Women push for more Cup roles

The gulf between opportunities afforded men and women in sailing is summed up by the respective positions of Australian Nacra pairing Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin at the 35th America’s Cup.

Waterhouse was the back-up helmsman for Dean Barker at Team Japan, Darmanin is hosting in the AC Club Lounge.

Darmanin, who won silver in the mixed multihull class at the Rio Olympics alongside her cousin Waterhouse, said it was an eyeopener to see the job offers roll in for the male members of the Olympic squad after the Games, while her inbox sat empty.

She is one of a host of top female sailors that have questioned where are the women at this America’s Cup? Darmanin says there is no shortage of capable women lining up for an opportunity to race on board “fast, high performance catamarans”.

What there is a shortage of is men in decision-making roles who are willing to give female sailors a chance.

“I read a book recently called Breaking the Mold and it had a line in it that said ‘little girls can’t dream of becoming things they can’t see . . .’ but then I thought it’s not only the girls at home that can’t see it, it’s the people making the decisions that can’t see it either,” she said.

“If they shift their perspective and actually start considering us for roles, then that’s the only way things can change.”

“If there’s someone better than me for the job, that’s fine — but we’re not even given the opportunity to see if we can do it.”

Darmanin is particularly frustrated at the lack of opportunities given to women in the youth ranks.

Annabel Vose, the 23-year-old strategist aboard the victorious Land Rover BAR Academy team, was the only woman to compete in last week’s Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. The local Bermuda team also had a woman in their wider sailing team, but she was not in the race-day crew.

“I’m not saying I’m ready to trim an America’s Cup wing, but anyone who is doing it now had to learn how to do it as well. What we have to work out is how women can get the same development opportunities as men do to eventually fill these roles,” the 25-year-old said. “Right now there are no clear pathways for us.”

The Magenta Project, established by top international sailors Abby Ehler and Libby Greenhalgh, is on a quest to remedy that. Their mission is to accelerate women in sailing and the marine industry by creating pathways, empowering leadership and driving change.

Kiwi sailor and double Olympic medallist Jo Aleh linked with the organisation following the Rio Games, where she won silver in the 470 class alongside Polly Powrie to go with the gold they won in London.

Aleh said through the Magenta Project she has had the opportunity to sail in foiling GC32 catamarans, and hopes it will open doors for her to do the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race.

“They’re helping us get opportunities to sail.

“We’re learning and upskilling ourselves because that first step is so hard to get,” she said.

“We’re not saying we want free rides on boats, we’re just saying we want opportunities to prove ourselves.”

As for whether it will open the door for women to sail in the America’s Cup, many are skeptical.

The move to high-tech 50ft catamarans, in which four of the six crew on board are providing the grunt to power the hungry machines, seemed to push the event further out of reach for women.

When asked why there are no women on America’s Cup boats, Jimmy Spithill, skipper of America’s Cup defenders Oracle, told CNN Mainsail’s Shirley Robinson it was like asking why there are no women on an NFL roster.

Darmanin rejects that analogy. “It’s not a football team, it’s a sailing team. I accept there’s a lot of sports where men and women can’t compete against one another, but in sailing, there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t,” she said.

“I really don’t see why you could not have a women trimming or steering an America’s Cup boat. Obviously we would have to train and have to learn, but every single person out there had to learn how to sail those boats — it’s a new class. It’s not like they grew up sailing them.

“Obviously we can’t grind, unless they change the nature of the boats, but that’s fine — I don’t want to grind anyway,” she said with a laugh.

Darmanin believes sailing is reaching a “pivot point” where women are increasingly being recognised for what they can bring to the fold.