It takes a village…
Francesca Clapcich and Helena Scutt onboard the AC40 I © Francesca Clapcich
I’m writing this on an airplane back to the States in a brief moment of quietness. I’m taking my daughter Harriet to stay with her Grandma in Wisconsin while her Mom, Sally, is working in France for the US Sailing Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and I return to Barcelona for more America’s Cup training. It’s so true when they say it takes a village to raise a child, not only family, but also strangers … I can’t thank enough the fellow passengers around me who helped entertain my two year old while we sat out a six hour delay in Atlanta airport!
It’s been a really intense few months, a lot of travel, hours of work, learnings, mistakes, time away from my family but … an incredible year so far!
It’s a short week at home and then back to New York Yacht Club American Magic team, before heading to Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, just south of Newfoundland, to join UpWind by MerConcept for the La Route des Terre-Neuvas transatlantic race on the Ocean Fifty. It’s a new route and I’m really excited to be getting back with the UpWind team and going offshore with Anne-Claire Le Berre and Elodie Mettraux. The tech team has been doing an awesome job getting the boat ready and I’m looking forward to seeing them all in just a few weeks time.
I definitely find it hard at times to manage so much at the same time. I’m the skipper of UpWind by MerConcept and part of the Women’s America’s Cup Team for American Magic. Two huge roles. And all of this has to be managed alongside family time, speaking engagements, and in-person events. It’s intense, but I really love doing it and I know that this is quite a unique and specific season where a lot of events are happening at the same time.
The AC40 NYYC American Magic speeding along I © NYYC American Magic
The same, but not the same …
I am enjoying using what I’m learning with UpWind on the Ocean Fifty in the America’s Cup with the AC40, and vice versa. It’s interesting how all sailboat racing is the same, but then the specifics of each boat are so different.
The AC40 is a high-performance foiling monohull with four crew and we are sitting in what looks like an airplane cockpit. We don’t switch sides when we tack or gybe and it’s really hard for one side to see what the other is doing so communication is key. Whereas the Ocean Fifty is more ‘traditional’ in some sense, although it too foils - we move about the boat, we grind, we trim, we steer with a tiller.
Sailing is ultimately one sport but within the sport there are so many different boats, classes, and styles of racing and each has its own specifics. However it is one sport where you can apply the knowledge you learn in one class to another and keep growing and learning. I use skills I learned in the Olympic classes still nowadays in the Ocean Fifty, on the AC40, in fact, anytime!
Francesca and her team-mates in the AC40 simulator I © NYYC American Magic
A diverse team = diverse thinking
I find being part of big teams really exciting as you can learn from so many different people from so many different backgrounds. That’s one reason why it is so important to me that we bring people into our sport from different walks of life and backgrounds. So many skills are interchangeable from the ‘street’ to the ‘water’ and a diverse team, equals diverse thinking.
“Diversity bring the competitive edge. Embracing diversity, be it in the form of people, perspectives, or strategies, enhances our potential for success in sport or in business.”
Being adaptable to difference
Being adaptable is a skill that is required in sailing, in sport, and life in general. And as a woman, as someone who doesn't typically fit the 'norm' of what pro sailors look like, think, act, and how they generally live their lives, I've had to adapt myself to fit in. But to grow as individuals, as teams, as a sport, we need to embrace difference and diversity, allowing everyone to feel they belong. This is exactly the topic of something I am working on with 11th Hour Racing and will announce in September. I look forward to sharing it with you!
Francesca and Giulia Conti 49erFX racing in 2015 I © Neuza Pereira
Olympic fever
And in the middle of all this crazy mix of life, there’s the Olympics starting this weekend. I know what it feels like to be racing for your country and it is incredibly special. I competed at both the London and Rio Olympic Games and remember just what it is like in the final days before the regatta kicks off. I wish all the athletes the best of luck and most importantly would say to them that ultimately - enjoy the event: it’s a really special one that deserves to be lived and loved fully!