Aerial view of a sailboat with colorful sails on the open ocean, leaving a wake behind.

BELIEVE BELONG ACHIEVE

This is the forefront of everything we do at Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing.

Believe, Belong, Achieve is how we live, lead, and compete.

I’ve learned in sport and in life that performance isn’t just about talent or opportunity. It’s about belief, belonging, and what becomes possible when both are present. It’s how we are as a team, not just focusing on the race or performance.

We have three main activations this year centered around the Believe, Belong, Achieve initiative.

Believe

Belief is where everything starts. I want people to see they are worth being in every room they enter. My entire life I have been surrounded by people who believed in me and what I could accomplish in the sailing world. When people believe in who they are fully, without hiding, they perform better. And when individuals believe in themselves, teams get stronger, families get stronger, and communities get stronger.

When people believe in who they are fully, without hiding, they perform better. And when individuals believe in themselves, teams get stronger, families get stronger, and communities get stronger.

The image shows a close-up view of a flower with pink petals, a yellow-orange middle, and a red bottom petal against a black background.

But belief doesn’t exist in a vacuum nor does it exist without concrete action.

Two women in sunglasses smiling and shaking hands on a sailboat with water and hills in the background.

Two women sailing on a boat, one is sitting wearing a cap and life jacket, the other is standing holding a radio, smiling, with the water in the background

Internship Program with Rocking the Boat

This year, my team and I are partnering with Rocking the Boat in the Bronx to bring New York students into the world of offshore sailing.

Through this program:

My team and I will be providing hands-on-sailing instruction for students

They learn teamwork, navigation, and leadership skills

They gain exposure to professional offshore racing

They see someone who looks like them operating at the highest level of the sport

© Eloi Stichelbaut - polaRYSE / 11th Hour Racing

Youtube video

Belong

Simplified illustration of an atom with a nucleus and electrons orbiting, and a star and a small orange circle representing particles.

Belonging is what allows belief to turn into performance.

Teams are built on everyone knowing they have something valuable to contribute and their contributions being taken to their full capacity.

When people feel they belong - that they can be their true authentic selves - they collaborate better, innovate more, and perform at their best.

View from a sailing yacht with solar panels on deck, sailing on open water during sunset or sunrise.

Two men in yellow racing suits inside a boat, inspecting equipment and speaking to each other, with windows covered in frost.

Through our Believe, Belong, Achieve Workshops

We host structured workshops designed to:

Facilitate open conversations around identity and belonging

Explore how inclusion directly impacts performance

Equip participants with tools to build stronger, more cohesive teams

These workshops are delivered to:

Sailing teams
Youth groups
Corporate partners
Community organizations

Request a BBA Workshop for your team here :

BBA Workshop

Two smiling sailors in blue shirts celebrating on a sailboat, with one raising his fist and the other extending his arm, against a cloudy sky.

A person in a yellow waterproof jacket and black gloves is cleaning the windshield of a boat with water splashing around, wearing a headset and sunglasses.

Achieve

Achievement is what happens when belief and belonging come together.

When we build systems where people can thrive, teams are inclusive, open, and empowered, extraordinary things happen.

A sailboat sailing on the ocean during sunset with a clear sky.

A woman wearing a blue beanie and blue fleece jacket inside a boat, looking out through a window at the water.

Inclusive Sailing Instructor Program

We are developing and delivering training for sailing instructors focused on:

Building psychologically safe team environments

Leading diverse crews effectively

Turning inclusion into competitive advantage

Recognizing and addressing bias

Independent Research & Validation

Leeds Beckett University Independent Study

Believe, Belong, Achieve was once a philosophy and we are now putting it into credible action with the partnership of Leeds Beckett University.

In Stage One of an independent study, Leeds Beckett University explored the foundations of Believe, Belong, Achieve to assess:

Whether this leadership approach works in high-performance environments

Whether it can extend beyond sailing into social and climate impact work

Whether it can be replicated and scaled

The guiding question was simple:

Can the Believe, Belong, Achieve framework work beyond sport?

1. Strong Support for the Believe, Belong, Achieve Framework

The research found clear alignment with existing leadership and performance literature:

When individuals believe in themselves and feel they belong, they are significantly more likely to achieve meaningful outcomes.

However, the study also highlighted something critical:

These ideas are widely discussed but rarely implemented consistently in sustained, real-world, high-performance settings.

Believe, Belong, Achieve moves from theory to practice.

2. The “Frankie Way”

The study identified a distinctive leadership style embedded throughout my career:

Relational leadership over rigid hierarchy
Psychological safety as a performance driver
Trust and shared ownership of goals
Learning through reflection and lived experience

This approach — referred to as the “Frankie Way” — has been developed through years of elite sailing and team-building and shows strong potential for application beyond sport, including social and climate justice contexts.

3. What Happens Next

Following Stage One, Leeds Beckett University will be moving from validation to activation.

Next steps include:

Piloting Believe, Belong, Achieve in real-world environments
Co-designing change with participating teams
Measuring what works (and what doesn’t)
Iterating the framework based on evidence
Building toward scalable models for broader impact

Join us in making a more inclusive future

Explore our activations, partnerships, and campaigns to see how these values come to life.