In the full glare of the world’s media spotlight, in a race sandwiched between the opening two races of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match, Italy's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli beat Britain's Athena Pathway to win the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup after an impressive demonstration of cool, calm, and collected match-racing of the highest order.
This was a titanic tussle between the two outstanding competitors to emerge from a super-competitive Qualification and Semi-Final series that signalled and signposted the very future of the America’s Cup. The Final was set to be a classic with Athena Pathway coming in with momentum whilst Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli knew that they had inherent speed if they could keep their nerve and deliver when it mattered.
A nervy start from the Italians saw them enter the box late and it was decision time for Athena Pathway on starboard whether to get aggressive or gybe away and lead. The British elected the latter and then set up for their final approach to windward – hoping for the speed advantage that they have enjoyed in previous races.
However, from the very outset, it was Giulia Conti, skipper of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and starboard helm, who eked out crucial metres off the line, to tack at the left boundary to gain the early control. From there she and her Italian crew – co-helm Margherita Porro, with trimmers Maria Giubilei and Giulia Fava – kept calm despite intense pressure from the British to never relinquish the lead over the next six legs.
Athena Pathway – led by Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympic sailor Hannah Mills, alongside Tash Bryant, and trimmers Saskia Clark and Hannah Diamond – were always a threat as they refused to give up and kept the deltas super tight all the way around the course. At times they closed up, but the Italians covered tenaciously and despite splitting tactics all over the course to get out of phase with their opponent, there were simply no passing lanes for Athena Pathway and no possibilities to capitalise on any leverage.
By the final upwind leg, the Italian team were sailing supremely after Conti had called for calm on the preceding downwind leg where the ride height in the increasing chop briefly got out of kilter and caused the boat to punch-through a wave. With the wind speed at a steady 11 knots, the Italian team could sail conservatively, pick their shifts and headed for home around the final gate with a 19-second lead.
Athena Pathway were anything but done and threw everything they could at the leaders down the final run to the finish line. But a slick gybe at the port layline brought Luna Rossa across the line to secure an eight-second victory and a place in the history books as the first ever winners of the Puig Women’s America’s Cup.
Cue wild scenes of celebration onboard the Italian AC40 and also back ashore as the Italian team celebrated ecstatically the fact that they had added the Puig Women’s America’s Cup to the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup won earlier by the Luna Rossa youth team.
To celebrate this landmark moment in Italian sailing the victorious youth team, led by skipper Marco Gradoni, jumped aboard to join the celebrations as the Juvé & Camps Cava was sprayed around with abandon.
Later, ashore, Maria Giubilei trimmer aboard Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli said she was struggling to take in the womens' achievement. "I don’t know how to describe how this feels. I'm super super happy and proud of the team – this is just a wonderful feeling. I’m not sure we really can understand it yet. Maybe in the coming days we will understand properly that this is a really big thing that we have done and how important it is for girls everywhere. I hope this will inspire people to follow their dreams and live the life they want to lead."
Asked if this is the first step along the way to having female sailors racing aboard AC75s in the future America's Cups, she answered: “I hope so. I think that would be a good thing – especially because I really want to go on the Luna Rossa boat one day. I think it would be great for women at some point if there was not a race just for us but we were mixed in with all the other sailors.”
Understandably disappointed, but still smiling, Hannah Mills – Skipper of Athena Pathway – came ashore and said: “It’s just tough. We couldn't quite get back at the Italians. They did a really great job of defending and it really came down to the wire on that last run, but we couldn't quite get past them.
"I guess bigger-picture-wise, Ben and I set up this programme, Athena Pathway, to try inspire, particularly, young girls coming through the sport of sailing – or ones who might want to try sailing – to showcase that there is much more opportunity coming, whether it's on the water, racing, or off the water in shoreside roles. We've really delivered on that in terms of what we've created here, so that for me is everything. I'm so proud of everyone in this team and the wider team for helping us to achieve that.”
In a stunning win – and a notable marker of both present brilliance and future intent – Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli faced down an enormous challenge from Athena Pathway to come out victorious as the very worthy winners of the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup – an achievement that bodes well for the future of Italian sailing.
(Magnus Wheatley)