From the Archives
From the Archives: Three on deck for America3
BAM’s March 1995 article on Merritt Carey ’91, Melissa Purdy ’91, and Hannah Swett ’91
By Brian Doyle ’92, Conor Bohan ’92
September 1st, 2026
This spring three 1991 classmates started their days with a 6:30 a.m. workout and a strength-index check at the gym. Their power lunches took place not in a corporate boardroom, but under sail in the Pacific Ocean; the menu was strictly low-calorie and high-carbohydrate.
Hannah Swett ’91 and Melissa Purdy ’91 at a christening ceremony for the Mighty Mary.PHOTO: BRIAN DOYLE ’92
Merritt Carey ’91, Melissa Purdy ’91, and Hannah Swett ’91 were crew members on Mighty Mary, the America3 syndicate’s boat contending for the right to defend the America’s Cup. As of early April, they were the only team members to have sailed in every race since the start of the campaign last summer.
Six hundred women responded in the spring of 1994 to an open call from Bill Koch’s America3 syndicate, and of those, only fifty were invited for team tryouts in San Diego, the site of the races. Twenty-four were chosen.
When the call came to report to San Diego, Purdy had just returned from the J24 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, where she’d set a record as the top female finisher. Carey was in the middle of the ocean, sailing the Whitbread Round the World Race.
Merritt Carey stands on the boat’s bow at dockside.PHOTO: BRIAN DOYLE ’92
Both Swett and Purdy are veteran competitors. Swett grew up sailing in Jamestown, Rhode Island, and won the high school national sailing championships as a freshman. At Brown, she and Purdy never finished lower than second at the women’s college nationals form 1988 to 1991. Purdy was also a two-time All-American (1990, 1991). Carey, on the other hand, had never sailed competitively before the Whitbread, but has made up for lost time.
Now the three women spend every day together, keeping fit and focusing on boat speed. Carey is the team’s bowman; she sets up all the sails at the front of the boat and scales the mast when rigging problems arise. As port trimmer, Swett controls the lines that adjust the forward sails. Just behind her, Purdy controls the mainsail, adjusting its tension and shape to achieve maximum speed.
The schedule is grueling. “The coaches told us they were going to give us a day off,” Swett notes, “but we told them we couldn’t afford to.”
Update 9/1/26: The Mighty Mary is making waves again. Premiering September 11, 2026, the new documentary Mighty Mary chronicles the wild origins, fierce grit, and ultimate scandal behind a team that permanently reshaped what was possible in elite sports. Watch the trailer below:
