They are few, very few. But its role in six teams it’s key. They are between 26 and 48 years old, for most it is their first competition in Barcelona and they share enthusiasm and determination in equal parts. Are the engineers from Sailing America’s Cup.
The oldest, the Mallorcan Elvira Llabrés (Ineos Britannia), has few quirks when it comes to describing the role of women in the historic regattas, which date back to 1851 and which until the 37th edition have not been decided to incorporate them into a women’s competition specific. “It doesn’t make sense that the Louis Vuitton be it only with male athletes, the teams they will become mixed as already happens in the Olympic games”, he ditches.
The performance analyst engineer of the Ineos Britannia America’s Cup sailing team, Elvira Llabrés, on a work day. / INEOS BRITANNIA
The Copa América teams will end up being mixed as is already the case in the Olympic Games, we just need a little more experience
almost the only
But Plowmanlike the other five women, will not be from the group that is on board the AC75 flying monohull who will fight the battle for 100 guineas jug. They all work as data engineers, hydraulics, mechanics, in the six squads, the New Zealand (defending title), the British, the Italian, the Swiss, the French or the American.
His work –ultra-competitive, stressful but captivatingthey agree – consists of guaranteeing that the your team’s sailboat give the best possible performance, be the fastest. To achieve this, they have spent almost two years working hard in training and tests of all kinds, in close collaboration with athletes, designers, programmers and strategists, who are the ones who transfer them if the boat is going the way they want. “Years ago it was almost the only engineer of the competition: there were girls in administration or hospitality, but not in the teams,” recalls the professional Ineoswho specialized in computer science.
The mechanical engineer of the French America’s Cup sailing team, Orient Express Racing Team, Celine Le Berre, in a meeting with her team aboard a boat. / Orient Express Racing Team
I love challenges and all my life I have been in a minority because I am a woman, it doesn’t worry me
17 female engineers among 668 people
Are in clear minority. They are, at most, 6 out of a team of 150 people in Alinghi (of which 21 are girlsadding the athletes), or 4 engineers out of 17 women in the Emirates Team New Zealand, with 130 members in total. EITHER just one in Italian 138 (18 women). Of the total of the six teams, in the absence of the British data, with 668 personas, only 103 are women and, of these, there are 17 female engineers. But they are valued, well recognized, the people speak with awe about them.
“The fact of having been high competition sailor It helps, indeed,” admits the Valencian Andrea Emone (Alinghi Red Bull Racing) with a modest pout. Both she and the American Helena Scuttthe Italian one Clelia Sessathe New Zealander Elise Beavis or the french Céline Le Berre, in addition to Plowmanthey brandish Olympic medals, world sailing titles in various categories… they are top women in and out of the water.
Emirates Team New Zealand’s America’s Cup sailing performance engineer, Elise Beavis, at the team’s base in Barcelona, in July 2023. / Jordi Otix
At my university there were few girls, now there are a few more, but I loved it and enjoyed my studies
Top level sailors
Beavis He quickly opted for engineering. He says that in his house they detected that he wanted to dedicate himself to the nautical world and that, even though they thought she wouldn’t make it because it was a closed and masculine world, they didn’t dissuade her. And she triumphed. “At my university we were few girlsnow there are some more, but I loved it and enjoyed my studies,” he confesses. His challenge is even greater that of its other five rivals: it already has two Copa América in the showcase (2017 and 2021) and, if it contributes to revalidating the kiwis triumph in Barcelona in October, would be the third. Nothing bad.
The nautical tradition in New Zealand It’s huge: almost all boys and girls surf. But when Andrea Emone She was small, in her native Valencia, it was not like that. But the wave of nautical competition arrived with the event being held in 2007 and 2020 and she fell in love. Her dream since then was work on one of those teams. But how to add it to the other devotion that I had, mathematics and physics? Well, being an engineer. “She was able to think that the browsing data was mathematics… that physical It had to do with hydraulics… which chemical linked her to the fluids…” Emone reasons, in the ranks of Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
Helena Scutt, engineer and sailor on the American Magic women’s team for the America’s Cup sailing that will be held in Barcelona starting in August 2024. / American Magic
Being a sailor helps me a lot because I can offer diverse points of view thanks to my experience on board and on land.
More Lego than dolls
To the mechatronics engineer del Orient Express Racing Team Celine Le Berre something similar happened to him. He always liked playing with Lego pieces more than with dolls, he remembers, so it was clear to him that he would opt for a technical profession. “I love challenges and I have been in the minority all my life Because I’m a woman, it doesn’t worry me,” clarifies the 42-year-old Breton who has been in the French ranks since June. Le Berre believes that the fact that a Puig Women America’s Cup (from September 28 to October 13, alternating with the ‘absolute’) will grow following among the public and even more so among the girls.
Helena Scutt It is the only one of the six that has a double role. In addition to being part of the engineering team of American Magic, is one of the athletes who will compete in the women’s event aboard an AC40. “It helps me a lot to be a navigator because I can offer diverse points of view thanks to my experience on board and on land,” reasons the American, mechanical engineer thanks to the encouragement of her father, who from a young age showed her how to fix boats, cars or whatever she needed.
Through the veins of Clelia Sessa salt water flows. His mother was one of the bosses of one of the mythical italian sailboats, the Moro di Venezia, so sailing was the next thing he did after getting on his feet. At 26 years old, this Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli mechanical engineer overflows with motivation and passion for what he does. “It’s a lifestyle. If you are lucky like me to be able to combine your two passions, engineering and the sea, you are very lucky,” she describes.
My parents taught me that there are no sports for men and women but that we are good at what we set our minds to.
The mechanical engineer of the Italian America’s Cup sailing team, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, Clelia Sessa, works on her laptop. / Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
Sessa has a two year old niece to those who want to set an example, to be the mirror in which to look at themselves, as happened to her with the racer Giulia Conti. “When I was little I raced dirt bikes and my parents always told me that There are no women’s or men’s sports. but that we are good at what we set our minds to,” she recalls. It premieres in the Sailing America’s Cup, a dream for her, and she dedicates every hour of the day to it. The six women agree that he is a absorbent work but it’s worth it.
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2024-04-07 05:01:25
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