A childhood at sea, and a lifetime of miles
Leah’s compass was set early, not by a junior dinghy program, but by island life in the Azores and the feeling of freedom that comes from being small in a big ocean. She grew up around cruising boats, moving between islands on 40 to 90 footers, learning seamanship as part of daily life rather than a curated pathway. It shaped her relationship with risk and adventure, but also her view of what a sailing career can look like when you did not start with the “right” background.
“Growing up in the Azores, adventure wasn’t something planned, it was simply everyday life. Living on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and having its waters as a playground, my imagination was free to run wild and I fell in love with just being at sea. It was such a freeing experience.”
That early freedom became a kind of resilience she protects fiercely. She speaks openly about how career disappointments and bad leadership can shrink a person’s world, and why she refuses to let that happen. The miles she has logged are not just statistics; they are proof that there are multiple ways into this sport and multiple ways to build credibility. Over 70 000 nautical miles later, including a 1st in class (6th overall, together with co-skipper Peter Becker) in the double handed leg of the Bermuda 1-2 in 2021, and representing the USA at the 2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championship in Cowes (alongside Jesse Fielding), she still returns to the same baseline: curiosity, courage, and the willingness to keep moving.
The invisible work: rigs, refits, and becoming your own rescue plan
If Leah’s sailing story has a signature, it is her belief that competence is built where nobody is watching. She has spent years in the background of campaigns: up the rig, down in the engine room, and deep in the practical reality that keeps boats moving. It is work that rarely makes a highlight reel, but it changes who you are when the sea stops being poetic and starts being demanding.
“The better you know your tool, the more skilled you will be at using it. I have much more confidence to push a boat where I know and trust what is behind the curtain than one I don’t.” She shares how all that “invisible” work has shaped her confidence as both a sailor and a leader.
“In offshore racing especially, if something breaks mid-race, there is no rib to come alongside with an engineer or a sparkie to save the day.”
That mindset explains why shore crew is not a consolation prize for her. It is a platform for mastery. She knows that offshore racing rewards crews who can diagnose, patch, and adapt under fatigue, cold, and pressure. She also knows how easy it is for young sailors to underestimate this side of the sport until the first real breakdown. Her message is blunt and practical: you are not only a sailor offshore, you are also the engineer, the sail loft, the medic, and the decision-maker. Competence is performance.
Foiling, leadership, and the fight to make access real
Leah did not enter foiling through the typical pipeline either. Her route came through The Magenta Project, where an initial push to form an all-women team evolved into a broader mission: to introduce more women to foiling, not as a headline, but as a repeatable reality. The barrier, in her view, is not mysterious. It is cost, compounded by gatekeeping and the absence of a true middle ground between entry-level boats and elite circuits.
“Hands down, cost. There were no real opportunities for non-youth women to try out foiling at an affordable price.”
That is what she, together with the Magenta Foiling Pathway team set out to change. In one year, the pathway ran 13 clinics globally, designed to welcome women of all ages and backgrounds, including those who have never foiled before.
“Our clinics certainly provide a more affordable opportunity, at an average cost of 250 euros per weekend, for female sailors of all ages around the world to give foiling a try.”
Leah is clear about what these weekends are and are not. They do not magically erase the cost of owning a foiling boat or campaigning professionally. But they do what sailing often fails to do: uncover hidden talent and replace intimidation with first-hand experience.
Her leadership philosophy is equally concrete. She describes leadership as an active practice: bringing order to chaos, creating space for quieter voices, and building teams where strengths are contributions rather than status symbols. She is also pushing the model further by training local coaches alongside clinics, so momentum does not disappear the moment the visiting team flies home.
A future built on pathways, not wishful thinking
Leah’s future is ambitious and unapologetically performance-driven: The Ocean Race in 2027, a revived Globe40 campaign with the right co-skipper, and a long-term life in the sport that does not require burnout as the entry fee. But her bigger vision is cultural. She wants foiling to be the discipline where sailing finally learns to build opportunity in parallel, not as an afterthought. When she pictures herself on the Globe40 start line, she thinks:
“It represents a different way in. A reminder that you don’t have to grow up sailing dinghies, go to the Olympics, or be the top match racer in your university team to race around the world on awesome boats. I hope that start line signals possibility, that there are multiple paths into this sport, and that grit, patience, curiosity, and commitment can be just as powerful as a traditional pedigree.”
If you ask her what “worth it” looks like, she does not talk about slogans. She talks about start lines that look balanced, clinics that turn into careers, and a sport that measures success by participation, retention, progression, and diversity, not just podium photos. Leah Sweet is not waiting for sailing to change on its own. She is building the scaffolding that makes change inevitable. And if she could speak directly to a young woman in a small coastal town, maybe in the Azores, maybe somewhere else, who dreams of professional offshore sailing but has no idea where to start, she would say:
“Be patient and stay focused, even when doors don’t open and emails go unanswered. Keep looking for the right team and don’t mistake rejection for a lack of potential. Take the opportunities you’re given and learn everything you can, but know that proving yourself endlessly is not the same as progressing. Stay humble, but recognise your value, and know when it’s time to stop working for free. This path isn’t easy or fast and yours won’t look like anyone else’s— it’s a career and a lifestyle, not a shortcut to money or glory — but for the right people, the rewards are extraordinary. You’ll find your people and your place. And when the fear and butterflies show up, embrace them; they’re often a sign you’re growing.”
Follow Leah Sweet at: @leahsweetracing
