"I'm stoked to be skippering the team and the start of Live Ocean Racing. It's so exciting and I get a lot of emotions talking about it," Mackay told the Herald from Brittany.
For Burling and Tuke, Ocean conservation is at the forefront of just about everything they do using their sailing platform to connect people to the issues the ocean faces. Live Ocean Racing will operate independently of Live Ocean Foundation but share the same vision – a healthy ocean for a healthy future.
"When we started Live Ocean Foundation, we did it with the vision of using our sailing platform for good. We've launched Live Ocean Racing now as we've seen the need to provide more opportunities for women in foiling boats and felt that this was the right time and place to start," Burling said.
MacKay explains the concept of a Live Ocean team came about through Sail GP starting
the women's pathway program where talented female sailors were incorporated into
the largely male-dominated teams.
"I think it highlighted to a lot of people that women should be racing on these boats. But there is quite a big gap in the skill set. And so yeah, Pete and Blair are really front footing seeing that and taking action. I did a regatta on the ETF last year, and I think that's just kind of where the idea started," Mackay said.
For Tuke who is co-CEO with Burling of the New Zealand Sail GP team and an integral part of Team New Zealand, the creation of a racing team that champions ocean conservation has come around a little bit sooner than they originally thought.
"But I guess, right from the start when we first founded Live Ocean Foundation, the marine conservation charity, we always did it, thinking that we would have a sailing team alongside it that would take the message to the world champion action for a healthy ocean," Tuke told the Herald.
And while it's a campaign he and Burling think they would personally like to take on in the future, through Sail GP and the America's Cup they've seen a need to create more opportunities for women on foiling boats to gain experience.
There is one all French female sailing team in the series but most of the crews are a mixture of men and women with a weight limit on the boats.
For Mackay who dreams of one day helming an America's Cup boat, this is very much a stepping stone to achieving that goal.
"Yeah, definitely. It's honestly, so many of the skills we do on the F50. (Sail GP) And it's just a small scale, it's a mini version, and it's going to be so good for getting into those situations where in Sail GP we get very few days training. So having that foundation of the ETF and the foiling catamaran is just invaluable and yeah definitely I want to take on bigger challenges," Mackay said.
At the crux of the decision to launch a female driven Live Ocean Racing team is the desire to create more genuine pathways for female sailors. It's something MacKay is passionate about and hopes it will inspire and motivate younger sailors in New Zealand who may be grappling with their futures in the sport.
"Yeah, I think it kind of goes back to when you start Olympic sailing in your early 20s and what you do to complement that. It's like if you see it, you can believe it. So, the role model piece and seeing women compete in the 50s or in the America's Cup, it'll bring it back to that time and encourage people to do the moth or get into the GC (foiling catamarans) but that's just not how it's ever been. So, I think with the ETF hopefully we encourage the likes of 18,19,20-year-olds to do something alongside their Olympic sailing where that skill set really grows and they get picked up by the America's Cup or Sail GP because of their skills alone and not just because they are female," Mackay said.
So, are there many young Kiwi women in the next tier down interested in going further in the sport?
"I think yes, but they're on the edge right now. They are very much deciding whether they try to stay in the sport and not battle away. There are some epic opportunities in sailing at the moment that, you know, but kind of be the minority and things like this, or they go to Uni with their friends. And so just the announcement of this as a huge encouragement that there are epic opportunities, there are growing career options and sailing and just seeing that it will bring so much more energy to the sport."
Mackay expects the series to grow quickly.
"Already in the last week, international teams have shown a lot of interest. I think it will grow throughout Europe as a lot of sailing does. But the presence of a New Zealand team is greatly appreciated."
The EFT 26 series gets underway this weekend in the opening round at La Trinite-sur-Mer in Brittany.
