Volvo Ocean Race - Womens Olympic Medalist misses out on Volvo spot

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com NZ on 25 Aug 2017 Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, Jo Aleh has missed selection for a crew position in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race.

Aleh had been trialling for one of the crew positions on Team Brunel.

Fellow Gold and Silver medalist and America's Cup champion, Peter Burling has been confirmed on the crew of Dutch-flagged Team Brunel, but will not be sailing on every leg, due to other commitments.

Writing on her blog, she disclosed that she had received a letter from the Team saying that she had missed out on a sport for the race which begins in late October from Alicante, Spain.

After waiting for an answer since my trial with Brunel, I finally know today, that no, I will not be going back to sail with the team again, I am not required…

It is a strange mix of emotions… On one hand, I have pushed hard this last year to get myself in contention – chasing big boat opportunities, going hard in the gym (and at the eating), studying and getting my RYA Yachtsmaster and succeeding in a way when I did get myself a trial. Where I at least go to find out what sailing these boats is like, and how it is to be in such a team, even if only for a few weeks. So to ‘fail’ at something like this – is a bit hard. I am not someone that takes not achieving lightly.

However, on the flip side, I am also strangely happy, I am still not entirely convinced that trying to do the race was the right idea for me, I often found myself more frustrated with it all than loving it, and my body definitely tried to rebel along the way (seasickness and all).

So now, one door closes, one I fought hard for a year to open, but where it closes, another one opens. Maybe the next door will really feel like it's perfect for me, or maybe I will just keep searching for a while longer… We will see.

For the rest of her blog click here!

For an earlier interview with Suzanne McFadden of Newsroom click here

For the current Volvo Ocean Race, crew numbers are allowed to range from seven male sailors to 11 female sailors with a mix of crew sizes in between

Most of the entries are taking a male female combination. One entry Scallywag is has opted for an all male crew, with skipper David Witt declaring that they 'didn't want to be part of a social experiment' in the 45,000nm round the world race.

In the previous race the all female crew aboard Team SCA performed well in the latter stages, but a paid the price for not having any female involvement in crews in many previous editions of the race, with Amer Sports Two in the 2000/01 Volvo Ocean Race being the next most recent entry. Team SCA were reported to have been the best funded team in the last Volvo Ocean Race.

Aleh won her second Olympic medal, with Polly Powrie at the 2016 Olympics after a plucky comeback after they were scored UFD and DSQ - both in controversial circumstances. They were awarded the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of Year in 2013.

Since Powrie and Aleh decided to follow different agendas after the 2016 Olympics, Aleh has made a determined effort to break into offshore racing, sailing in various events. However despite her size, ideally suited to a skipper's role in an Olympic dinghy class, making the transition from 'Fantasy land' (at the back of the boat) to 'Adventure land' has always been difficult.

The decision to give a crew bonus to teams including additional female crew above the seven permitted males, is ostensibly a nod in the direction of the extra sea miles that will be sailed in the Southern Ocean in this edition of the round the world race. Unfortunately Southern Ocean experience is only something that is gained by having done the miles around the bottom of the world.

In the 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race, with less than 60 days remaining to the start, teams are still announcing crew, and officially announced entries stand at seven, with eight boats available.

Turn the Tide on Plastic led by Dee Caffari, has announced only two crew. Caffari has the distinction of being the only female to have sailed both ways around the world single-handed, as well as being a key crew member aboard Team SCA. The objective of Turn the Tide on Plastic is to have a mixed 50/50 male female crew - which will allow them to carry 10 crew, with the majority under 30 years.