Adam May - a madforsailing profile

Dundee, Scotland

What’s your date of birth?
6th July 1976

What age did you start sailing?
Aged 11.

What was your first regatta win?
Probably some Cadet event in '88, but the first major one was the 1989 Cadet Nationals.

What’s your biggest championship win?
UK Olympic selection trials.

Any other notable regatta wins you’d like to mention?
World Youth Match Racing Championships 1994 & 1995. (Bowman for Richard Sydenham). National Match racing championships 1996, International Moth Junior champion '93. Tornado Torbole Trophy '99.

Where did you grow up?
Exmouth, Devon.

What job do you do?
Aeronautical Engineer with British Aerospace Systems.

If you weren’t doing the job you are, what would you be doing instead?
Olympic sailing full time.

What other sports do you do outside sailing?
Cycling.

Any other hobbies or interests?
Boat building & design. Computers, anything flying related, and photography.

Favourite method of relaxing?
A visit to friends in Beer, Devon.

Favourite bar or pub?
The bar at Beer sailing club.

What inspired you to take up sailing?
I was asked to crew a Cadet, and enjoyed it so much I’ve been sailing ever since.

Where was your first sailing club?
Exe Sailing Club, on the River Exe in Devon.

Which class did you first race in?
Cadet class.

How did you buy your first boat?
My parents bought my sister and I a Mirror dinghy. I then built myself an International Moth a few years later.

Have you ever used a coach and who were they?
We worked with Pete Conway from just before the UK selection trials until the Olympics, and with David Howlett during the Games period. I’ve worked with a number of RYA coaches throughout my Olympic campaign, and the match racing I’ve done.

What professional links do you have to the sport?
I work for Specialized Marine in Lyme Regis occasionally. I do product tests for Gill and odd bits of design and construction work for a few boat building friends.

What’s your most memorable moment in sailing?
Sailing an International 14 in Beer (that place in Devon!) surrounded by dolphins.

What’s your biggest remaining goal in sailing?
An Olympic Gold Medal would rank as number one, but the America's Cup would be nice as well!

How much time do you spend on the water each week?
Five days, 4/5 hours-a-day in the lead up to the Games. With technical, fitness and logistic work taking up the remaining time.

Do you have a sponsor, and if so, who?
I am lucky enough to have a few - British Aerospace Systems, WCP plan, Specialized Marine, P&O Stena Line, Neil Pryde, Oakley, Gill & Marlow.

Who are your Sailing heroes and why?
John Bertrand - I'm a big fan of his book about his impressive '83 America's Cup win.

What is the best excuse you’ve ever made for a poor performance in a race?
I had to pull out of an event because I almost chopped the end of my finger off - does that count?

What’s your favorite sailing venue?
Sydney, or San Francisco.

What’s the single thing that could most improve the running of championship regattas?
Efficiency of organisers.

What’s your greatest strength in sailing?
My technical knowledge.

What’s your greatest weakness in sailing?
Wanting to do more technical work!

What’s the single most important piece of advice you could give to younger sailors?
Practice, practice, practice.

Would you rather sail with your friends - or with Russell Coutts?
My friends.

Who’s the best sailor in Britain?
I couldn’t single anybody out. I respect the abilities of all the members of the Olympic squad past and present. I’d mention Jamie Lea though, my old Cadet helm. He is one of the best natural sailors I know, along with Richard Sydenham who is a top Match Racer.

Who’s the best sailor in the world?
Far too many sailors, events and boats to pick an answer to that one! (Wouldn’t disagree if Iain Percy or Ben Ainslie won the World Sailor of the Year title though!)

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