Women in the America's Cup

Americascup.com

Since 1886, women have been an integral part of America’s Cup history. It was in that year Mrs. William Henn became the first woman to sail for a Cup on the challenger Galatea. She joined her husband during two races against the Mayflower drawing, and appropriately so, considerable media attention. The fiery daughters Lord Dunraven, Ladies Aileen and Rachel Wyndham-Quin, followed her some years later. And although it’s difficult to understand exactly what their roles were, registers indicated they were afterguard members of the unsuccessful challengers Valkyrie II and Valkyrie III, during the 1893 and 1895 challenges.

Hope Goddard Iselin, wife of C. Oliver Iselin, the head of the America’s Cup defence from 1895 to 1903, was indisputably the first woman to play a significant role on a defending team as the official timekeeper. To this day she shares the record of longest America’s Cup participation with Dawn Riley, who is here for the 2007 Cup in Valencia. >more