Lindsey Vonn went sailing on the Hudson River on Friday aboard a foiling catamaran, enjoying one of the perks of joining the board of directors of the United States SailGP team.
The retired skiing champion was the “sixth sailor” with Team USA for a jaunt off Manhattan before all 10 crews held practice races ahead of this weekend’s Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix. It's the penultimate regatta in Season 4 of tech billionaire Larry Ellison's global league.
While there certainly will be some boardroom work involved for Vonn — she envisions helping with brand strategy and partnerships — being on the water was the place to be.
“For me, part of the excitement about being on the board is just being involved with another adrenaline sport,” Vonn said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
The wind wasn't strong enough to do much foiling, which is what makes the F50 catamarans among the world's fastest boats.
The wind did pick up just after Vonn got off the boat.
“Just my luck,” she cracked. “It wasn’t what I hoped for. As someone that’s missing speed as a retired athlete, I was really hoping to go fast. But to be actually doing something, or at least they let me feel like I was doing something, was exciting. ... Downhill's a little bit faster. But again, I’m retired so I’ll take what I can get.”
She was thrilled to work alongside grinder Anna Weis, turning the winches that help the wing trimmer do his job.
“It was fun,” Vonn said. “I was grinding with Anna and kind of following their lead. I was a little bit of a fish out of water, to some degree, but it was really fun. Grinding is so hard and what Anna does as a woman, I think, is really, really incredible. I don't think many people know how difficult a role like that really is, so I just have a lot of respect for her and the team. To have a coed team like that, it’s amazing.”
As part of the Women's Pathway program, every SailGP team must have a woman onboard. Weis, who competed in the Tokyo Olympics in the foiling Nacra 17 catamaran class, has done the most races as a grinder of any woman in SailGP, and she also trims the jib. Her job requires strength, cardiovascular endurance and finesse.
“She's such an amazing young woman who's incredibly strong,” Vonn said. “She's a great example for the next generation.”
With women’s sports reaching a tipping point, Vonn mentioned the work Billie Jean King has done over the decades in championing women’s equality in sports, and how current women athletes, including in SailGP, “are showing people what is possible. And again, it’s a combination of the past paving the way for the present and the present really taking the opportunity and maximizing it.”