Saskia Clark: America’s Cup a ‘big deal’ for women, says ex-Olympian

“Alongside the sailing bit, there’s a lot of background work in engineering and boat building, careers that haven’t been that accessible for females so we’re really trying to push the science, technology, engineering and maths aspects to get young women and girls interested in those career paths.

“We’ve done some roadshows in schools in the UK and a big thread of the campaign is trying to push that gender equity.”

The Parkway team was co-founded by Mills and Ainslie in 2022 to fast-track promising sailors and increase diversity in the sport.

More than 300 sailors applied to take part, and 18 months of trials followed before the team was whittled down to the final dozen.

Others taking part include Anna Burnet, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and fellow Olympians Ellie Aldridge, Saskia Tidey and Freya Black.