Athena Pathway was launched in August 2022 by Mills and Sir Ben Ainslie with the aim of fast-tracking development in high-performance sailing and bringing greater diversity into the sport and the UK marine industry more broadly.
The team is back on the water on board 'Sienna', its AC40 Race Boat, for a week of training as they set their sights on their ultimate goal of winning the Youth and Women's America's Cup in Naples in 2027.
The team's challenge has been made possible through the renewed commitment of Advent, a leading global private equity investor, and Cobham Ultra, two of the world's leading innovators in aerospace and maritime technology, who are continuing their support that helped Athena Pathway secure third place in the 2024 Youth America's Cup and finish as runners-up in the Women's America's Cup.
The goal of Athena Pathway is not only to build podium-ready race teams, but also to expand diversity and access across British sailing. The programme aims to establish a long-lasting pipeline that brings more women and young sailors into the top high-performance tiers of the sport. This begins with Britain's Olympic gold-medal kite foiler Ellie Aldridge, who joins as a full-time crew member in the pilot position.
"It's a huge step for the team to be back out on the water." Mills said. "It's over a year since we crossed the finish line in Barcelona, so it felt very apt to put Sienna (our AC40 race boat) through her paces, on those same waters.
"There is a huge amount of work to be done, not only to continue developing the race team, but also to ensure we are building the pathway that will support the next generation of sailors, we couldn't do it without the support and commitment from Advent and Cobham Ultra."
Alongside their support of the sailing programme, Advent and Cobham Ultra have also committed to backing an education programme with the team's charity, the 1851 Trust. This includes the launch of a nationwide schools programme that provides under-represented groups across the UK with access to STEM education, leveraging the real-world inspiration of the professional sailing team to open up new career paths and drive forward the values of diversity and inclusivity.
Shonnel Malani, a Managing Partner at Advent and Chairman of the Board of Cobham Ultra, said, "We are delighted to renew our partnership with Athena Pathway and 1851 Trust, to support the development of high-performance sailing and increase diversity within the sport. Driven by our shared ambition of inspiring the next generation to pursue STEM-related studies, we look forward to leveraging Cobham Ultra's engineering expertise to help young people build a stronger platform for success in their future careers."
