Subscribe to our hot topics!

Redgrave and Cracknell Face Up to Physical and Mental Recovery

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

It should have been a night to remember, the ten-year reunion of one of the most iconic group of British sportsmen in Olympic history, but instead the most famous of the four remains mentally scarred by a recent bike fall whilst his well-known teammate lies seriously ill in an American hospital after another horrific cycling accident that almost killed him.

Sir Steve Redgrave was in the process of organising the ten-year reunion of the GB coxless fours crew consisting of himself, Sir Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and Tim Foster that won in dramatic style on September 23rd, 2000, at the Sydney Olympics, a Games that saw Redgrave, Britain’s greatest ever Olympian, claim his fifth gold medal.

It was the first and only time that the sport of rowing had, due to the Saturday morning timing of the final in Sydney, filled the Friday night pubs back home with sports fans watching large TV screens and urging Redgrave and his teammates on to glory. The subsequent celebrations were as if the England football or rugby team had won a major trophy.

Ten years on and Redgrave’s plans to get the four together again lies in tatters, at least for the foreseeable future with Cracknell expected to take at least six months to recover from brain injury.

“I still hope we can all get together again to re-live that Saturday morning in Sydney,” admitted Sir Steve. “But with James in the state he’s in it’s going to be quite a while now before it will happen.”

Redgrave had spent two nights in a Maryland hospital in June after a puncture sent him crashing to the ground during a 3,000-mile, coast-to-coast cycling race across America. The 48-year-old, who retired from rowing after winning gold in Sydney, was just 300 miles from the finish when his tyre blew. He suffered multiple injuries including two broken ribs, a broken cheek bone, a broken wrist and a broken finger, and required some re-constructive surgery on his nose.

But this pales into insignificance compared to the fate that befell his friend and former teammate Cracknell, who retired after winning a second gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics GB coxless fours, alongside Pinsent who also quit having claimed a fourth Olympic gold.

Cracknell was five days into a 16-day endurance race to cycle, run and row 3,000 miles from Los Angeles to New York and was being filmed by the Discovery Channel when the wing mirror of a truck struck the 38-year-old on the head from behind as it passed by him on the morning of July 23rd.

He was 400 miles into the race and had ventured as far as Arizona when the incident took place, fracturing his skull at the back, but also inflicting a “contrecoup injury” to his frontal lobe, with bleeding and swelling affecting the part that controls personality, decision-making and motivation.

“What saved James was his incredible fitness,” Redgrave explained. “Without it he could quite easily have been dead on the road. That’s how serious it was.”

At first Cracknell lay semi-conscious in a neuro-trauma recovery ward in Phoenix with his wife, former TV presenter Beverley Turner, beside him fearing that the doctors would turn off his life-support machine.

Four weeks on and the man who also rowed across the Atlantic and trekked to the South Pole with Ben Fogle is making good progress and has been moved to the Rehabilitation Institute at the same hospital, but everyone is expecting it still to take a great deal of time before Cracknell makes a full recovery.

“From what I understand it’s six months at least, and could be longer,” added Redgrave.

Sir Steve was shaking his head as he said this, not just because of his friend’s predicament but also with frustration at the route chosen by Cracknell who took a year out of rowing after the 2004 Games before eventually deciding to retire in 2006, aged 34.

As far as Redgrave is concerned Cracknell retired too early, a decision that not only lost him the chance of winning more Olympic golds but also pushed the fiercely intense competitor into a series of physically punishing challenges.

“I am of no doubt that James could and should have gone on to Beijing in 2008 where he would have won a third Olympic gold medal,” he explained. “In fact I think he would have been pushing hard for another medal at London 2012 as well.

“It was the least he deserved, too. In Sydney, 2000, I was in the limelight, even though Matthew (Pinsent) was out-performing me, because I was going for a fifth gold medal. It became my race in terms of the build-up.

“Four years’ later the same thing happened with Matthew, and deservedly so. He had every right to take over the mantle, won his fourth gold medal, realised he had nothing more to achieve, and retired.

“I’ve always felt James should have had that in 2008 in Beijing where he would have won a third gold medal. It would have been James’s race. I had mine, Matthew had his but James didn’t. He was of a high enough calibre as a sportsman to have deserved his moment.”

It was then that Cracknell had to deal with life as a former sportsman and as Redgrave explained, even for men of their stature, it is much harder than people comprehend.

“There’s no real preparation for stopping, you see,” he said. “And as each generation passes in sport you have to do more and more training, especially when it comes to the Olympic sports. Then you are expected to return to a normal life when it’s all over.

“What is a normal life? Certainly James and I didn’t lead normal lives as athletes. The truth is that when it’s all over you lose a sense of purpose and try and find something to take its place.

“Even though I’ve been very busy since I finished ten years’ ago, setting up charitable trusts and raising a great deal of money as a result, there is still a big chunk of your life that is taken away from you and it’s very difficult to try and find the focus. Like I said, I’ve done a lot since rowing but there’s still, even now, something missing. “At least by setting yourself challenges you give yourself some purpose in life because, high sporting achievers that James and I may be, we’d see it as pretty sad for us to end up drifting through life.”

At least Redgrave drained every last ounce of a rowing career. The same may not be necessarily said of Cracknell who has used his intensity since retirement to test himself on a number of physical challenges.

“I watched a couple of James’s TV programmes when he rowed across the Atlantic and his body was falling apart,” added Redgrave. “James’s attitude is that, whatever happens, you carry on regardless and that’s why he was a supreme sportsman and has continued to achieve since. But there comes a time in life when you just can’t continue to be so bloody-minded.”

Redgrave is not for a moment suggesting that either his or Cracknell’s injuries came from anything other than sheer bad luck. “In my case it was a puncture and in James’s case he was hit from behind by a truck, so there’s not much either of us could have done about it. You could argue that if we’d not embarked on such challenges the accidents wouldn’t have happened, but that goes back to us needing to continually set ourselves new challenges in life after what we’ve experienced as winning sportsmen.”

That said even Redgrave is now having serious second thoughts. “Just before my accident I was thinking about the mistakes I and my eight-man team had made during our race across America and already planning for another attempt next year.

“Now I’m asking myself if I’d ever do anything like that again. It will take a lot for me to get my confidence back, and I’m not just talking about getting back on a bike. It’s made me think a lot. I’m two years away from my 50th birthday. I’m not as young as I was.

“As for James I’m giving him some space. I want him to get back to the James I know and love. It’s unrealistic to think he won’t want more challenges ahead of him because that wouldn’t be the same James.

“But hopefully he will take his time and we can all calm down a bit.”

And hopefully that Sydney re-union will take place, sooner rather than later. If it does then it will not just be a celebration of one of the most stand-out events in British Olympic history, but one of life, recovery and a chance to smell the roses.

Sir Steve Redgrave is a patron of the Jaguar Academy of Sport, who aim to recognise, celebrate and inspire the best of British sporting talent. The Academy provide funding for young sportsmen and women and Redgrave will mentor some of the bursary recipients throughout the year. See www.jaguaracademyofsport.co.uk for details.

Scott Determined to Take Ainslie On

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

He is a name not known to the general public but Giles Scott just might be the man who stops Ben Ainslie from even competing at his home Olympics in 2012, let alone winning a staggering fourth gold medal.

The 23-year-old beat Ainslie last week in the Finn Class at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta at Weymouth on the same waters that will stage the Olympic sailing in two years’ time. In doing so the apprentice took the prized scalp of the sorcerer.

Scott, who also won in Parma this year and took a bronze in the world cup, won the Regatta while Ainslie, who took Olympic gold in the Finn Class in Beijing and Athens, to add to his gold and silver in the Laser Class in Sydney and Atlanta, trailed in fourth.

With the British Olympic selection policy of just one representative per class stringent it sets up an intriguing battle between Scott, who was part of Ainslie’s training class designed to help prepare Britain’s greatest sailor for the 2008 Beijing Games, and Ainslie who, if he were to win a fourth gold in Weymouth, would be certain to join Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and Chris Hoy as sporting knights of the realm.

“Ben’s always been my idol and mentor and to beat him last week has done wonders for my confidence and self-belief,” Scott explained, before flying off to San Francisco to compete in next week’s Finn World Championships which Ainslie will miss.

When I was ten years old I went to a Regatta in 1997 and managed to get my jumper signed by Ben. I’ve never told him that but I’ve still got it at home. In 2008 I was one of four sailors who trained with Ben in order to get him up to speed for the Beijing Olympics. I was the sailing equivalent of a sparring partner. I have fed off Ben’s incredible drive and success and feel no longer like a training partner, but now a direct challenger to him.”

Some perspective needs to be placed here because Ainslie had not stepped into a Finn since claiming gold in Beijing and, only the week before Weymouth, had skippered the considerably larger and crewed Team Origin, Britain’s Americas Cup boat, to victory over current Americas Cup holders BMW Oracle in a series of races in the Solent.

But Scott is still taking everything from his achievement. “Of course I appreciate Ben was not prepared in the way he would be for an Olympics but I still see it as a win being a win and if I continue to beat him then I’d expect the selectors to pick me for the 2012 Olympics.”

Of all the boats to choose to sail for Britain Scott went for the class dominated by Ainslie, a decision that does not faze him a jot. “Like Ben I started in the Laser but grew too big and heavy for it so moved up to the Finn. The fact that Ben sails the Finn and has proved to be almost unbeatable never came into it. It’s all about the best boat for me. I want to be the best and in order to do so I need to beat the best which, in this case, happens to be Ben.

"There’s a long way to go, anything can happen and there’s no way Ben’s just going to roll over and let me beat him again, but if I do get selected ahead of him for 2012 it will be on merit and I would go to the Games knowing that I had beaten the best in the world and one of the all-time greats to get there. With that knowledge I’d be very confident of winning gold myself.

“I’d appreciate that people might be surprised and even disappointed if Ben failed to make it to Weymouth but he’d be the first to expect the selectors to pick on merit and form, not reputation and I’m sure he’ll give it his best shot between now and when the team is selected.”

Over the course of the next year the pair will scrap it out in a series of Regattas before the Olympic sailing squad is announced, promising an intense rivalry fighting for the coveted prize of competing at Weymouth.

Scott, who lives in Weymouth, insists he and Ainslie will remain friends but accepts this will not be the case on the water any more.

“Ben was the first to congratulate me last week after the Sail for Gold Regatta and I’m sure we’ll get along fine like we always have. We’ll probably be at the same training camps for some of the time but I’ll focus on what I have to do and have a totally separate campaign to Ben.

“After that it’s down to results and, ultimately, the selectors but I won’t be wracked with guilt if I get the nod and deprive of Ben of his chance of a fourth gold medal. I’ll see it as my chance of a first gold medal.”

Ainslie And Spithill Go Head-To-Head As Team Origin Take On BMW Oracle.

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Ben Ainslie will be going head to head with this year’s America’s Cup-winning skipper Jimmy Spithill when “Team Origin” take on “BMW Oracle” this week at Cowes with the triple Olympic champion heralded by one of the most significant figures in recent America’s Cup history as “already one of the greats.”

That’s what Grant Simmer, eight times involved in the America’s Cup, and three times a winner, believes after recently taking on the role of CEO of “Team Origin,” the British America’s Cup project led by Sir Keith Mills designed to win sailing’s most prestigious trophy for the first time since it was created, by the British, in 1851.

Simmer won with Australian Alan Bond, and twice with the Swiss outfit, “Alinghi,” and fought against the likes of Denis Connor and Russell Coutts in the America’s Cup, so the Australian knows what he is talking about when he considers Ainslie, who is rated, alongside Spithill, as the hottest match-racing skipper in the world.

“Ben will definitely win the America’s Cup one day, and hopefully with Team Origin in 2013,” said Simmer. “He’s very driven, and very hard on himself. He reminds me so much of Coutts, but has a much better Olympic record as well. I’d already put him up there with Coutts and Connor, and it’s only a matter of time for Ben. He is all about winning.”

The mouth-watering clash, described by Mills as sailing’s equivalent of “Federer versus Nadal,” sees three match races a day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, plus a Round the Isle of Wight Race on Thursday for the inaugural “1851 Trophy” in front of an expected crowd exceeding 100,000.

This will be played out between the American boat which will defend its title, most probably in San Francisco in either late 2013 or early 2014 and Team Origin, newly-sponsored by Jaguar and its Academy of Sport, who hope to see off all other challengers between now and then before taking on “BMW Oracle” for the America’s Cup.

“To take on the America’s Cup champions is a great opportunity for us, especially in home waters,” said Ainslie last night. “It may or may not make any difference to the result of the next America’s Cup but for bragging rights alone, plus our competitive instincts, it would be awesome to win.

“I’d particularly like to beat them in the match-racing, although I wouldn’t say no to the round the island race either. We beat them in Auckland before they won the America’s Cup, and we beat them again in Sardinia in May, so we are confident we can do it again at Cowes.”

Alongside skipper Ainslie are his two, Olympic champion teammates of old, tactician Iain Percy, two-times gold medallist, and strategist Andrew Simpson, who won gold with Percy in Beijing. “It shows we have guys who know how to win,” is Simmer’s take on his all-star crew.

For Ainslie, three times Olympic gold medallist to add to a silver he won as a teenager in 1996, it is the start of an extraordinary fortnight because, as soon as he completes his crewed match-racing on an America’s Cup boat in the Solent, he races off to the Olympic sailing venue at Weymouth to compete single-handedly in the Finn Class at the “Skandia Sail for Gold” Regatta for the first time since taking gold in Beijing in 2008.

Ainslie will need to get used to this. If all goes to plan he hopes to win gold medal number four at the London Olympics, albeit at Weymouth, in 2012, and then the America’s Cup possibly in the following year in two boats that could not be more contrasting.

“This year’s been all about developing “Team Origin” so the Olympics have taken a back seat,” explained the 33-year-old. “The purpose of me competing in Weymouth is to spend a little time on the Olympic waters and get some mileage under my belt. Don’t expect too much from me at the Regatta.

“Next year I’ll swap my priorities to ensure that I give myself as good a chance as possible to first qualify for my home Olympics, and then win a fourth gold medal, which means the America’s Cup will have to come second. But after 2012 all my focus will be back on Team Origin.
“I am fully aware of the potential enormity of 2012 and 2013 and I just hope I can pull it all off.

Visit www.jaguaracademyofsport.co.uk

Medal Corner - The Most Successful Sporting Cul de Sac in Britain.

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

She is a double Olympic gold medallist who is married to a current world champion and Olympic bronze medallist and lives just a few doors away from her partner in sport who happens to be a world silver medallist and lives with her boyfriend, a current Olympic and world champion. Oh, and he trains virtually every day with the Olympic bronze medallist.

It is fair to say that a small cul de sac in between the end of Weymouth and Portland Bill, the previous site of a world war torpedo factory, is the most successful sporting cul de sac in the country. After all, between Sarah Ayton, Nick Dempsey, Saskia Clark and Nick Goodison a few yards of residential road can boast three Olympic and five sailing world titles as well as numerous other global medals.

The world of British sailing has already dubbed the street "Medal Corner." And, with the sailing at the 2012 Olympic Games to be staged on the same sea water they can all see from their own houses, all four plan to bring more gold to their street in two years' time.

It was Ayton, the twice Yngling gold medallist and original member of the three blondes in the boat, and Dempsey, the world wind-surfing champion and former Olympic bronze medallist, who first moved into the street five years ago, having lived together in Weymouth for seven previous years. Last year they were married and Ayton, who has teamed up with Clark in the 470 series, gave birth to son Thomas.

Goodison, the current Olympic and world laser champion, and Clark, the 470 world silver and bronze medallist, lived directly opposite the house that Ayton and Dempsey moved into before moving themselves to another house just to the back. "We could stare into each other's bathrooms," joked Goodison. "Yes, and the frosted glass wasn't too effective either," quipped Ayton.

Like all neighbours they are friends who occasionally infuriate each other. "Nick and Saskia are always coming round, stealing our tools and never giving them back again," explained Dempsey. "We converted our house and then, when they were about to move in opposite, they wanted to know how we'd done this and that and even measured our living room in order to order a sofa for themselves."

Goodison, a life-long Sheffield United supporter who celebrated his Olympic gold by parading his medal around Bramall Lane during half time, laughed. "Yes, and when we finally moved in and the sofa arrived it turned out to be too big for the room."

Meanwhile Clark has already warned Ayton and Dempsey of what she will do if her neighbour annoys her too much. "I'll sneak out in the middle of the night and tip rubbish over their fence.!"

Last weekend the four went on a group bike ride as part of their training. It ended with a collision between Clark and her boyfriend, Goodison, a crash and various cuts and grazes for the 470 girl. "It just goes to show how competitive he is when he cuts me up," she commented, with a wry grin, before joining forces with Ayton and accusing both men of being ultra competitive when they cycle together.

Luckily the four of them are in truth great friends who share a mutual respect for each other having experienced at first hand the enormous highs and lows of Olympic sport. Any one of them stands a healthy chance of claiming gold in 2012, but as a collective they have become a powerful force that feeds off each other.

Take Goodison, a man in bits after finishing fourth in the Laser in Athens in 2004, but who bounced back to claim gold four years' later in China. "I shared a room with Paul in Athens and while he finished fourth having been in second place I turned fourth into a bronze medal on the last day," recalled Dempsey. "I saw how distraught he was then and how he turned it round. I then finished fourth in China, which is the worst place to be in at the Olympics, but my quest for gold here in Weymouth will be buoyed by seeing what Paul achieved as well as Sarah's two gold medals, of course."

Dempsey responded to just missing out on the podium by becoming world champion last September in the same Weymouth waters where the next Olympics will be staged. "It was the perfect response to his fourth at the Olympics," Goodison said. "The experience of just losing out on a medal makes you want success even more. Both Nick and I have personal knowledge of this."

Goodison's success also spurred his girlfirend on, after Clark could only finish sixth at the Olympics in the 470 with her then partner, Christina Bassadone. "I had to go away and have a long think about whether I wanted to continue," Clark admitted. "I had a crisis of self-confidence but saw how Paul bounced back and decided to give it another shot. But I didn't want to carry on unless gold was on the cards."

This mission was boosted significantly when she called up double Olympic champion Ayton who, having become a mother and seen the Yngling class removed from Olympic competition, was unsure where her future lay.

"Never mind my medals, I'm very much the apprentice in this partnership," Ayton explained. "When Saskia called I jumped up at the chance because she is the best 470 crew there is and I needed to know whether I was any good working with her at a completely new and different discipline."

It worked both ways. "Sarah is a massive inspiration to me, her skills compliment mine on the 470 and this provides the platform for us to be the best in the world," she said. "And if we get to that point at the Olympics where we are almost there, Sarah's got over the line twice in first place and I'm sure this experience will help us both."

Dempsey can only agree. "I am very confident about my chances in 2012, especially as I know the course so well and have already won a world title on it," he said. "Just being surrounded by winners gets the best out of you. Mind you, whenever Sarah and I argue at home she just gets out her two gold medals and that's the end of it."

One argument has been resolved, however, and it is the vexed question over whose house the post-2012 party will be staged at, all being well. "We'll have it outside on the green in between our two houses," Ayton promised. It should be worth going to.

Medal Corner sailors are all supported by Volvo and form part of a group of top British athletes called 'Team Volvo for life'. This backing helps Sarah, Saskia, Nick and Paul to attain their ultimate goals, which is a gold medal in 2012.

For more information visit www.volvocars.co.uk/sailing or follow their journey to 2012 on the Volvo Cars Sailing facebook page.

Bryony Shaw

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Bryony Shaw became the first ever British Medallist in Women’s Windsurfing at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and now has her sights firmly set on winning Gold at the London Games in 2012. Sportsvibe caught up with Bryony who is currently training in Valencia and trying to avoid the miserable British weather.

How did you first get involved in windsurfing?

I first started when I was nine years of age and we went on family holidays to the south of France. There was the option of giving it a go and as the weather was absolutely perfect I thought I would try it, luckily I loved it straight away.

What’s the best thing about being a professional windsurfer?

I would probably say the lifestyle as you get to travel the world and do what you love. Plus I am a really competitive person so I love being able to improve and compete. Of course there are some negatives in that you are away from home and you miss your friends and family but most of it is positive.

You went to the Olympics in Beijing, how did you find the experience?

It is something completely unique, it’s on another level of excitement and going there with the British sailing team was great. They have a real pedigree and have had plenty of success with names like Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy so travelling with them was great. I knew them before but being there and having them as a support team was really helpful. They gave me plenty of encouragement which definitely helped lift my game.

What was it like being part of the Olympic village with all the other athletes?

As often happens with the sailing team we have to be based near the water so if the main city is inland we have our own little mini Olympics going on, which was the case in Beijing. It will be the same in England as well as the sailing will take place in Weymouth, so we are away from the other sports. Having said that, on the final day in Beijing when the closing ceremony was taking place it was really cool as I was with the cycling girls who were real heroes in my eyes. I had followed them throughout and knew of their success. When I found out that I was going to be sharing a room with the cycling girls, Victoria Pendleton and Shanaze Reade, I was really excited and it was really cool to meet them.

How did you celebrate winning your bronze medal?

My boyfriend flew in for the final day of racing so he came over which was a really special moment. My Mum and Dad were also there so it was a really good moment to share with them, especially when they all got to see me go up on the podium. I went out to celebrate afterwards but it just can’t compare with the feeling I got just after winning and when I was up on the podium, which was very special.

How much are you looking forward to the 2012 Games?

I am aiming to try and win Gold as it would be absolutely massive. At the minute I can’t really get my head round it and understand just how big it’s going to be as I am still in my daily routine and working on my present goals. But it will come around so quickly, I don’t want to be coming away from those games disappointed so I am going to be putting in a lot of effort.

Do you think having a home crowd will help spur you on?

My parents live in Weymouth and I lived with them for a while, so Weymouth is kind of a home town for me as I spent quite a few years there. I am hoping I get plenty of support as the sailing community down there are really supportive. All the locals are great as well as they have been getting on bard and giving me loads of encouragement.

You get to do quite a lot of travelling, where is your favourite place to windsurf?

I was lucky enough to go to New Zealand which was really good. I was based near Auckland but I also got to go surfing down the coast which is great as obviously it’s a great climate out there. I would love to go to Mauritius and Morocco as well. Morocco is obviously a lot more accessible so I would really like to go there.

Training in the freezing cold English winters can’t be much fun, do you wish you had grown up somewhere a bit warmer?

When I was younger and I first got into the sport I did a lot of training in the cold weather but that was mainly because it was costly to go abroad, so I have definitely done my time in the cold weather. Currently I am in Valencia and trying to avoid the cold, but it has been quite frosty out here. It’s been an unpredictable winter and they have actually had a lot of cold spells throughout France and Spain but I try and chase the sun.

Can you tell us about your training schedule?

I spend a lot of time on the water doing the windsurfing itself, but there is also a lot of land based training involved as well. I do a lot of road cycling which helps the base level fitness. I try to get the hours in on the bike, so a good 2-3 hours at a steady speed and heart rate. But if the weather is bad then we can do it in the gym and use the cycles, tread mills, cross trainers and rowers. Then before a big event we will ramp up the training and start to do high intensity interval and explosive training, but you can’t do that more than twice a year, so that will be around major World Championships and Olympic trials. I will also do quite a lot of power lifting which can be pretty hard.

When you’re training do you listen to music to pump yourself up?

Yeah all the time, I put together upbeat playlists to keep myself going and quite often I will be singing in my head. When I go out on the water I will actually be singing a tune like Beyonce to keep me nice and relaxed and happy. I also make chilled out playlists to listen to in the car so I am always humming a tune. Also when you are trying to get yourself motivated in the gym for all that hard work then its good to get some real up beat stuff going.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Whenever I get free time I am at home spending as much time as possible with friends. A lot of the time my training in the UK will take me to Weymouth, so I get to catch up with my parents and see them which is really important as I spend a lot of time travelling. But most of the time I spend in my new flat, I love doing all the interior decorating and DIY stuff, I am actually quite in to all that sort of stuff. I have even been stripping the floorboards.

You once received hate mail when you inadvertently swore on live TV after winning the Bronze medal, that must have been quite surreal?

To be fair there was only one, it was bizarre as it was hand typed and it was saying that he was watching it with his granddaughter and it was inappropriate and that I should be a role model. Obviously my immediate reaction when I did it was to apologise as it was a bad time of morning but it was just the emotion of the occasion. I heard that Hazel Irvine was in absolute stitches in the presentation box and Adrian Chiles was trying to briskly move on.

Why would you suggest people try windsurfing?

Windsurfing comes across as inaccessible but actually there are so many centres out there, it’s great to learn inland on a lake or reservoir. There are centres across England which provide a safe environment where you can get instructions and have a laugh with your friends. I did it with my school and we went to the local reservoir, some of the kids went sailing but I already knew that I loved windsurfing. It’s just great to be out on the water and having a laugh as that’s what it’s all about.

Bryony is a sporting ambassador for Fat Face clothing company.

www.fatface.com

Steve Curtis

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Steve Curtis is the eight time world offshore powerboat champion and by some distance the highest profile figure in the sport. Here, in an exclusive interview, our fearless British sports star reveals what makes him tick.

1. How did you get into your sport?

I was very fortunate, because my father used to race powerboats, and owned a powerboat building co. therefore it was an easy shoe in.

2. Tell us the best thing about your sport?

The great thing about offshore powerboat racing is obviously the speed, the boats we are running are about 160 mph, the power (around 2000 hp per boat) and thrown into the mix is the fact that the surface that we race on is always moving, so it’s like racing a car in 3D.

3. Who is your biggest inspiration in your sport?

The biggest inspiration in sport is going back to the halcyon bays where people like Garwood would race great big planks of wood with four aircraft engines reaching speeds of over 100 mph.

4. Do you admire anybody outside of your own sport?

Yes, I’ve always admired different people, not only for their sporting endeavors but their life pursuits. For racing, I’ve always admired Barry Sheen and Ayrton Senna, both of whom I’ve been privileged to meet.

5. Who is the best player you’ve played with/against?

The best partnership I’ve had to date was with Bjorn Gjelsten, who I won five world championships with and we broke every record in class one history together.

6. Do you have any pre-match rituals or superstitions?

No not really.

7. Tell us about your training schedule? What does it involve and how does it change, i.e. before matches etc?

I try and keep myself at around 90 kilos of weight, and as I’m 6ft 2 that’s not tubby, I work on core strength, and try and eat a healthy diet.

8. Who is the funniest player at your club/who’ve played with? NA

9. What is the most memorable moment in your sporting career to date?

Winning the first world championship in 1985 I was the fastest, the first and probably the drunkest that night.

10. What are do you want to achieve next in your sport? What are your goals?

I still have a huge passion for winning, but when I do decide to give up I would love to be involved in the running and building up of the sport.

11. If you hadn’t of been a power boat racer what would you have been?

Probably a boat captain as I love the sea, and it would have been great travelling round the world

12. What will Steve Curtis do after their sporting career is over?

I’m involved in running the family business which is cougar marine which build high performance boats, military crafts and custom tenders. I would also like to get into the running of powerboat racing.

13. What music (if any) do you listen to when training?

I quite like upbeat stuff, such as Kaiser Chiefs.

14. What do you do on a day off/in your spare time?

In my spare time, I like to go boating hang out with friends and play with my little boy max

15. If you had 24 hours to live, how would you spend it?

Hanging out with my family especially my little boy max.

16. What is your favorite film?

Probably, legends of the fall. It was kind of epic.

17. Do you get any strange fan mail?

Yes, but I never answer those ones.

18. What is the funniest thing you’ve read/heard about yourself in the media?

That I starred in a porn movie.

19. Tell us a joke about your sport?

Someone once said you could make money at it.

Sam Davies Sets Her Sails on the Transat Jacques Vabre

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Sam Davies was back doing what she clearly loves best last week, at the helm of her boat about to embark on another epic race.

The woman who finished 4^th in this year’s Vendee Globe – the highest placed British sailor and the first female home in the round the world solo, non-stop challenge – became instantly famous not just for her sailing feat, but also because throughout her daily video and pod casts, she remained incredibly bubbly and happy, no matter what the elements threw at her.

Since then the 35-year-old followed up her success by breaking the round Britain and Ireland record by almost a day, her all-girl crew of five helping her to circumnavigate the islands and the 1,800 mile route in just six days and eleven hours. Just for good measure she followed that with a second place in the notorious Fastnet Race.

Now the mechanical engineering graduate from Cambridge University is looking for another scalp, and this time, with her French co-skipper Sidney Gavignet, it is the Transat Jacques Vabre.

Speaking from the wheel of Artemis as she took her boat down to the start at Le Havre, Davies spoke of her perfect apprenticeship under Britain’s two most famous female sailors, how everything went right for her in the Vendee, and how the British pack of sailors are on the verge of winning the big, ocean races such as the TJV.

“I was part of Tracy Edwards’ crew in 1998 when we did the Jules Verne attempt,” Davies said. “Then I got to know Ellen Macarthur and was asked to come down to France and be part of her shore crew in 2002 when she won the Route Du Rhum race. The whole experience inspired me – the French sailing scene, the camaraderie, the atmosphere. I moved to France and have stayed there ever since.”

To the outside world she was a new name but Davies had been hard at it for ten years when her chance to shine came on “Roxy” in the Vendee. “I came to the start line with an amazing feeling of confidence,” she explains. “Everything had gone right and while I should have felt nervous, instead I was serene.

“When I returned to Les Sable d’Olonnes in fourth place 120,000 people were there to greet me. It was the most amazing day of my life and it inspired me to have another go in 2012. Even now I can barely believe I did it.”

Next time, though, she wants to make the podium in her own boat. “That’s my dream,” she explains. “I’m an engineer and I want to build my own boat from a blank piece of paper. I now need a dream sponsor to come with me on my next adventure.”

The excitement in her voice is discernible as she says all this, which is how she is during every race, and how she will be during the TJV. “Even when I am feeling miserable I tell myself how lucky I am and how I can’t waste time feeling sorry for myself. I enjoy being on my own as much as with a crew, and I’m happy most of the time because it’s an amazing feeling being able to do what I do.”

She will also now be classed as one of the favourites in every race she enters after her Vendee feats, and that includes the TJV. “I’ll take that as a compliment and I’ll see it as yet another challenge to overcome. I think it’s just a matter of time before one of the Brits – and there a lot of us around now – pulls off a big win. We’re all capable of it and I’m convinced it’s going to happen very soon.”

If it happens to be Davies then make the most of her celebrations in the harbour in Costa Rica because, after that, she intends to disappear and explore the country before re-surfacing for the Paris Boat Show in December.

A win, or even a podium place, would cap off a remarkable year for the girl also short-listed for world sailor of the year. “It’s a sign that hard work pays off,” she adds. “I’m hoping there’s a lot more to come from me yet.”

Alex Thomson

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

ALEX THOMSON LATEST:

CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE LATEST VIDEO UPDATE FROM THE ATLANTIC

ALEX THOMSON VIDEO UPDATE

Alex Thomson was sitting on an off-shore sailors board meeting when he started to giggle uncontrollably. Around the table sat some of the biggest and most respected names in ocean-going yachting. They just stared at him until someone asked what on earth had got into him.

“Out of the eight people present six were skippers who had been turned upside down, or had their mast disbanded or who had suffered massive keel problems, and all in the Vendee Globe,” he explained. “I just looked at them all and said: “Look at the crap we go through, and we’re all going to do it again.””

That was earlier this year, after the 2008-9 Vendee had finished, a race that Thomson was highly fancied to win until a French trawler rammed into Hugo Boss before the he had even got started, damaging the carbon fitting attaching the boom to the deck, and forcing him to retire within days.

A couple of months later he received a phone call from the French designer of his boat, who also happened to design the boat that finished second. “He said: “Alex, I feel sorry for you. You were faster than the boat that came second. You were better prepared. You should have won.”” He grins. “That didn’t exactly make me feel better.”

And yet Thomson, this time with his boat captain, Ross Daniel, will embark on another of the great races, the Transat Jacques Vabre next weekend, which is a two-handed race following the coffee route of Le Havre to the Americas over three weeks.

Just in case anyone thinks the TJV is a gentle sail on a pond compared to the round-the-world Vendee Thomson, who finished second in this race back in 2003, has news.

“The first time, in 1999, the finish line was Colombia and as we came in all we could hear was gun shots,” the 35-year-old recalls. “It was in that race that a guy went overboard and was never seen again.

“Then, in 2003, we left Le Havre and were hit almost immediately with 20 foot waves and winds ranging from 35 to 65 knots. When you tried to sleep your whole body would be lifted off the bed every three seconds. I went without any sleep for a week, I wore a dry suit for the whole time, and it was a horrendous experience.

“And then there’s the course. This time it’s Le Havre to Costa Rica and, depending on the winds, you can go as south as the Cape Verde Islands, and as north as Newfoundland. If it’s the latter you could be dodging icebergs. And because the TJV could take 17 or 18 days, it’s all-out for the whole length of the race, as opposed to the Vendee where you obviously need to take a break or two. I’m not saying it’s harder than the Vendee. Nothing, in any sport, is harder than the Vendee. But the TJV has its moments, believe me.”

This will be the last time he races in his current boat, replacing it in time for the Route du Rhum, another transatlantic race, next October. The new Hugo Boss is even quicker than the present model, according to Thomson, although the mast, at 32 metres from the sea, is also higher. “It’s the thing I hate doing most of all,” he explains, referring to climbing up the mast. “And now I’ve gone and got one even higher.”

Then it is the Barcelona double-handed World Race, in which he came second in 2006-7, before a third assault on the Vendee. Thomson has tasted success as a solo, round the world sailor. He became the youngest skipper ever to win such a race when he won the Clipper Race in 1999, and he still possesses the world record for the most amount of nautical miles achieved in a 24-hour period, a staggering 468nm with an average speed of almost 20 knots.

But he’s also endured the hardships, not just with his two retirements so far in the Vendee, but his near-death experience in the Velux Five Oceans when former foe turned friend Mike Golding turned his boat around in the teeth of the Southern Ocean and saved his life.

Despite all this his eyes are firmly fixed on another Vendee attempt in 2012. “I’ve got at least another two in me,” he says. “But that depends if I can win. If not, who knows how many times I’ll have a go. The Vendee is an addiction for all of us. You can’t let it go until you’ve gained at least parity.”

Earlier this year the British contingent did well in the Vendee, with Sam Davies finishing fourth, Brian Thompson fifth, Dee Caffari 6th and Steve White also completing the course. Ironically Thomson and Golding, two of the pre-race favourites, were both forced to retire.

Now all bar White return in the Transat Jacques Vabre, and Thomson believes it is a statement that the British are now challenging the French dominance of major ocean racing.

“We’ve dominated Olympic sailing now for a long time with the likes of Ben Ainslie,” he argues. “But it’s only been in the last ten years that we’ve started becoming a force in the big, ocean races. You can argue that we used to lead the way with the likes of Francis Chichester and Robin Knox-Johnston, or even Sir Francis Drake. Now we have a batch of very talented and experienced sailors, and I’d say any one of the 15 crews in the race – and that includes the four British boats – stand a chance of winning. We just need to claim a significant victory to really announce ourselves.”

Ellen Macarthur, of course, put the Vendee on the map in this country when she finished second in 2001. Last week the Dame announced that she would be concentrating on environmental campaigning from now on.

Thomson, for one, pays enormous tribute to the girl from landlocked Derbyshire. “British sailing and sailors like me owe Ellen a great deal,” he says. “Finishing second in the Vendee not only brought the race and what we do into the public domain, but it really inspired me. She also made sponsors realise how valuable our sport is. Without her I wouldn’t be earning any money now. And by revealing her emotions as she sailed on video she made it far more interesting to the public.”

Will Thomson reveal his emotions if he wins the Transat Jacques Vabre? “I’ve shed a tear before, and I will shed a tear again before my career’s over with,” he adds. “But you’ll never catch me doing it.”

Watch our exclusive video tour of Alex's boat.

Ben Ainslie

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Ben Ainslie gazes out across the bay at Weymouth where he expects to defend his Olympic title in less than three years' time knowing that, if all goes to plan, it will be the last occasion any of us witness him doing what he does best - mining for gold.

The triple Olympic gold medallist from the past three Games - he also took silver aged just 19 in 1996 - has an MBE upgraded to a CBE to his name, plus the title of the world's greatest sailor, and if he were to make it four golds, as he is heavily tipped to do, a knighthood would surely follow as indeed it did for rower Matthew Pinsent.

A fourth Olympic title, and a third in succession in the Finn Class after his gold in Sydney in the Laser, would also see him draw level with Dane Paul Elvstrom who, between 1948-60, set the still standing Olympic sailing record of four gold medals, but Ainslie has no wish to go on to beat a man he describes as his hero, let alone emulate Sir Steve Redgrave's British Olympic record feat of five golds.

"You can never say never in life," insists the 32-year-old. "But I can't think of a better way to bow out of an Olympic career than winning a fourth gold medal, and a fifth medal in total, at a Games held in your own waters in front of a home crowd. It's funny, because I was so upset winning that silver in Atlanta when I was 19. Looking back the truth is I was very concerned that I'd blown my chances of ever competing in the Olympics again, which sounds funny now. It was a good thing because it made me determined never to lose again.  "I am aware of my achievements and it would be huge if I could go on and match Elvstrom's mark of four, but to me Steve Redgrave remains the guvnor for taking five golds stretched over pretty much 20 years in an incredibly gruelling sport, and while I think Chris Hoy is fantastic and could go on to make it five gold medals by London he is in a sport where you can win more than one title in a single Games. As for me four will do very nicely, but I musn't get ahead of myself because I still need to be selected and there's stiff competition for the place in the Finn for 2012 with the likes of Ed Wright and Giles Scott pushing hard."

Ainslie would have time on his hands to make it five golds but it turns out his ambitions go way beyond even this, and that striking gold in Weymouth in 2012 is only part of an incredible master plan that may already be under way before the Olympics after being appointed skipper of Team Origin, Britain's entry into the America's Cup. Despite all Ainslie's Olympic success, it is the thought of bringing the most prestigious trophy in sailing back to this country that really floats his boat.

Whether he gets his chance in 2011 or 2013 depends on the winner of the 33rd America's Cup next February between holders Alinghi and BMW Oracle deciding to defend their title in two or four years' time. Ainslie would be happy for it to be four, thus freeing up more time to nail his fourth Olympic gold but, either way, he believes he, his crew and his boat will be ready to become the first British winners of the America's Cup in its 158-year history.

"Winning the America's Cup for Britain is what I've dreamt about since I was a small boy, not winning Olympic gold medals," he admits. "Winning Olympic titles has been wonderful, of course, but I don't want to be seen as an Olympic specialist, but a great, all-round sailor. Being skipper of a British boat has brought me a step closer to realising my dream, but it's only a step. It's not enough to be in charge of Team Origin and racing in the America's Cup. I have to win it and even if it takes me the next 15 years to do this I won't give up until the goal's been reached. Anything less will be a failure and I'd be very, very disappointed not to have won it by then."

Ainslie's hoping it may take a lot less time than this, however. "I'm not saying we're going to win the America's Cup in 2011 or 2013, but I will say we'll have a chance in either year because I see us as one of only four competitive boats in with a shout of winning the trophy.

I can't imagine the reaction if we won. I know it was the biggest thing that ever hit Australia when Alan Bond achieved it, so I'd expect half a million in Portsmouth to welcome us home if we came back with the America's Cup in our hands for Britain for the first time since 1851. There'd be a great deal of pride in the country, that's for sure, and in myself."

That, you might think, would then be that, but still Ainslie will not be finished, as he eyes up yet another challenge which, of course, would make him the best in yet another category of sailing. "I'd be pretty satisfied with four Olympic golds and the America's Cup to my name," he admits, with an ironic grin. "But if I pull it off I'd then set my sights on the solo, round the world speed record known as the Jules Verne Trophy. That requires a different set of skills, especially mentally, and solo offshore sailing, as proven by the likes of Ellen Macarthur, Mike Golding and others, is a massive challenge. It's something I'd go for, though, if I can achieve my other goals."

Whatever happens the next three or four years are as big as Ainslie can possibly imagine. "I've had some special moments over the years," he reasons. "But there's no point denying it. A fourth gold medal and a decent stab at winning the America's Cup in the next few years is as big as it can get. It's scary thinking about it, but I can't wait either to give it my best shot."  And with Ainslie best usually means first.

"Close to the Wind," Ben Ainslie's autobiography, was published by Yellow Jersey Press on September 17th.  

Andy Hodge: Olympic Gold Medallist Already Dreams of 2012 and Beyond

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

While the rest continue to take a deserved break after their stupendous feats in China Andy Hodge has already decided not only to go for gold once more, but also take it upon himself to deliver future gold medallists for 2016 and beyond.

The 29-year-old stroke in the gold medal-winning coxless fours, who took the Olympic title in such dramatic fashion last August, only decided for sure that he would go on for another four years in December after his fellow crew member Peter Reed announced his similar intentions the month before.

For Hodge, who came last in the eights in the 2004 Olympic final, and then won the University Boat Race with Oxford a year later, deciding to aim for a second Olympic gold medal in London was not the no-brainer it would appear.

“If it was I would have committed to London weeks before,” he explained, as he sat in the clubhouse at Molesey Boat Club, where he currently serves as captain. “Instead I’ve purposefully been through a process.”

This began with two months off immediately after Beijing, including a three week period in which he admitted to being “pretty much drunk for the whole time.” It had been, after all, an intense few months in which Hodge’s fours, double world champions and unbeaten for two and half years, entered the Olympics having lost their world crown, and been defeated for much of the summer.

“I guess it was asking too much to keep the same four for four years but it would prove to be a very intense time in which first Alex Partridge left the fours, then both myself and Tom James were injured, resulting in defeat in Lucerne. It also meant the Beijing four only raced once before the Games in Poznan, where the Dutch beat us, and the others were right on our tails. Clearly, that wasn’t great news six weeks before Beijing but by the time we arrived in China we had trained well and the ten days preceding competition went brilliantly.

“In the end winning gold meant all the pain and intensity as worth it because for all of us it was gold or nothing, and we would have swapped every world title, and every other victory we had recorded as a four for that one medal.”

It was little wonder Hodge needed time off afterwards but, after two months he felt ready to train again. “I took that as a really good sign, as was my performances since in training,” he explained.

“I didn’t want to make a decision based on the fact that the next Games are in London. I wanted to know that I was still willing to go through it all to get there. I would never want to row with anyone who felt he had to row because of London, rather than wanting to. Besides, if you’re not fully committed, you’ll get found out by the winter of year three.

“The easy option would have been to stop but I love training, I love performing and I love winning. To compete in London, the first Games in Britain for 64 years, will be something to tell the kids, but I’m only carrying on to win gold, nothing less.”

In what boat, and with which teammates, is still to be decided. Two-time gold medallist Steve Williams is taking more time to deliberate, while Tom James intends to take a year out and then reach a conclusion. Hodge, who received the blessing of head coach Jurgen Grobler, has no idea which boat he will feature in come 2012. “There are six options, which include the pairs, fours and eights, plus the double and quadruple sculls, and it’s going to be Jurgen’s decision, as always, based on how I perform. All I can do is make sure that I give it my all at every trial, every race, and even every training session, just as I’ve always done.”

On top of this, however, Hodge has already started his next mission, which is to identify twelve newcomers to the sport, invite them to Molesey Boat Club, just a short walk from Hampton Court Palace, and provide them with the tools to become Olympic champions.

“We need to bridge the gap between club rowing and competing for Team GB and for us to do this, to provide expert advice, coaching, nutrition, training camps and help the sport nationally as a result, we need to find ?40,000 in sponsorship money. The Skipton Building Society is sponsoring us for ?5,000, which is a good start, but we need more because it is my goal for this club to produce five medallists by 2016. I’m in the business of providing all the tools required to create Olympic champions for the future.”

It is as ambitious as Hodge’s plan to follow up his Beijing gold with a second Olympic title in London, but the half- Norwegian from Yorkshire is serious. “I promise you that if I was part of the mechanics that created an Olympic champion from scratch it would give me as much satisfaction as winning gold myself.”

Gold in 2008, gold in 2012 and then a third gold, albeit for a protege, in 2016, is the plan, then. “Sounds great, doesn’t it?” Hodge responded, with a smile. “Let’s hope I can pull it off.”

Dee Caffari

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

When Dee Caffari arrived last week in the French port of Les Sables d’Olonne to complete a remarkable, first ever Vendee Globe in 99 days and finish in sixth place overall, she made it a remarkable double for the only two women sailors in the race.

San Davies had beaten her by two days and two places, after a correction time had been given to Marc Guillemot allowing him to leapfrog over Davies following the dramatic rescue of Yann Elies, who broke a leg during the race.

What Davies achieved was sensational, but what Caffari, at 36 two years Davies’ senior, pulled off was of history-making proportions. Having only started racing in her Open 60 yacht, Aviva, 18 months ago, she became the first woman to sail single-handed around the world in both directions, and only the fourth human in history to do so.

Moreover, she completed her first Vendee in stunning style, having lost 300 miles in the doldrums, and ending up just 33 miles behind the 5th placed sailor, Brian Thompson. All this followed, after nearly 28,000 miles at sea in which she had plenty of time to prove the many doubters wrong, and gain the respect of those who previously patronised her.

“When I lined up at the start of the race I was aware just how many people doubted me,” Caffari, the granddaughter of a Maltese sea-captain, revealed yesterday. “Some were amazed I’d even made it to the start. I read a lot of comments on the web in which I was patronised. The sailing community is small and things get around quickly. People knew I could sail because of the Aviva Challenge, when I sailed the other way round the world, but nobody expected me to be competitive in a race. It got me really pumped up and motivated. I was desperate to prove them all wrong, and now I believe I have.”
Urging her on was her good friend Davies, who spent much time emailing Caffari and visa-versa, and talking on the telephone. “Most of it was girly talk such as have you washed your hair yet, and have you had a shower?” Caffari explained. “She’s an inspiration to me but we were also determined to both finish and finish well. At one stage she sent me an email that said: “Let’s make sure we finish and make it 100% for the girls because the boys are dropping like flies.” We did, and we’re both very proud to have done so.”

Caffari’s achievement seems to have prompted a new opinion of her in the French, male-dominated world of the Vendee Globe. “I can hold my head up high,” she said. “All the skippers who had finished came out to greet me and they were astonished to see how poor a state my mainsail was in. I feel as though I’m accepted now and there’s definitely a respect from the others I didn’t have before.”

There were some dark days along the way, notably when she heard how race leader and fellow Brit Mike Golding had to retire after being dismasted, the accident to Elies, deciding whether to enter a terrible storm close to Cape Horn – she and two others were told by the race control to sit it out, but not before she had contemplated death in 80 knot winds and 100 foot waves - and being hit by the Doldrums. “On each occasion I cried,” she admitted. “Mike’s a complete hero to me and he’s been so unlucky. I really thought it would be his race this time. When I finished I told him it was only because people like him had pulled out that I ended up so high but he wouldn’t hear it. “That’s the nature of the race,” he said. “It doesn’t take anything away from what you achieved.” That was nice of him. Then, when I contemplated entering the mother of all storms and faced what I felt at the time could be a life-threatening situation, it was a pretty grim situation as well. And then sitting on the water going nowhere in the Doldrums after all that hard work was very dispiriting.”

Now Caffari already has three big plans. The most immediate is a triumphant sail of Aviva up the River Thames in London on March 4th, culminating with Tower Bridge opening especially for her. The next is to beat Sam Davies’ record of 11 days in the Calais Round Britain and Ireland race in June. “I’m having an all female crew and Sam’s been invited to join me,” Caffari revealed.
The final challenge is the big one. “I’m going for the Vendee in four years’ time and now I know I can do it and been accepted by the boys, I’m going for a podium finish.”

More information:

More info on Dee at www.deecaffari.com and www.avivaoceanracing.com

Fat Face – Official on-shore clothing supplier
Henri Lloyd – Official off-shore clothing supplier
Dubarry – Official footwear supplier

Hydroptere – The World’s Fastest Yacht

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

“The emergency exits are being shown to you now, oxygen masks can be found above you, and please put away your tray tables, and fasten your seatbelts.” It sounds as if we are on a plane, but this is Jean-Mathieu Bourgeon, technical manager and crew member aboard The Hydroptere, the world’s fastest yacht. He was only half-joking.

By his side is the man behind the whole project, Alain Thebault, who has been working towards his dream for the past thirty years. “This is not a plane,” the 45-year-old says, with a broad grin. “And it is not a boat, either. This, my friend, is a magical, flying carpet.”

And with that Hydroptere left the harbour at the pretty, southern Brittany port of La Trinite sur Mer, lifted itself high above the water, and glided across the surface of the sea at great speed as it raced along the coast.

It is this that takes this particular trimaran apart from anything else on the planet. Twenty years of research, engineering and design, plus substantial backing from Swiss bankers Lombard, have resulted in a yacht made from carbon fibre and titanium that rises up on to its “wings” so that instead of ploughing through the waves it glides over them, with only one of the two ailerons at the end of each outer keel ever actually touching the sea, resulting in almost negligible drag from the vessel.

Sitting on the tip of one of the wings, you are raised 15 feet above the sea and experience a genuine feeling of flying, while five of the six crew members join you, controlling the sails on outriders. The helmsman remains in the cockpit, hovering high above the surface water, where the navigational system is found, and also a “panic button” to prevent the vessel from capsizing or, indeed, somersaulting.

Only a few years ago the pressure exerted on the mast, the ailerons or one of the stays would have resulted in them breaking in half from such speeds, but research and technology provided by retired aeronautical engineers from Dassault and Airbus have created an almost infallible contraption. The ailerons, despite their flimsy appearance, are now supposedly as strong as an aircraft’s landing gear.

Effortlessly Hydroptere picks up speed, the only sound being the skimming noise of the single tip caressing the waves. They are good sailing conditions on this day, with a blue sky, healthy winds and waves no bigger than three or four feet. For the yacht to perform at its optimum the waves cannot be larger than five feet. It only takes winds of 12 knots (14 mph) to rise the boat above the water, or “take off,” A speedometer reveals that we are picking up speed, from 30 knots to 35, then 38, and finally 40 knots. Thebault lets out a series of high-pitched screams of delight, as spray covers fellow crew members Jacques Vincent, an eight-time round-the-world yachtsman, and Adrien Lombard, son of the Swiss backer. Well away from the flying boat a small flotilla of boats bob up and down on the sea and look on in wonderment.

From afar it looks like a huge albatross sweeping the surface of the sea, 60 foot long (18 metres), 28 metres high at the top of the mast, and with what they term a “wingspan” of 24 metres. “We really are dividing the two worlds of sailing and aeronautics,” Thebault explained. “That’s why I call it my magic carpet, because what we are doing is straight out of Aladdin. The crew is a team. We all love what we do. And we all have a mental age of 12.”

Hydroptere has captured the French imagination, and pride in another first for French engineering. Although sceptical at first the French public are now celebrating this latest feat of engineering and design in the same manner in which the high speed train (TGV) flew past the 350 mph barrier earlier this year.

Already two world records belong to Hydroptere: 41.69 knots (48 mph) over a distance of one mile, and 44.81 knots (51 mph) over 500 metres. 51 mph may not seem too fast in a car, but sitting at the distant end of a yacht the speed is so exaggerated by the water that you feel as if you are aboard a powerboat on full throttle.

Thebault’s “baby,” as he calls the vessel, has also crossed the English Channel in a fraction over half an hour, little more than it takes the Eurostar train to go under it, and faster than the 40 minutes it took Louis Bleriot, the French aviator and the first person to fly over it, from Calais to Dover in 1909.

Now he is setting his sights on bigger and better records. Over the course of the summer the Breton sailor, who divides his time between La Trinite sur Mer, Paris (where his two daughters live) and Geneva (where his financial backers are based), intends to break the world speed record for a yacht of 49.09 (55 mph) set by French windsurfer Antoine Albeau last year. Already Hydroptere has hit a top speed of 47.6 knots in training.

Next will be the 50 knot barrier, a magical number in sailing which is on a par with track and field’s four minute mile. “That’s the really big one,” Thebault tells you, excitedly, as he plans for the record attempt in May. “The other records are small in comparison. It’s the equivalent to breaking the sound barrier, or maybe emulating Bleriot’s feat. We’re going to do it, I promise you, some time in the next few months.”

He and his determined team do not plan to end it there, either. A mini-Hydroptere is being built to break other records on Lake Geneva, while a “maxi-Hydroptere” is also under construction to fulfil a project Thebault is calling “half-Jules,” the circumnavigation of the globe.

“Jules Verne wrote about taking 80 days to go around the world,” he explains. “The current record in a yacht is 50 days. In a bigger version of Hydroptere we aim to do it in just 40 days.”

Thebault is already a famous figure in France. His autobiography, “Piloting a Dream,” proved to be a best-seller, and a TV adaption of the book is currently being worked on. The story has gripped the French public for two reasons: the success of Hydroptere, and the pride she has brought to a nation, but also Thebault’s personal battle to escape a miserable childhood and to never falter from a lifelong dream.

With a father often absent and a mentally ill mother, he was brought up by his grandmother, although she was quick to send him to a boarding school, cruelly, a mile from his own home.

“I lived so close to my home I could see it from my window, but I was not allowed to go there,” Thebault explains. “It was the house, and the blue sky, that’s all I could look at. I felt as if I was in prison and it was from these experiences that the dream of Hydroptere was born. I wanted to escape my life, and the best way to do it was to fly.”

The child has remained inside his body. When he stays at Swiss banker Thierry Lombard’s palatial home in Geneva Thebault turns his back on the comforts of the house, preferring to sleep in a wooden tree house built high above the grounds. “I like being in the air,” he explains, with a Gallic shrug. “And I like wood. That’s why the steering wheels on Hydroptere are wooden. Everything else is carbon fibre and titanium, but the wheels have to be made of wood.”

It was time spent splashing around in a dinghy that then gave him the idea not to fly in an aircraft, but in a boat. “A dinghy is terrible,” he wrote in his autobiography. “It sticks to the water. So when you see a seagull drifting away with a beat of its wing, either it makes you mad …. Or you make your boat fly.”

Hydroptere is truly a modern wonder of the world, created from one man’s dream to escape from an oppressive, childhood reality and, now that it is on the verge of breaking every record that matters, there are plenty of potential buyers.

Does Thebault know how much she costs? “No,” he replies. “It has taken 20 years to make, and with all the adjustments and innovations it is very difficult to say. Technically, though, I’d say many millions of euros.”

So, would he ever sell? “We have had a few people and consortiums approach us, but I have not even waited for a price from them, nor offered one, and discussions never take place.”

Why is this? Thebault smiles and lets out another whoop of joy as Hydroptere nudges past 40 knots again and the Quiberon peninsula flashes past. “There are some things in life no amount of money can ever buy,” he explains, with a broad grin. “You cannot put a price on living a dream.”

Hydroptere:

Length: 18 metres (60 feet).
Width: 24 metres.
New mast height: 24 metres.
Weight: 5.5 tons.
Mail sail: 145 sq metres.
Solent sail: 105 sq metres.
Top current speed: 47.6 knots.
Made out of titanium and carbon fibre.