Magnus Wheatley interviews Ben Ainslie - part 2
by Magnus Wheatley 17 Jul 2003 09:03 BST
Ainslie helming during day two of the 2003 Admiral's Cup just inside the Spanish Telefonica Movistar © Rick Tomlinson
MW: Going on to the Admiral’s Cup, you’re a singlehander and you’re sailing with 10-12 other guys, how are you finding that?
BA: I really enjoy it actually. It is a different mind-set definitely and I’m still improving. Sometimes I’m afraid that I’m going to be too vocal and probably I need to interact more with the crew than I do. Not in terms of shouting at people but more working with the trimmers and the tactician. Rather than when you’re on your own and it’s all just ticking through your brain.
MW: That’s rather like going back to the thing of being in the zone. Have you found yourself in that zone on a bigger boat?
BA: Not really. It’s totally different. Although it’s interesting reading articles on Alinghi where they say that in the last races of the Cup all the guys where in the zone. In big boats you are totally at the level of the guys around you and you have to be at their level. You can’t be wanting to tack twice in thirty seconds as they can’t do that. Everyone’s got to be working together.
MW: If you look at that second race of the Cup where Alinghi won by 7 seconds, Coutts although he wasn’t microphoned was working to almost perfection with Simon Daubney and Warwick Fleury. Is it a case that you’ve got to find a team around you?
BA: Absolutely. I think a lot of people realise that the reason they’ve been so successful is that they’ve been together for so long.
MW: Have you found anyone?
BA: I haven’t really although I have an idea of the people who’d I’d like to sail with who would make a good team certainly the likes of Iain Percy and I think we have a lot of really talented sailors here so I think we can get something going.
MW: Going into this Admiral’s Cup you’re sailing with Ian Walker and that’s a combination that many would see as a dream team. What do you hope to get out of the Admiral’s Cup? It’s a strange format…
BA: Yes it is. I’m really looking forward to it. I know there have been people saying the racing’s all wrong and that there will be some boats miles ahead. But I think it’s going to be great working with Ian Walker and all the guys on board and that’s going to be a good learning experience because I haven’t really done that much, apart from the One Ton cup, where everyone’s really getting into it. So hopefully I’m going to learn a lot from it and interact a lot more with the team…
MW: That’s interesting because the impression that I get from them is that they’re hoping to learn a lot from you…Do you find that now you’re status in sailing is such that people want to learn from you whilst you still want to learn from them. Is that an interesting dynamic?
BA: Yes it is. I think it will be hard for people to find out what makes me tick as it probably is with someone like Russell Coutts as it’s all inside.
MW: Looking at the format of the Admiral’s Cup, it’s now a club event. If you look back on the early 1990’s it was the pinnacle of offshore sailing. Now you’ve got events like the Farr 40 Worlds that are bigger… Is that a fair assessment?
BA: You’re right. When I was growing up I looked at the Admiral’s Cup on TV and thought that’s what I want to do when I’m older so that’s why I’m really excited to do the event. Sure it’s fallen by the wayside in the last ten years but I think this could be the start of better things to come in the future. The history of it has been fantastic and if we could get it back to that state everyone would love it.
MW: Do you like IMS racing?
BA: Well I haven’t done a lot of it…
MW: Because you’re a One-design man…
BA: Well there are arguments either way. I think having one One-Design class in the Admiral’s Cup would probably be better with a bigger open class would get the racing closer and attract more boats.
MW: It’s interesting talking to you when the subject of politics comes up. Do you find yourself trapped a bit by us the media?
BA: Well I don’t mind talking about Finn or Laser stuff but whereas I’ve done a fair amount of big boat sailing I haven’t spent a lot of time discussing with people the rights and wrongs of it all. I’ve done the sailing and then run back to the Olympic class boats.
MW: It’s interesting because talking with Ernesto Bertarelli he says that it’s the one thing that he wants to take out of sailing and to try and keep it all on the water.
BA: I think it’s fantastic that they won, as much as I admire Russell Coutts, I think Bertarelli is one of these guys who really wants to do well for the Cup and they’re smart, young people who I think are going to do good things for the Cup.
MW: Okay looking at the Athens Olympics. What are your hopes, aims and ambitions?
BA: Obviously if I get to Athens the aim is to win Gold. I think going to the Olympics and getting any medal is a great achievement but Gold is what you’re looking for. So far it’s gone very well and I’m getting more consistent but the Olympics has a habit of chewing up the favourites and spitting them out the back so there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in preparation to get it right on the day.
MW: Can you just talk me through your preparations. What do you do?
BA: It’s all about building up to the big events so I’m having a couple of weeks off dinghy sailing with the Admiral’s Cup and then basically it’s two and a half months, sailing every day up to the World Championships and then probably I won’t sail for a month afterwards, do some fitness training and come back down. Then I’ll be getting out to Athens in the winter and doing some training there with a few more training camps to get used to the venue.
MW: You’ve gone from Laser sailing where the optimum is 80 kilos to the Finn where you’re 95 kilos. What did you do to get there?
BA: Lots of weight training! A few Guinnesses but mainly I tried to do it in the gym and it was a good challenge actually. It was a lot of hard work but it’s amazing seeing your body change shape and having to go out and buy a new wardrobe.
MW: When you’re preparing for an event, say three weeks before, what sort of training are you doing?
BA: On the water sailing anywhere between 3-6 hours a day and then in the gym afterwards.
MW: Where’s the ‘fun’ factor in all of this for you?
BA: Fun? That went out the door a long time ago. (laughs)
MW: Do you class it as almost a 9-5 job?
BA: No I class myself as very fortunate. But like I say there are times when all I’m doing for a month is a couple of hours weight training a day and working on the logistics. Then there are other times where you’re putting in huge hours a day and it’s completely knackering but the fun comes from the realisation of making an improvement be it in the rig, body movement or whatever and obviously trying to achieve the goal and getting there is where the real buzz comes from.
MW: What’s the feeling like of winning a gold medal as it only happens to a few people in life?
BA: It’s huge I was nearly in tears especially against someone like Robert Scheidt as when I came into the class he was the man to beat and it wasn’t until 1998 that I beat him at a World Championships and that was the extra incentive really. So to realise that I’d actually beaten him at an Olympics was amazing.
MW: Standing on that podium in Sydney with the Opera House in the background, what was it like?
BA: The biggest thing was when they announced my name and I walked forward to the podium and I realised that I had a special step for me to get up higher than the other two. That’s something I’ll always remember as wow I’ve made it now.
MW: Okay so Athens is next year. Will you hang your boots up after that? Say if you won gold?
BA: Definitely I think in terms of doing serious Olympic campaigns. I may get tempted back to a bit of Star sailing like Cayard or whoever but I’m one of these people that like to do things and give it everything I’ve got. I’d struggle to step into an Olympic class and just do it part-time. The ultimate goals after the Olympics are the America’s Cup and races like the Volvo Ocean race.
MW: Do you think that Britain can really ever challenge again for the America’s Cup?
BA: Oh yes absolutely. I think it’s a pretty pessimistic view if we can’t. We’ve got to get the right people involved, we’ve got the money in the UK, the technology and the technological experience?
MW: Do you think we have got the money in the UK?
BA: Absolutely. I just think that people are being stingy. If it’s going to happen it’s got to happen soon as it’s only four years away so the sooner the better.
MW: What about the singlehanded scene? Would you do that?
BA: Probably not as it’s a completely different kind of sailing although I’ve got huge admiration for Emma Richards, Ellen MaCarthur and Mike Golding who all do a fantastic job but it’s almost a different sport. Very very tough.
MW: Final questions. Balancing personal life and sailing how do you do it?
BA: I’ve been very fortunate in having supportive parents and my girlfriend used to be an Olympic 470 sailor for Sweden so she understands what’s going on so I’m pretty lucky with the people that I’ve got around me. A lot of the friends I’ve got around Lymington know sailing or understand what it’s all about.
MW: You’ve been in international competition since a young lad. Do you feel you’ve missed out on anything at all?
BA: I probably did miss out on a few things especially University because I went to the Olympics in 1996 and then went straight into training for Sydney (2000). So I did miss out on that which I do think is a shame but all the people out there doing Olympic sailing or sailing professionally are really lucky to get the chance to do something they love and be out there doing it so we can’t complain.
MW: Cheers Ben
BA: No probs, Cheers!