Making Waves: The Inside Story of Managing and Motivating the First Women's Team to Compete for the America's Cup - Hardcover

Huntington, Anna Seaton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1565301919 ISBN 13: 9781565301917

Publisher: Summit Group, 1997

Synopsis

An inside look at the race for one of sports oldest trophies.

About this title

Review

Making Waves is the story of the first all-woman team to compete in the America's Cup, and its author, Anna Seaton Huntington, writes from the catbird seat: she was a member of this historic crew. The story begins in 1994 when multimillionaire Bill Koch decided to finance and recruit the 28-member squad that would eventually sail against Dennis O'Connor and the other male-dominated crews in the race. For a year and a half, the women trained together under a staff of all-male coaches, and therein lies Huntington's major complaint. In her view, the men's lack of understanding about the differences in how men and women deal with conflict and leadership development ultimately led to their less-than-stellar performance in the preliminary rounds.

Although yacht racing attracts a fairly narrow audience, Making the Waves should appeal to those interested in women's advancement in the world of sports. And even if you don't intend to race your own yacht in the America's Cup, Huntington's behind-the-scenes glimpse of this rarified sport makes for interesting reading.

From Library Journal

Olympic rower Huntington was recruited for the all-women America 3 yachting team to compete for the America's Cup as one of the "grinders," who raise and lower the sales. A Columbia University journalism graduate, she is also eminently qualified to give a crewperson's view of this huge endeavor. Huntington doesn't hide the team's dislike of "Mr. America's Cup," Dennis Conner, nor its management problems, division over "the whole women's thing," and lack of leadership that led to problems on the water. The near-win by their boat, Mighty Mary, drew cheers from many fans but, as expected, derision from some quarters of the old-boy yachting world. Not just another tale of women making inroads on male sports turf, this book entertainingly records a milestone in yachting history. Highly recommended for public libraries.
Kathy Ruffle, Coll. of New Caledonia Lib., Prince George, B.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Summit Group
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1565301919
• ISBN 13: 9781565301917
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 150