Women Racing results

“I think our biggest win as a team is that we never made the same mistake twice,” Spithill said.

“Once we learned a setup didn’t work, we changed it. Once we learned that a mode needed to be different, we changed it. Once we had a bad race, we moved forward.

“The trajectory continued to go up every single time.”

The team’s resilience was tested after a difficult second day, but Spithill said the sailors were able to regroup and continue improving.

“We had to dig deep, but the best thing about our team is we were together,” she said.

“We were asking, ‘How do we build and move forward?’ We were still talking, we were still laughing, and we came back together. That’s the exciting thing about a strong team.”

The Newport campaign brought together Katie Spithill, Stacey Jackson, Tara Blanc-Ramos, Emma Roberts, Nina Curtis, Clare Costanzo, Sarah Parker, Juliet Costanzo, Abby Ehler and Jess Angus, combining extensive inshore and offshore experience.

Coach Brady Lowe supported the campaign as the team developed its understanding of the IC37 and improved throughout the championship.

For Jackson, the result represented an important first step for a program established to create opportunities for female sailors beyond a single event.

“To finish fifth in our first international event, and as the highest-placed team from outside North America, is something we’re incredibly proud of,” Jackson said.

“But for me, the biggest success is what we’ve built as a team.

“We brought together sailors with very different backgrounds and experience, put them into a boat that was new to most of us, and kept getting better every day. That says a lot about the calibre of the women in this team and what can happen when you create the opportunity for them to race together.”

Jackson said the Newport championship was only the beginning for Women Racing.

“Newport was never intended to be the end goal,” she said.

Katie and I started Women Racing because we believe there is so much female sailing talent in Australia, and we want to keep creating opportunities for that talent to come together and compete. This result has only made us more excited about what comes next.”

Spithill confirmed the team intends to continue racing following its international debut.

“We’ve got so many aspirations and ideas and we are so excited and motivated for what we will do next,” she said.

“We’ve got to go home and figure that out, but guaranteed we will be continuing.”

Shaw and Partners Women Racing is supported by Shaw and Partners Financial Services, Palm Beach Motor Yachts, Buckingham Marine Services, Oroton, Vaikobi and the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.

womenracing.com.au
nyyc.org/2026-womenschamp