Enjoy our interview with 3 time Ficker Cup competitor, Nicole Breault. She had the best finish last year 4th but was knocked out by friend and fellow woman skipper Megan Thompson from NZ who punched a ticked for Congressional Cup by finishing 2nd. Only the top 3 of the 8 finalists chosen for the Ficker Cup move on to the Congressional Cup two weeks later in Long Beach, California.

“very excited for this years chance to try again for a coveted spot in this year’s Con Cup, feeling good”

Nicole is 52 years old, sailing since was 2 and grew up in eastern Connecticut sailing on Long Island Sound. As a youth she competed in the International 420 class – a two person high performance dinghy by those days’ standard. She developed a taste for international travel and competition as a teenager.

While studying at Yale she was recruited for soccer but chose collegiate sailing full time and graduated with All American honors.

Nicole dabbled in an Olympic bid in 470 class before starting a teaching career where she taught high school history, soccer and was a sailing coach in Connecticut public schools for 10 years.

She was introduced to match racing during a sabbatical and has never looked back – match racing now for 12+ years and based in San Francisco Bay Area – representing St. Francis Yacht Club.

At start of 2024 Nicole is the top ranked US woman skipper (5th in the world), #2 open rankings (12th in the world).

We are pleased to share her story and her plans for competing this month in the Ficker Cup – hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club.