Paris (AFP)
A newcomer to the world of spectacular and "high tech" sailing, the richly endowed SailGP circuit has just enacted a rule: the presence of a sailor aboard ultra-fast boats.
A small step forward in this environment rather closed to women.
A racing car piloted by a woman.
This is not yet a reality but the goal within two to three seasons of the SailGP, a stage championship inspired by the America's Cup.
A step is taken this weekend in Cadiz (Spain) during the sixth of the eight stages of the second season with the obligation to have a woman on board in the race.
The SailGP brings together eight teams (Australia, Denmark, Spain, United States, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand) who compete in match-racing (one against one) during regattas (rounds near the coast) aboard ultra-fast boats equipped with foils, the F50s inherited from the 2017 America's Cup.
These technological gems are the prerogative of the best skippers in the world, such as New Zealander Peter Burling, American Jimmy Spithill or even Briton Sir Ben Ainslie.
And not a woman.
- Lack of confidence -
"It is certain and certain that we have to change that. We could not put them in the team without training so we made a selection. Now they will have a place behind the coxswain where they will make the strategy and also participate in maneuvers, "Bruno Dubois, manager of the French team, the first and only in season 1 to have taken - without obligation - a sailor, Marie Riou, told AFP.
French skipper Marie Riou in Lorient on July 26, 2017 FRED TANNEAU AFP / Archives
"There were never any comments, it was not taken as an example enough. It may not have been a trendy topic at the time. It was not mentioned and I find That’s a shame. It’s the following year, when we only found ourselves with men on board, that we (the SailGP) made the decision to integrate the girls ”, emphasizes Bruno Dubois.
Launched in April, this circuit, largely funded for the first three seasons by billionaire Larry Ellison with a bonus of one million dollars for the winning team, first allowed women to rub shoulders with this very masculine environment.
- Laborious -
“As soon as there is a new medium, a new championship or a new type of boat, it is first and foremost the men who have the opportunities to sail. This is partly due to the trust we place in technical qualities of women on new machines, especially flying. Since we trust women less, they have fewer opportunities to experiment, and suddenly, when it is necessary to select the best, necessarily, women are not not as good technically or in navigation on these supports there. While they can do just as well, I am convinced of it ", pleads with AFP Hélène Noesmoen.
This windsurfing specialist joined the French team at the start of the year with Amélie Riou, the first to sail in Cadiz.
Bruno Dubois has targeted seven women for this season, all from the Olympics.
Camille Lecointre and Aloïse Retornaz, bronze medalists at the Tokyo Olympics (470), were called upon in the fall of 2020. They were invited to training last September.
The navigator Aloïse Retornaz during the Olympic sailing event of 470 on July 29, 2021 in Fujisawa (Japan) Peter PARKS AFP / Archives
"There was for me a hope to make things happen. We invite girls, even if what we are offered is frankly ridiculous, so if we refuse that, we never move forward," Camille told AFP Lecointre, who is tackling the SailGP and not the French team, whom she finds "super driven in wanting to bring girls".
"So yes, the daughter of the crew will have a role on board, but frankly we've been talking about it for a year and a half, it's laborious. Of the three positions available to women, it's only touching buttons and piloting, that on paper women must be as strong as men! ", launches the double Olympic medalist, who prefers to return to her passion, Olympic sailing where there is visibility according to her.
In the short term, the girls will have their own training camps, from this winter to next spring.
© 2021 AFP