As a two-time 49erFX Olympic gold medalist, Grael is used to tight starts, high speeds, and sailing at the edge of human and technological performance. But when she stepped into the role of helm for the brand-new Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team, she wasn’t just joining another fleet—she was stepping into a whole new world.
“It was the right time,” she says. “I had just come out of Olympic campaigning, and this was a project I was very happy to take on.”
If timing was everything, so was the vision—and a big part of that came from Alan Adler, a fellow Olympian, entrepreneur, and long-time figure in Brazilian sailing. Adler was the driving force behind bringing Brazil into SailGP, pulling together sponsorship from heavyweight backers like Mubadala Capital and devoting more than a year to laying the foundations for a competitive new team.
Grael is clear about his importance: “He really dedicated his time to start this project. Getting the funding, the right people, and the vision to make this happen—it was a huge effort.”
Why SailGP?
For Grael, the lure of SailGP wasn’t hard to define.
“I was always watching SailGP, thinking how great the racing looked,” she says. “It's just so fast-paced and intense—quick reactions, constant maneuvers, and no time to breathe.”
Coming from the high-adrenaline world of 49erFX Olympic racing, she was no stranger to pressure. But even she admits SailGP is a whole new level. “It’s really tight, with very close calls. You need to make decisions fast. The speed, the noise, the chaos—at first, it’s overwhelming. But once you get into it, it’s just really fun.”
Her first day of training in New Zealand was pure SailGP: chaos, adrenaline, and a pumping breeze. The wind was howling at 30 knots—the wildest conditions the league had ever raced in—and the Brazilians were about to find out what they'd signed up for. No sooner had they sheeted on than the bow slammed into a wave, sending a firehose blast of icy spray straight over the crew. “It hit us full in the face,” Grael laughs. “We were soaked, freezing, and laughing our heads off.” That moment, she says, broke the tension. “It shook off the nerves. After that, we just went for it. It felt like, okay, if we can handle this, we can handle anything.”
Building the Brazil Team
The Brazil crew includes some serious international firepower: Andy Maloney, a key part of Team New Zealand’s America’s Cup-winning campaigns, brings his calm precision to the role of flight controller; Leigh McMillan, with multiple America’s Cup and Extreme Sailing Series victories to his name, trims the wing; and Paul Goodison—Olympic gold medalist and three-time Moth World Champion—guides the team as strategist, helping to navigate the tactical chaos of SailGP’s short-course battles. Richard Mason, who previously raced with the Denmark SailGP Team, is part of the reserve squad.
On the Brazilian side, Grael has assembled a core group of talented athletes who, despite being new to the F50, bring determination, adaptability, and a strong team spirit. Her brother Marco, himself a double Olympian and accomplished 49er sailor, brings familiarity, trust, and Olympic-calibre teamwork to the crew, as does Grael's long-time Olympic crewmate and fellow double gold medalist Kahena Kunze. They are joined by professional windsurfer Mateus Isaac, now grinding on board with the explosive power and endurance honed from years on the PWA World Tour. While none of the Brazilian sailors had previous experience on an F50, Grael says their humility and willingness to learn have been key to the team’s chemistry. “There’s no ego,” she says. “Everyone’s here to work hard, learn fast, and contribute.”
Learning to Fly
Grael didn’t ease her way into getting to grips with the F50. After finishing her Olympic campaign in August, she was sailing her first SailGP training sessions by September. Preparation meant hours of simulator time, deep dives into YouTube race replays, and poring over team data. “There’s so much information, you could study this stuff for life,” she says.
The team’s performance analyst, Horacio Carabelli, and coach Pietro Sibello helped break down the technical side. But still, with only one training day before each SailGP event, the learning curve is punishingly steep.
Compounding that is the unique challenge of communication onboard. “In the FX, it’s just two people. On the F50, there are six—and everyone is mic’d up. It’s been one of our biggest challenges,” Grael explains. Unlike her Olympic boat, where conversations were direct, constant, and instinctive, the F50 demands a structured and highly disciplined communication system. Only a few crew members have headsets, which means every call has to be clear, concise, and timed to perfection.
For a new team still building trust and rhythm, it’s been a steep learning curve. “In our early races, we had people talking over each other, giving input at the same time—it created turbulence instead of clarity,” she says. “Now we’re learning how to manage that flow better, assigning roles, and making sure the right voice is heard at the right moment. It’s something we’re working on every day.”
Leading the Way
Despite her experience and enviable sailing resume, Grael admits that stepping into a leadership role hasn’t come naturally.
“I’m a terrible leader,” she laughs. “But I’ve got good people around me. I don’t need to impress anyone. Everyone knows their role.”
She leans on her crew, her coach, and veteran tactician Paul Goodison to provide balance and insight. “I’m learning every day,” she says. “And I think that’s okay.”
Injury has already tested the team’s depth. Her brother, a key member of the crew, suffered a broken bone in his hand in Sydney—discovered only after racing through pain in Los Angeles. But thanks to pre-planning by team boss Alder, the team could absorb the blow and carry on.
Progress Over Points
The Brazil SailGP Team isn’t lighting up the leaderboard just yet—but that’s not how Grael is measuring success. In a league as fiercely competitive as SailGP, she knows the first victories come in the form of growth, cohesion, and resilience.
“If you just look at the scoreboard, you could say it’s a disaster,” she says, candid as ever. “But if you look at how we’re sailing during the races—how we’re mixing it up in the middle of the fleet, sometimes even leading—it’s clear we’re making progress.”
From the outside, the results may not yet reflect their potential, but within the team, there's a strong sense of momentum. Each event brings new lessons, and Martine sees measurable gains in the team’s communication, decision-making, and overall racecraft. The Brazilians are starting to hold their own now in tight mark roundings, executing cleaner maneuvers under pressure, and most importantly, showing flashes of front-of-the-fleet speed.
There have already been standout moments—like a recent race in Los Angeles where Brazil came within a whisker of their first win, before Australian SailGP veteran Tom Slingsby swept past on the short final leg. “We were leading until right before the finish,” Grael recalls, “and we came so close. That was huge for us—not just emotionally, but as confirmation that we can be up there with the best.”
Her goals for the remainder of the season are as clear as they are ambitious. “Top-three finishes in races. Consistency. Finishing races in scoring positions. Just moving forward.”
Grael knows that in SailGP, nothing comes easy—especially for a new team up against the most experienced and elite sailors on the planet. But with every race, Brazil is shedding its rookie skin. “We’ve already proved we can be in the mix. Now it’s about doing that more often and converting it into points.”
A Symbol of Change
Grael is the first woman to helm a SailGP team. She doesn’t dwell on the milestone. In fact, she tries not to think about it at all.
“When I’m out there, I don’t even think about being a woman or not. I’m just a sailor,” she says. “I get just as mad as anyone else when something goes wrong. I’m in the same fight.”
But even if she doesn’t focus on it, she knows the symbolism matters. In a male-dominated sport, especially at the highest levels of professional foiling, her presence on the wheel is both groundbreaking and overdue.
“From the outside, it changes a lot,” she says. “I represent something that’s not always comfortable for people who liked how things were. But that’s okay. Change is never comfortable.”
She acknowledges the barriers that still exist for women in elite sailing—not just in SailGP, but across the sport. “There are so many talented women out there who’ve struggled to get opportunities. Sometimes they’re seen as a threat to the status quo instead of potential team members. That has to change—and not just from the sailors, but from the leadership of the sport.”
When I asked whether she would have joined SailGP if the opportunity had been as a strategist rather than as helm, Grael didn’t hesitate. “If it was for the Brazilian team? Very likely, yes,” she said. “I like the strategist role. I’ve been skippering and doing my own strategy for a while, so I feel like I could fit that role quite well. But of course, it’s more fun to be skipper.”
She never set out to be a trailblazer, but she’s becoming one simply by doing the job. “If it opens the door for someone else,” she says, “then that’s something to be proud of.”
A Warm Reception
Grael may be breaking ground as SailGP’s first female helm, but from the moment she stepped into the circuit, she felt something unexpected: welcome.
“At my first event—even though I wasn’t sailing yet, just observing—I already knew 60 percent of the people in the paddock,” she says. “It felt familiar. Comfortable.”
Despite the cutthroat competition on the water, off it there’s a strong sense of community among the sailors. Grael, with her Olympic pedigree and easygoing presence, found herself quickly embraced. “You don’t get a lot of time to chat during events—it’s all go-go-go—but just from the looks and the vibes, I felt like people were happy I was there.”
That said, she’s also very aware that her presence represents change. And not everyone in the sport is ready for that.
“I think I represent something that isn’t comfortable for some people,” she says. “I’m in a position that a lot of people didn’t expect to see filled by someone like me—and that challenges the way things have always been.”
She’s heard the stories—other talented women being viewed as a “threat to the boat” instead of a legitimate option to improve a team. “It’s frustrating. There are so many capable women out there who deserve more than a token role. Change needs to come not just from inside the boat, but from those making decisions at the top.”
Coming Home
SailGP's next stop is Rio de Janeiro. For Grael, it’s a homecoming. For Brazil's sailing fanatics, it’s a moment in time.
“There’s been so much excitement,” she says. “Everyone’s talking about it—from the surfing world to sailors and people who just want to see Brazil on the global stage. It’s going to be loud.”
The buzz around the Brazil SailGP Team’s debut on home waters has rippled far beyond the sailing community. In a sports-mad country where Olympic champions are national heroes, Grael’s role as team skipper has sparked curiosity and pride. Group chats are buzzing, news outlets are taking notice, and fans from across Brazil’s diverse sporting landscape are gearing up to cheer the team on.
For Grael, the event in Rio is more than just another stop on the SailGP tour—it’s personal. She grew up sailing these waters, learning her craft in the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain and the shifting seabreezes of Guanabara Bay. Now she returns at the helm of a high-speed foiling catamaran, leading Brazil’s first-ever SailGP team in front of a home crowd.
She’s cautiously optimistic about the conditions. “This time of year the winds can be light in Rio,” she admits. “That scares me a bit—the idea that our big moment might end up underpowered. But usually, we get wind in the afternoons, and even on the lightest days, there’s a chance for something. I’m hopeful we’ll get just enough to put on a show.”
And what a show it promises to be—an iconic venue, a passionate crowd, with a home team determined to make its mark on sailing's most competitive high-performance circuit.
Justin Chisholm
