It was a day of waiting for Alinghi Red Bull Racing in the Puig Women’s America’s Cup as light winds delayed racing until the afternoon. Everything was on the line between the Swiss and Kiwi teams who were only a few points apart in the leaderboard with just one race to go. A first attempt at racing was abandoned after one leg, but in the second, it was a strong start from the Swiss team, who were first off the start line and around the top mark. However, a misstep toward the bottom gate dropped them off the foils to be passed by the Kiwis. With Emirates Team New Zealand ultimately finishing second and Alinghi Red Bull Racing last, the tie on points went in favour of the Kiwis. The Swiss team may be out of the running, but they look back with pride on their performance and ahead to opportunities in the future of the America’s Cup.
Nathalie Brugger, Skipper: “We did an amazing start. I was really happy with our strategy as we wanted the left. There was much more pressure, and we were first at the top mark. Then we made a few mistakes with big wind shifts that we didn't anticipate, and some manoeuvres at the bottom gates, and it spiralled from there.
Looking back, it’s been incredible to build a team from scratch with women who were perhaps less experienced. A few months ago, some of us had never been on a foiling boat, never seen a jib, never sailed more than 10 knots of boat speed, and here we are. We have done amazing things, winning a race, leading from the top marks. So I think we can be proud of our journey together.”
Alexandra Stalder, Helm: “Today I think we had the worst, most brutal situation. We were right at the front after a great start and we did a bad manoeuvre at the bottom gate. We took a long time to take off again, and we lost all the points. Still, this event has been the best experience of my life. I learned a lot, I improved a lot, I met new people. I think for the first-ever edition, it was the best event possible. It was super well organised, so it can only be better and better for the future.”
Coraline Jonet, Project Manager, Women’s Team: “We were clearly in the game, leading the race to start, but it's always super tricky in these conditions. But we’ve shown the future generation and all women racing that there’s a clear pathway. We saw great things achieved by our team and all the women sailing this week. We have talent in Switzerland, so we need to keep them growing, and the future looks bright.”