Eliane Fierro Leads All‑Mexican Team at Women’s International Championship
Few sailors can claim a résumé quite like Eliane Fierro‘s. Across five decades of competitive racing, she has been present for some of the sport’s most pivotal moments. She raced at the first Women’s World Championship in Monnickendam, the Netherlands, in 1978, and then flew the Mexican flag at the debut women’s Olympic sailing event in Pusan, South Korea, in 1988. More recently, she played a key role in bringing the Viva México campaign to life for The Ocean Race. Now, come September, the veteran skipper is poised to write yet another chapter in that remarkable story by assembling an all-Mexican crew for the first-ever New York Yacht Club Women’s International Championship.
“The Women’s International Championship feels like another iconic chapter,” Fierro says. “Racing at such a historic venue, alongside extraordinary teams from around the world, gives us the chance to honor sailing’s legacy while showing what women’s teams, built on trust and shared history, can do together.”
The event is scheduled for September 12 through 19 at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, Rhode Island. Twenty teams will compete aboard the Club’s fleet of IC37 keelboats — 37-foot one-design racers penned by Mark Mills to specifications drawn up by the Club. Athletic and demanding, the IC37 places a premium on tight teamwork and physical fitness. Rolex serves as founding partner of the championship, with Helly Hansen on board as regatta sponsor. Twenty confirmed skippers have already been announced.
Despite being flanked by outstanding sailing waters on both its Pacific and Gulf coasts, Mexico has never been considered a powerhouse in the sport. The nation is still chasing its first Olympic sailing medal; the best result to date is a 10th-place finish at the London 2012 Games by four-time Olympian Tania Elías Calles. For Fierro, that underdog status made it all the more important to assemble a squad rooted in a strong sense of national pride.
“I looked for some of the best sailors in the country, but just as importantly, for women who know and trust each other deeply,” she explains. “Spanish is the language on board, which helps us communicate easily and feel fully ourselves. We also span different ages and generations, something I see as one of sailing’s greatest gifts: the ability to learn across generations while competing side by side.”
The Mexican roster boasts no fewer than four Olympians, with Mariana Aquilar, Elena Oetling, and Elías Calles joining Fierro. Their collective backgrounds cover an impressive sweep of disciplines — 470, ILCA, and iQFOiL — as well as transpacific and transatlantic ocean racing, giving the group a diverse toolkit for the waters off Newport.
“Our team brings together Olympic sailors from different disciplines as well as transpacific and transatlantic sailors, which gives us a wide range of experience and perspectives on the water,” Fierro says. “At the same time, we are a multi-generational group of women and longtime friends who believe sailing is about more than results. We see this campaign as a way to inspire more girls and women, especially in Mexico, to return to sailing, care for the ocean and claim their place in the sport’s future.”
Meanwhile, organizers have also rolled out a new resource to help finalize crew lists across the fleet. At the request of several invited skippers, the New York Yacht Club has established a Crew Finder platform that allows qualified women sailors to signal their interest in joining a team for the landmark regatta.
“While some skippers have already identified their teams, others have let us know they will be looking for some talented sailors to join their crews,” says event chair Cory Sertl. “This crew board will allow women sailors from around the world to express their interest in participating in this historic regatta.”
Sailors who wish to put their names forward can do so through the Women’s International Championship Crew Finder. All submitted information will be shared exclusively with qualified skippers competing in the event.
