It’s been a journey to get to this point, but having this team competing in the penultimate Act of this year’s Extreme Sailing Series™ in Lisbon is a massive achievement.

Getting to the start line is always the hardest step. We have made this initial step ourselves and hope that sponsors watching the action in Lisbon can see the potential of this team and help us achieve our goal of being a competitive series team entry for 2017. I hope this demonstration of our commitment is recognised and can be supported by partners wanting to help enable us to move forward in this class.

“To be offered this opportunity has been amazing. It has been great to experience the speed and the sensation of foiling first hand. It seems to be what everyone is doing and The Magenta Project with support from Peters and May and Red Funnel have been able to provide this chance for a group of extremely talented female sailors. Sharon has been extremely patient with us as we have developed during the week and we have all had huge smiles on our faces as we have sailed in near perfect conditions.

“It’s been great to be able to follow the Magenta Project training on one of OC Sport’s GC32 boats. We have been watching, literally from our Cowes office, as they took full advantage of the training opportunity and conditions in the Solent. “The results have been clear, as we have witnessed their confidence and ability on the foiling catamaran really ’take off’ over the last week. We encourage female talent to be part of the Extreme Sailing Series as it has been the case over the years and would love to welcome this team to join the Series in the near future.

“The talent is certainly out there amongst the top women sailors, it’s the opportunity to practice and hone skills that’s lacking We hope this week of sailing will be a small step towards tackling that. “The sailors will have the chance to learn from Sharon Ferris who is part of the Armin Strom sailing team who are currently competing in the GC32 Racing Tour. She has proven that it is practical and possible for a mixed crew to compete effectively. “This is a unique opportunity and we want to give as many female sailors as possible exposure to the foiling generation.”

“Having worked with both team SCA and Dee over the years, we’ve seen the incredible amount of perseverance and passion they put into their own racing careers, and the high-performance racing community as a whole. Our support for this event is nothing in comparison to their dedication to supporting women in sailing year in year out. We can’t wait to see the Magenta Project go from strength to strength!”

It is no secret that sailing is a sport where women have the ability to compete at a professional level. We are motivated to see women gain more experience and insight into the high level of the sport. Therefore we created the the idea of hosting an all female M32 clinic in the hope of introducing aspiring professional sailors to the M32 and to share the knowledge we have gained racing on the WMRT and specifically about sailing the M32 at a high level with 5 women on board. We have 20+ sailors coming to Hönö, Sweden for a 2-day introduction to the M32.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to launch The Magenta Project in France – I’m really keen to break through the language and culture barriers and bring the talent and experience here (in France) to our network.” “Their participation in La Solitaire Bompard – Le Figaro proves that there are talented professional female sailors competing in the elite competitions. This is what The Magenta Project is all about – supporting, encouraging and providing pathways for women like these Figarists.”

“This marks a really positive shift in diversity in the fleet of Le Figaro. These women are top-level sailors and are an inspiration to many.

I’m delighted to be joining Hedkandi for what can be a very tough race. This opportunity is a perfect fit for The Magenta Project: We are all about advancing women in the sport. One of our aims is to increase the percentage of professional female sailors competing in premier events from 3% to more than 10% by 2020. Team Concise are committed to giving young British sailors access to competitive offshore racing; so our ambitions and aims are really the same. The race itself is a proper test of all the skills needed for those wanting to compete at an elite level– such as in the Volvo Ocean Race.

It’s great having Libby on board. Our young crew has a unique opportunity to learn from a really seasoned navigator and tactician. I know they will lap it up. Let’s hear it for the girls!