by In Trieste
All photographs courtesy of Victor Caneva
Every Saturday we’re spotlighting remarkable females who could change the way we look at the world. This Saturday is Raffiche team’s turn composed entirely of female sailors taking part in the 53rd Barcolana regatta this Sunday, 10 October.
Renata Amigassi, Cecilia Capanna, Eugenia Capanna, Adelaide Giromella, Eva Sirtori make up the main crew, with Silvia Salami, Marilina Salcuni, Daniela Scataglini and Antonella Tedeschi stepping in when needed.
Why did you decide to take part in Barcolana regatta?
It was Eugenia Capanna’s idea to create an all-female crew to race in the regatta. It was thanks to her that all of us are on this boat today as she’s the only one who knows each of us. The toughest challenge for us is not to compete in the world biggest regatta without much sailing experience, but to compete without knowing each-other well.
What does this regatta mean for you?
This regatta is not only a competition for us. We want to draw attention and start conversation on the topics of breast cancer awareness, solidarity to women in Afghanistan and gender equality – that’s why we put up a red ribbon as a symbol of anti-violence against women.
Well done.
It’s fantastic being here in Trieste, being able to race in this wind, in this magnificent sea with an all-female crew. We know we are very lucky to be able to do this and life has definitely given us a lot. This is the way it has to go for all women around the globe – we are representing all of them this weekend. However, sailing is one of the last bastions of patriarchy. It’s entrenched in our history, in our warfare, in our culture, and it is extremely male-dominated.
Why does an all-female crew have an edge on others?
We do not believe an all-female crew has an edge on others, that’s the point. We don’t want to look angry and make our experience a way to fight in total opposition toward men. We would like to install a dialogue in order to increase comprehension and knowledge about gender equality. We want to raise attention about the fact an all-female crew is something rare, unusual. That’s it, besides all the other issues we mentioned (red ribbon anti-violence toward women; October = month of breast cancer prevention). We know we are lucky women in comparison to the majority of women in the world.
