Amazing Days

Ed Gorman takes a first look back at a very special two weeks for British sailing

The greatest Olympic Games for British sailing in the modern era is over with three gold medals and two silvers on their way back home. We all knew that there were chances for glory in Sydney, but the experience of Savannah had left us cautious about going too far.

But no-one, not the RYA coaches, the media or the sailors themselves could have predicted a result such as this, which has propelled Britain to the top of the rankings in Olympic sailing, and has done more for the sport in Britain than any other single event in recent times.

Much has been made of the critical importance of National Lottery funding over the past four years. This has certainly made a huge impact, enabling sailors to compete with the best equipment and at the highest level throughout the Olympic cycle. But sailing is not the only sport to have benefitted in this way and some - notably equestrianism for example - have failed to deliver at the Games.

This underlines that money alone cannot buy success. In my view, the RYA already had the right basis and the right approach before the injection of cash, and the funding has simply helped things develop more effectively and quickly than before. The team led by Rod Carr, formerly Racing Manager and now Secretary General, John Derbyshire, Olympic Team Manager, and his coaching staff - all deserve as much credit for this as the sailors themselves, and they have all acknowledged that.

There have been so many highpoints, it is difficult to pick the best. On the water, the duel between Ben Ainslie and Robert Scheidt at the end of the Laser series will live in the memory as one of the most dramatic and skillful episodes. Listening to the Olympic venue manager, Glenn Bourke - himself a three-time Laser world champion - talking in awestruck tones about both men's performance only underlined the fact. Bourke knows more than anyone what it takes to race Lasers at that level.

Shirley Robertson delivering the goods in Europes - at last fulfilling her potential to win the biggest championship of all, this was another milestone in Sydney. We were all willing her on, hoping that she would not falter and despite a blip in the penultimate race, her nerve did not fail. Then Iain Percy did the business in Finns. He simply destroyed the field. He was in a different class and we almost forgot how hard it was - so easy did Perky make it look.

But the highest point of them all had to be Ian Walker and Mark Covell's silver in Stars. To everyone in British sailing this is the most special of medals, a tribute not only to Ian and Mark's determination and skill, but to the two sailors who inspired them, the late John Merricks and Glyn Charles. As Ian remarked after a brilliant final race, which saw them pipped for gold by just one point, "There should be four medals for us, not two."

Finally, a word about Bourke and his staff and the 800 volunteers who ran the sailing venue at Rushcutter's Bay. This was a superbly organised regatta which will set the standard by which future Olympic venues will be judged. I heard not one word of complaint from sailors about the on-the-water side, while the shore facilities were laid out with meticulous care and thought. While the weather did not perhaps co-operate to make the Harbour all it could have been, it is hard to fault Bourke and his team. As I have noted before, Bourke aimed to deliver a regatta for sailors, run by sailors. He achieved his aim.