I love watching the Olympics. Ben Anslie is probably the best know name in sailing. He will be in San Francisco four days after he finishes in Weymouth; sailing for Oracle. So much for national pride.
For most of you the idea of sponsorship is an everyday thought. For me, the tiny reference about his coach sailing when there was no sponsorship and you had to make your way on your own resonates. I had qualified, but the idea of asking other people for help so I could go sailing was more than I dared to do. I could not afford to persue that path and had to move on. It is a different world. When I sailed in the America’s Cup it was amateur as well. As one friend said to me:” we were lucky to get a T shirt or a belt.”