Giulia Conti, a four-time Olympian and winning skipper of the Puig Women’s America’s Cup, admits she was uncomfortable with the speed of the AC40—at first. “But then it becomes a habit ...

There is ice on the foredeck as the blue-wrapped J/7 with the No 1. on its mainsail glides to a smooth stop alongside the dock at Sail Newport (Rhode Island). Once secured to the cleats, the crew ...