Hannah Mills returned to SailGP just three months after giving birth

When Hannah Mills sets sail on the British yacht SailGP this weekend, it will all feel very natural to her.

As the team strategist, your role is to control what the other ships are doing to avoid damaging collisions while plotting maneuvers and strategies to achieve victory.

Mills, the most decorated sailor in Olympic history, is excellent at what she does. British skipper Sir Ben Ainslie describes her as a “once-in-a-generation talent”.

But life has also changed dramatically for Mills, 35, since the arrival of her young daughter Sienna five months ago.

Mills, who doesn’t take much maternity leave, remarkably returned to the British ship just three months after giving birth.

British sailor Hannah Mills with her fiance Nick Dempsey and baby daughter Sienna in New Zealand ahead of this weekend’s SailGP race at Lyttelton

Mills, who is a strategist for Team Great Britain in SailGP, returned to the water just three months after giving birth.

Mills, who is a strategist for Team Great Britain in SailGP, returned to the water just three months after giving birth.

The British ship in the water in Sydney Harbor during the most recent SailGP race

The British ship in the water in Sydney Harbor during the most recent SailGP race

SailGP is also a long way from the polished image of sailing.

These high-tech catamarans tear through the waves at speeds approaching 100 km/h, subjecting bodies to intense G-forces. It’s fast, furious and not for the faint of heart.

Even someone as experienced as Mills was worried about whether his body would hold up before his return to the water in Singapore in January.

She suffered from extreme fatigue during the early months of her pregnancy, forcing her to struggle to even get off the couch at times.

Then there were other unknowns. How would the little Sienna adapt to long-haul flights?

What would happen when she was left with dad, three-time Olympic windsurfing medalist Nick Dempsey, on the shore while mom had to concentrate on winning races?

Would a crying baby inside the camp alter the approach of the highly motivated British team?

These are certainly not questions that every new mother must face.

“It really felt like a test of where we are with Sienna and how she handled when I wasn’t there for five or six hours a day,” says Mills.

‘The physical side for me, it’s been a slow process. You have to be very careful after being pregnant and having a baby, it’s easy to rush.

‘I’m still feeding Sienna, so that takes a lot out of me anyway. The important thing was not to get sick in order to continue training properly, which I managed to do.

SailGP is not for the faint hearted as crews take a lot of risks to gain an advantage

SailGP is not for the faint hearted as crews take a lot of risks to gain an advantage

After the Sydney race, Mills and his family spent a week touring New Zealand's South Island in a motorhome ahead of this weekend's race in Christchurch.

After the Sydney race, Mills and his family spent a week touring New Zealand’s South Island in a motorhome ahead of this weekend’s race in Christchurch.

Local schoolchildren learn about environmental protection

Before this weekend’s races, Mills visited Lyttelton Elementary School to talk about another topic close to his heart: sustainability and environmental protection.

Teachers told the kids all about seagrass and photosynthesis as part of the team’s Protect Our Future program, before Mills talked about sailing and SailGP, with the water where the race will take place visible from the window of the classroom.

Mills also joined a local yacht club to plant trees as part of a nature recovery initiative.

“It was about building it slowly and being mindful on the boat when the conditions are a little more extreme, just to take it more carefully.

‘It’s logistical verbiage for me to make sure I express [breast milk] before you go sailing, otherwise it can be a bit awkward.

‘So Nick has his supply and mostly she takes the bottle well. But some days he has a nightmare that she is picky and won’t accept him.

‘In Singapore, I was so nervous about getting back on the ship. He had not sailed anything since October 2021, which is a long time without competing or sailing. That’s not being on a ship at all.

“I was very nervous, but once we got off the dock and into the water, I was so caught up in what I had to do that I didn’t really think much of her until we started to head back.”

From there, the couple have embraced the globe-trotting lifestyle that an international sailing competition brings.

Mills celebrates Olympic gold in the 470 class at Tokyo 2020 with Eilidh McIntyre

Mills celebrates Olympic gold in the 470 class at Tokyo 2020 with Eilidh McIntyre

His teammate Nick Dempsey won windsurfing silver for Great Britain at the Rio 2016 Games, his third Olympic medal.

His teammate Nick Dempsey won windsurfing silver for Great Britain at the Rio 2016 Games, his third Olympic medal.

They continued on to Sydney, where hurricane force winds forced the cancellation of the second day of racing, before crossing Tasmania to New Zealand.

Hannah, Nick and Sienna spent a week touring the South Island in a motorhome, exploring the stunning mountains and crystal clear waters that draw so many to New Zealand.

“It was incredible, I had never been in a place like this,” says Mills.

“It made me feel happy and sad in a way to see how, compared to most places we go, how pristine the environment here is.”

But how was life on the road with a five-month-old?

“We were lucky, she was super calm. It was always a challenge, but we made it work. She came on some walks with us in her little sling.

The couple have been enjoying New Zealand's stunning scenery, including hiking in Sienna.

The couple have been enjoying New Zealand’s stunning scenery, including hiking in Sienna.

“He sleeps really well in the car, so wherever we went, he’d just take a nice long nap.”

Having a child resulted in the kind of difficult conversations about family sacrifice for many new parents with careers and aspirations of their own.

When mom and dad are both highly motivated athletes, things go up a few notches.

Dempsey, 42, who won silver medals in windsurfing at London 2012 and Rio 2016, had landed his dream job coaching aspiring Olympians from around the world.

But Mills wanted to get back to high level sailing so something had to give.

Dempsey opened up to the dilemma in a Recent episode of the Performance People podcast hosted by Ben and Georgie Ainslie.

With just two rounds remaining in the SailGP season, Great Britain will be hoping for a podium finish

With just two rounds remaining in the SailGP season, Great Britain will be hoping for a podium finish

SailGP Ranking

1. Australia – 76 points

2. New Zealand – 64 points

3. France – 63pts

4. Great Britain – 61 points

5. Denmark – 57pts

6. United States – 52 points

7. Canada – 49 points

8. Spain – 27 points

9. Switzerland – 25 points

“I left my role as an Olympic coach and from traveling around the world,” he said. “With me going one way and Hannah going the other, we had the simple problem of who takes care of Sienna.

‘Leaving was a difficult decision because it was my dream job. It was hard to stop because it was an unfinished project.

We are only a year and a half away from the Olympics and on that team we have people who can win gold medals.

“We are both quite guilty of making decisions based on our careers, our desires and our drive. Something has to give at some point because two people like this chasing thing doesn’t work.

Another complication was the delicate matter of bringing a baby into the inner sanctum of a high-performance sports team.

“It’s a performance environment and you don’t want to be the one there with a screaming baby upsetting the tone of the whole regimen,” adds Dempsey.

Fortunately, Sienna behaves immaculately as Mills discusses Great Britain’s prospects in this weekend’s SailGP race in New Zealand.

They slipped to fourth in the leaderboard in Sydney, but SailGP’s format, where the entire season boils down to one winner-take-all race in San Francisco in May, means there’s a lot to play for. .

‘We have to be optimistic. Our team is incredible, we have the best sailors,” says Mills.

‘Our season has been up and down with incidents. So to have a chance to be in the top three is amazing and if we get that spot, anything can happen.”

‘Hitting the water at those speeds is like hitting the TARMAC’

The Emirates Great Britain team experienced its fair share of drama last time out in Sydney when grinder Matt Gotrel fell overboard during a high-speed race.

The boat was traveling near 50 mph when Gotrel slipped and fell through the fairing into the water. Although he remained attached to the boat by his safety line, he suffered a muscle strain in his right hip and leg.

British team driver Ben Ainslie said: “It was really intense. When you hit the water at those speeds it’s like hitting the tarmac, it’s solid.

“He took a little bit of damage, but luckily it’s nothing that will put him out of action for long.”

‘It was an interesting day because we had that and then in the second race one of the control buttons didn’t work. So it wasn’t until the third race that we were able to have a solid race.’