For 144 years the America's Cup has been the most prestigious award in the sport of yachting. Usually, however, the competitors have been rich yacht club members, and until recently only three women had ever been members of an America's Cup sailing crew. That all changed in 1995. The crew of the ship Mighty Mary broke down barriers with every race they sailed in the 1995 America's Cup competition. The all-female team proved that women could do anything on a ship that a man can do and that through hard work and determination dreams can come true.

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America3

On March 9, 1994, Bill Koch, the man who had successfully defended the 1992 America's Cup for the United States, announced that he would support an all-female crew on his boat, America3 (America Cubed) in the 1995 America's Cup. Koch had made a fortune estimated at more than $600 million in the petroleum and chemical industries...