The 12 women who will be sailing the AC75s this weekend in the first Women's America's Cup have never sailed the AC75s that their male counterparts use.

They aim to fix that by the next America's Cup by showing off their racing abilities in the smaller AC40 foiling boat they will be using in the Mediterranean, just offshore of Barcelona this week.

"We all want the 75s to sail for the next campaigns." "I can't wait for women to sail on big boats in the next campaign," said French skipper Manon Audnet at the launch event of the women’s event.

The first four races in the series, between Britain, France and Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland, were held under challenging conditions.

Italy led the group with three bullets, or first places, after successfully navigating shifting winds and large waves.

The race for the other side, which includes Australia, Canada Germany The Netherlands Spain and Sweden will be held on Sunday.

Audinet said: "This is a great way to bridge the experience gap we've seen in the past 173 years." He added: "Why not start training women alongside men, so we can be one and compete as equals for the same positions? ".

Women have participated in past America's Cups, but the event is dominated by males. Physical demands and the lack of women who possess the required experience were cited as reasons for this historic imbalance.

Four of the eight sailors competing in the most recent edition of the America's Cup play roles that do not rely on their strength. This opens up new opportunities for women.

The women who have been selected to compete in the AC40s identical to the one they are racing, with two co-helms, two sail trimmers on either side of the boat and two co-helms, will push through this door.

Hannah Mills is also a member of Britain's SailGP Team. She said: "This regatta has been a great step forward in closing that gap, and really showing the world what women sailors can do. We all feel a responsibility to show that."

She added, "We must make this event as successful as possible, we need to talk about it and shout about it. We should let everyone know what is going on, why it's so important, we should tell them." (Reporting and editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Christian Radnedge, and Alexander Smith)

(source: Reuters)