"Britain's Hannah Mills finds the Women's America's Cup more challenging than the Olympics"
Hannah Mills, the co-founder and Team Principal of the British entry into the Puig Women's America's Cup and Unicredit Youth America's Cup, is leading the charge for the Athena Pathway squad. As the helm and skipper, Mills is spearheading a team that shares a hangar with American Magic and the Artemis-sponsored Swedish Challenge.
The British Athena squad is one of several teams competing in the 37th America's Cup, which marks the first ever Women's America's Cup. The targets for the boat's settings are given by Team New Zealand, but the sailors have the freedom to adjust them as they see fit.
The AC40s, the boats used in the competition, are semi-automated. However, understanding the limitations of the autopilot and how to optimise it is a challenge. Saskia Clark, a trimmer for the Athena squad, has been working on her neck and core strength to counter the G-forces the sailors will face.
In conditions like Barcelona's confused sea states, the humans can see factors the machine can't, making manual adjustments necessary. Mills hopes for quick continuity in the Women's and Youth Cups, allowing for more opportunities for women and youth to gain experiences and learn.
Each of the main AC37 teams - New Zealand, Britain, France, Italy, USA, and Switzerland - entered both the Women's and Youth America's Cup, and purchased at least one AC40 for use in the competitions. Six additional teams, known as the Invited teams, also entered the Women's and Youth America's Cup.
Athena Pathway, the British team, had to deal with numerous breakdowns, hydraulic challenges, and battery issues while practising for the competition. The rebuild of the INEOS Britannia's AC40 boat, which was used for two-boat training ahead of the AC75 launch, caught fire during training and was subsequently rebuilt and used by Athena Pathway as a practice boat.
Despite the challenges, the atmosphere in the Athena base is friendly and collegiate. Bench seats built out of pallets are dotted around, with team zones demarcated only by a few flags. Time on the water was identified as the most important factor for Athena Pathway, but also the biggest challenge for these boats due to their complexity.
The main sponsor of Athena Pathway is Cobham Ultra, with Rolex, Musto, and yacht brokers Cecil Wright as supporting partners. Mills and her team are currently training hard, with the Puig Women's America's Cup set to begin soon.
As the first ever Women's America's Cup, this competition promises to be an exciting and groundbreaking event. With Mills at the helm, the British team is poised to make a strong showing.
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