Aleh has a decorated career in the sport; Olympic medals, world championship titles and experience across a range of vessels including the SailGPF50 foiling catamaran.
But in the months before Team New Zealand trials, Aleh told the Herald she found herself in an interesting place in the sport.
“For the month or two before we all sort of took up gaming,” Aleh said.
“I don’t think any of us girls really had done any gaming before so it was a bit of a jump in the deep end with learning how to press a lot of buttons. We all had the steering wheel and were getting used to the game aspect of it.”
Jo Aleh will sail for Team New Zealand in the Women's America's Cup. Photo / ETNZ
In the Women’s America’s Cup, the 12 competing teams will be sailing in an AC40. The configuration for the regatta will utilise an autopilot setting to control the flight of the boat, with the four sailors onboard including two helmspeople and two sail trimmers.
Besides the steering wheel, controlling the AC40 is largely done through a series of buttons which operate the foil arms, cant system and both jib and mainsails.
It’s a very different way of sailing for many in the team, and part of the trials saw them test themselves on the simulator; essentially a video game in which the controller is that of an AC40.
Aleh was one of five sailors selected to represent Team New Zealand in the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup, alongside Molly Meech - who is also Aleh’s partner in the 49er FX class looking to qualify for the Paris Olympics - Liv Mackay, Erica Dawson and Gemma Jones.
Aleh said the group would be getting involved in some simulator work “shortly” as they looked to hone their skills with an eye on Barcelona. Many of the sailors are involved in Olympic campaigns and SailGP as well, and Aleh said it had taken a bit of organising around everyone’s calendars.
They won’t be able to get into the actual boat until at least next month, however. Team New Zealand’s one-design AC40 was delayed in being shipped back from Jeddah following the second America’s Cup preliminary regatta late last year; caught up in delays caused by attacks on ships by Yemen-based Houthi militants.
Aleh said not having the boat immediately available might benefit the team in the long run.
“We definitely need to do some work in the sim before we get in the boat, so it’s probably not the worst thing that we don’t have the boat yet,” she said.
While the team is yet to dive into the thick of things, the five sailors were very familiar with one another, which Aleh believed was a great way to be starting for a new team in an unfamiliar boat.
“We’ve all known each other for years; I think I’ve actually coached most of the rest of the team at times, and I obviously sail with Molly,” Aleh said.
“We’ve got a lot of good history and we’re all pretty similar in how we want to approach it. The goal is to win it. We’re all pretty clear on that and we’re going to do all that we can as a team to get there.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
