Jemima Lines has described her selection for an America’s Cup team as a landmark event for sailing, marking the first time a British woman has joined the squad in nine decades. The 29-year-old former kitefoiler, who served as a backup for Olympic gold medallist Ellie Aldridge in Paris, will join the GB1 crew for the 2027 event. This upcoming race represents a historic shift, as it is the first in the competition’s 175-year history to mandate that every five-person crew include at least one woman.
Before Lines, Phyllis Sopwith was the last woman to compete for a British America’s Cup challenger, participating in 1934 and 1937. Lines, an engineer who has previously worked as a guide at Everest basecamp and achieved altitude kite surfing records, credits her adventurous spirit to her father, the late Ralph Crathorne. She noted that his influence and their shared family activities were instrumental in shaping her path to this achievement.
Scheduled for May 2027 in Naples, Italy, the 38th America’s Cup will conclude with a final match in July. Beyond her role as a crew member alongside teammates Bleddyn Mon, Dylan Fletcher, Ben Cornish, and Andrea Tesei, Lines will utilize her engineering degree to assist the design team in developing tools for the AC75 boats. Expressing her excitement, Lines described the team environment as highly professional and driven, emphasizing that the competition has already begun in the design phase.
