Sails are good for olympic gold medallist

Ben Ainslie , CBE signed copies of his recently published autobiography, 'Close to the Wind' at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) on 12 December.  It was well attended by the local community who were keen to meet Britain’s greatest Olympic sailor and purchase his book.

Ben is a director of the Academy and triple gold medallist.  He was born on February 5, 1977 in Macclesfield.  The son of Roderick Ainslie, who captained the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973, he started sailing in Cornwall at age eight and first competed at the age of 10.

What started as a hobby quickly turned into a way of life, and by the age of sixteen he was already Laser Radial World Champion.  Ben has gone on to win three Olympic golds and one silver.  In addition to this, he is heavily involved in the America’s Cup as skipper for TEAMORIGIN. 

Whilst at the Academy, Ben also presented the talented local South West windsurfer, Izzy Hamilton (17) with the ‘RYA Regional Young Sailor of the Year’ award.  Izzy recently won Gold at the RS:X Youth Worlds in Turkey.