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This article was originally published in the September issue of Yachting & Boating Quarterly, Yachting New Zealand's new e-magazine. Click here to read more.
By Suzanne McFadden
Jo Aleh can stop apologising.
Over the last 18 months, the two-time Olympic medallist has been learning the ropes in a 49erFX with her new sailing partner, Molly Meech, and admits making her comeback to world sailing in a skiff hasn’t been straightforward.
“There have definitely been moments where I’ve apologised for the way we’re going, only to be told ‘No, no, no – stop apologising’,” Aleh says. “We obviously want to do well and we’re putting everything into it, but it’s pretty hard when you don’t get much back in terms of seeing progress.
“But we’re very lucky with the people around us; when we lose belief sometimes, they’re like ‘No, no, just keep at it, you’ll get there’.”
Their supporters were right, and their confidence in Meech and Aleh was repaid when the Kiwi skiff pair finished sixth at the sailing world championships in The Hague in August. They made their first medal race in the process – and qualified New Zealand for a spot on the 49erFX start-line of next year’s Paris Olympics.
Unfortunately, light winds on their final day meant they didn’t start the 10-boat medal race, especially when they still had a mathematical chance of stepping up onto the podium.
“It was a bit of a shame,” says Meech. “It would’ve been nice for us to race in a medal race for the first time, but that’s just the nature of our sport.”
“We’ll just have to do it in the next one,” Aleh chips in.
It’s been a big leap of faith for Aleh, making her return to competitive sailing after a six-year break, following almost a decade dominating 470 sailing with Polly Powrie and winning Olympic gold and silver.
Jo Aleh and Molly Meech achieved a best result of the season in The Hague after a number of mistakes and capsizes earlier in the season. Photos / World Sailing, Sailing Energy
Meech, a former FX world champion and Olympic silver medallist, says she and Aleh always knew what they signed up for when they agreed to join forces for a shot at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"It was always part of the challenge. And we’re both really competitive,” Meech says.
Aleh agrees: “I don’t think either of us would do something if it was easy! We love a challenge.
“With anything you do like this there are the good times and some pretty tough times, and you do question whether you’re going in the right direction. It felt like we were getting beaten up a lot earlier this year, so it’s nice to turn it around and prove we’re on the right track together.
“And it’s definitely been enjoyable – I’m loving it.”
The pair certainly found their rhythm despite testing conditions in The Hague – from the North Sea current to the strong breeze and a highly competitive fleet.
Sailing consistently throughout the regatta – scoring their first race win and ending each day in the top 10 – they showed all their recent work, to get off the start-line well then keeping things simple on the racecourse, paid off.
“We’re super proud to have made the medal race, and to qualify New Zealand for the Olympics is awesome. For us, it was really cool to feel like things are finally coming together. We’re really piecing things together now,” Meech says.
“It wasn’t easy. The tide was catching a lot of people out – even when we all knew there was going to be a lot of current. Equally, most of our racing was in 15-20 plus knots, and there was quite a chop.
“And our fleet’s so close, everyone’s pushing really hard these days. So, every mistake you make, you get punished for it. Which is great for the fleet, but it makes racing a lot more challenging. So you really have to be onto it.”
Aleh and Meech have been sailing together in the 49erFX for just over 18 months. Photos / Sailing Energy, World Sailing
They weren’t the only Kiwis at the worlds to secure Olympic berths for their nation – joined by the 49er, Nacra 17, ILCA 7 and the men’s and women’s windfoil.
The rewards have come to Meech and Aleh at the end of a long stint training and racing in Europe since April.
They got off to a tough start, finishing 17th at the Princess Sofia Regatta in tricky light breezes, then failed to make the gold fleet at French Olympic Week in Hyères.
They followed that up with “too many swims and frustrating mistakes” at the Olympic test event in Marseille, ending up 16th.
“This is probably the first regatta where we haven’t had major stuff-ups. Well, maybe one or two, but it’s definitely less,” Aleh says.
“In sailing there are so many things you need to get right. It’s been a bit painful in some of the last events we’ve done – we’d do so many good things and at the finish of the day, we’re like ‘Oh we did this, this and this’. But then there would be one thing – like in the Paris test event, we capsized, which was mostly my fault. One big mistake can cover all the good things you’ve been doing.
“Sailing the FX is very much like that, and the way the learning process goes, while you’re making mistakes, the good stuff doesn’t really show. So hopefully we can stop making the big mistakes now.”
The pair have their sights firmly set on next year's Paris Olympic Games after securing a country spot in the class. Photos / World Sailing, Sailing Energy
With less than a year to the Olympics, Meech and Aleh decided they were better off spending a decent chunk of time in the Northern Hemisphere – especially during another erratic Auckland winter.
They trained in the Spanish port of Santander with locals and 2021 world champions, Tamara Echegoyen and Paula Barceló, and under the close eye of the Kiwis’ coach, Javier Torres del Moral, who guided the Brazilian 49erFX crew to gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I think we realised we had to be here when we’re so limited with only 11 months until the Olympics,” Aleh says. “We have a really good relationship with Tamara and Paula – they came to New Zealand last summer. So we’ve got different bases we can go and know we’re always sailing with top-quality boats.
“Every time you come home you lose a week with travel and jetlag. So we’re trying to make sure we’re making the most of our sailing, and we’re lucky we’re both happy enough to be away from home for this long.”
Now the challenge is to earn selection for the New Zealand team to line up at the Paris Olympics sailing venue of Marseille next July.
“We have a pretty good plan and an amazing coach in Javier. We really trust that he knows what we need to do,” Aleh says. “It’s a matter of really putting in the effort and ticking off what we can in the time we have.
“We know we probably won’t bring it all together until closer to the Games. We know it’s going to be a pretty big ask. But as long as we’re making progress, that’s all we can do.”
Meech, who’s also working to complete her Masters in environmental sustainability, says she’s continually learning, on and off the water.
“Jo and I are definitely still learning about each other and how we race together and make improvements along the way. We’ve had a lot of experience in different areas in the past, but bringing it all together and learning how best to work together – it’s a journey. And it’s been fun so far.”
