By Alexander Smith
BARCELONA (Reuters) -Italy and Britain qualified for the first America’s Cup for women on Friday, seeing off competition from four other teams in a tightly-contested semi-final series.
On a day of fluctuating Mediterranean winds, the contest to whittle the fleet of six down to two went down to the wire as the sun set over Barcelona, with Spain just failing to make the cut despite a dominant last race in the series.
Racing in high-tech foiling AC40 monohulls, lifted just above the water on hydrofoils, the black-sailed boats reached speeds of around 30 knots as they sped around the course.
“That was so stressful,” said British skipper Hannah Mills.
“It’s amazing to be in the first ever Women’s America’s Cup Final. We are all so happy. We will enjoy this moment and then focus on what I’m sure will be an exciting and action-packed race against the Italians,” Mills added.
The event has been welcomed as a pathway to gain experience in the state-of-the art foiling boats which have been dominated by men, improving the opportunities for women at the highest level of professional sailing.
“It’s such a joy, I’m so happy,” said Italian co-helm Giulia Conti of reaching the head-to-head final, which organisers said would now take place on Saturday, a day earlier than scheduled.
The other teams to make the semi-final of the event were New Zealand, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
The challenge for the America’s Cup itself also begins on Saturday, with Britain taking on holders New Zealand for the “Auld Mug”, billed as the oldest international sporting trophy, which began in 1851 and has never been won by a British boat.
(Reporting by Alexander Smith; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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