#WomenInSailing - Wendy Schmidt

“When Andrea Visintini, the yachtsman from Trieste who has been part of my team as a sailor for decades, described Trieste and the Barcolana to me, he was not overselling at all.” Even when she talks about regattas and sailing, American entrepreneur and philanthropist Wendy Smith, who is the owner, skipper and helmswoman of Deep Blue, speaks the language of business.

However, she does not talk about work when she gets on a boat, and boats and sailing are a passion of hers that began only ten years ago. “I chose sailing not as a girl, but as an adult, about ten years ago, because it is a sport you can specialise in at any age, you can always do it, age does not count.”
“I really like sailing because it requires concentration, and the Barcolana is an extremely interesting challenge, I have never seen so many boats together. You need strategy to be quick to leave the starting line and sail freely,” she added.

She then spoke about her commitment in the 11th Hour Project, which is taking her to seas all over the world. “We needed a big sailing project to get the world's attention on the state of the oceans and the need for urgent action to safeguard them. We wanted to speak to a large audience, so we chose the toughest and biggest challenges to make news while spreading our message.”

The boat that is currently in Trieste for the Barcolana is about sustainability as well. “We launched it in 2020, and it was laid up for one year because of the pandemic. I called it Deep Blue to remind ourselves every day that the sea is in danger and must be safeguarded.”