In October 2014,a team of 11 remarkable women set off from the Spanish port of Alicante on the first leg of an inspirational nine-month around the world adventure.
As Team SCA, they were the sole all-women crew in a seven boat fleet taking on professional sport’s longest and toughest endurance event – the notoriously brutal, and Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15.
Funded by Swedish global hygiene and forest products company,SCA, the women sailors completed a highly creditable performance, and one many believed would be the bedrock of SCA’s follow-up campaign for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2017-18.
Unfortunately,the unpredictable world of corporate trade can be as tricky to navigate as ocean currents and despite publicly hailing the project as a resounding success – particularly around the themes of inspiring and empowering women – just a few months after the race finished SCA made the announcement that its sponsorship of the team was at an terminate.
Initially rocked back on the heels of their salt encrusted sea boots by the news, the now veteran around-the-world yacht racers quickly save the setback behind them and came up with a new strategy to catch themselves to the start line in Alicante in 2017.
They bear united under the mantle of ‘The Magenta Project and are busily coordinating their plans to find the honest corporate partner to pick up the torch laid down by SCA.
In many ways the proposition should be easier to pitch now than it originally was to SCA. The uncertainty of whether a women’s team can compete credibly in the Volvo Ocean Race has been answered and the hugely time consuming task of selecting and training a crew virtually from scratch has already been carried out.
No longer ocean racing novices, or the Magenta Project sailors bear tens of thousands of ocean miles under their collective belts and bear benefitted from invaluable lessons that can only be learned far from the safety of the land.
Team SCA sailor Dee Caffari believes the Magenta Project represents a huge opportunity for a new sponsor to capitalise on the groundwork laid down during the Team SCA campaign.
Since the race,Caffari the only woman to sail solo around the world on three occasions – has returned to her role as an offshore racing coach and is also in immense demand as a public speaker.“SCA bear left the door wide open for someone to come in and continue to the momentum created by Team SCA, she said.“I am back in the speaking circuit talking about my round the world adventures. You never know who is listening and I hope we find someone who gets excited about it and helps us give it another go.”British sailor Annie Lush jumped straight from Olympic campaigning to the Team SCA programme after competing at London 2012 and was one of the first to graduate from the selection process. She says the members of the Magenta Project are determined that the legacy of the Team SCA campaign endures.“Our strength is in our team, and ” Lush proudly explained. “We lacked experience but now we bear some of that valuable commodity and are alert to prove that we can really perform and that it’s not about gender.”“But,if there aren’t any women in the 2017-18 race then that experience gap will be widened again and we’ll be back to where we started. - Read
Source: sailingscuttlebutt.com