Ben Ainslie diary

Having departed OneWorld the Laser Gold is now focussing on the Finn

They say 'there's no place like home', but with the weather we've had over the past few weeks it might have been better to stay in Auckland! Fortunately my life now seems to revolve around David Lloyd's gym and so the weather outside is of little consequence.

It's always exciting starting a new project and I definitely feel this way about the Finn. While I used to have a go in the Finn now and again, I never truly appreciated the possibilities with tuning the rig. I'm sure that some of what I learned at OneWorld will help me in making the boat go fast, and to be professional about the sport.

The Finn fleet in the UK is the strongest it's been in a long time. Andrew Simpson has taken the reins from Iain Percy at the top of the fleet with a second at last years Europeans, but youngsters like Chris Brittle and Charlie Cumbley are hot on his heels. Chris was fourth at last years Worlds, whilst Charlie was ninth. This quite impressive level of depth in the class is boosted by having David 'Sid' Howlett as coach. Sid obviously helped Iain on his way to Gold and has a vast amount of knowledge to learn from.

At present I'm not quite sure where I fit into the fleet. I have only been out once due to a long term injury. The injury will keep me out of action for a while, but I should be fit for the first big event, the Olympic Classes Regatta in Palma at the end of March. I will have done one weeks training, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I have a huge mountain to climb, but I'm looking forward to the challenge of trying to rise through the fleet, avoiding the usual 'pecking orders'. The early days in the Laser, were, in some ways, more rewarding, as you have little pressure and are just going flat out to get to the top. I have the same feeling now about the Finn.

The biggest hurdle I'm facing at the moment is trying to increase my weight from 85kg to 95 kg. There are two methods of doing this, the Guinness and Pie method or the less favoured scenario of lifting weights all day long. Pete Cunningham the teams physiologist has given me a good programme and only time will tell as to which method I enjoyed most! I haven't hiked for a year and a half and the other day I felt it. I don't think it matters how many 'vanity' muscles you train in the gym, there's no substitute for sailing fitness. Let's hope there’s not much wind in Palma.

I keep being asked how the other Finn sailors, especially Bart, have reacted to my joining the class. I think it shows something about the Finn class that they have all been really positive about it. I think everyone realises that to be the best in a technical class like the Finn, you have to work together to a certain degree to make big improvements. With the squad and coaching we have I think we can make some big gains, and then it's just down to who races the best!