six teams have been specifically invited to take part in this championship: Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Sweden, and Australia.  

There will first be a qualification series with eight races among the teams in two groups, with three teams from each group qualifying for the semifinals. After that, the top two teams will go head-to-head in the final race.  

Training with a simulator 

Both the youth and women's teams of Sail Team BCN have been training on a simulator since the beginning of the year as they did not have a boat at their disposal until after August.  

"The simulator is a really useful tool and we have been able to automatize all the buttons and movements, but it is never 100% like real life," María Cantero said.  

Before the competition starts, the organization provided boats to the teams that did not have one for them to get some training in the water and experience the thrill that would come.  

In early September, the operations center for the teams competing in Youth Cup and Women's Cup opened in Barcelona's Moll de Xaloc dock.  

However, the six teams that race in the 37th America's Cup – Emirates Team New Zealand, INEOS Britannia from Great Britain, Switzerland's Alinghi Red Bull Racing Team, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team from Italy, USA's New York Yacht Club American Magic and France's Orient Express Racing Team – already had an AC40 to train and compete.  

"The fact that there are six teams that have been able to train on an actual boat for a year leaves us at a disadvantage, so we have to be realistic," Paula Barceló told Catalan News. 

María explained that "it is crucial to have training days" as these boats are faster "and need you to be very reactive." 

"But so far our training has been good and we look forward to seeing how the races go," the trimmer concluded.