There is a handful of British sportsmen who can truly claim to be among the
best in the world; Ben Ainslie is one of them. Last week the 31-year-old
sailor was on course for at least a silver medal in Beijing and locked in a
two-horse race for gold. He’s already got an enviable track record.
Consider this: he has been British yachtsman of the year four times and ISAF
world sailor of the year twice; he won Olympic silver in 1996 and gold four
years later racing in the Laser class. He then put on 40lb to sail bigger
Finn boats, in which he secured his second gold in 2004, and is competing in
the same class this year.
“When I was younger I was fortunate with my competitors. I learnt that you
have to look after yourself on the racecourse, fight for every position and
give no quarter,” he says. “Even at the age of 10, racing Optimists around
the Carrick Roads down in Falmouth, it was a full-on battle.”
For a sea dog he says he has been inspired to a surprising degree by
landlubbers. “I took a lot from F1, the days of Damon Hill, Michael
Schumacher and Nigel Mansell and their intense public battles,” he says.
“The mental toughness of those guys, especially Schumacher, was amazing.”
Ainslie found not just inspiration but practical guidance from studying the
titans of the track. “Jacques Villeneuve said that the biggest thing about
fitness was his ability still to be able to think under the pressures of
heat and cornering, whatever.
“It’s the same with sailing. Sailing is an incredibly complex sport, with so
many things going on at once; you’re constantly analysing the speed of your
boat, the conditions and your competitors. When you’re working the boat
hard, your heart rate’s high and you’re tired. The fitter you are, though,
the more able you are to make the right tactical decisions.”
The key to winning for Ainslie is ruthless self-appraisal. “Sailing on my own,
if something goes wrong, there’s nowhere else to put the blame. You have to
be very honest to identify it, put it right and move forward.
“A lot of people in sailing talk about their performance, and from what I’ve
seen they’re kidding themselves. They fall by the wayside by not training
hard enough or being properly prepared. Preparation is everything to me. If
I went into an event short of preparation, I would find it hard to be
settled. Fortunately I go into events happy I’ve done everything I need to
do. I don’t want to compete unless I’m going to win. I’m not saying I’ll win
all the time but that’s my job: I’m there to win. I’m not interested in
coming second.”
To brass tacks, then. “In competition, I go onto a regime of very light
training, just to keep the body loose, with stretching and injury-prevention
exercises. All the hard work goes into the build-up to events, a lot of it
to do with putting on muscle mass or losing a bit of weight.
“I fluctuate my weight according to conditions [some venues are more windy
than others]. Putting on muscle for windy conditions is critical; in strong
winds it becomes very physical with a lot of rapid pumping of the sail to
make the boat go faster. Your heart rate shoots up, maxing out at around 190
for about five or 10 minutes.”
Tough on himself, Ainslie is a friendly, warm and intelligent
conversationalist, with the maturity to stand by his decisions despite the
personal cost.
“There are sacrifices,” he admits. “When I was younger I put too much pressure
on myself because I hadn’t yet got the gold. I’d given up on going to
university to have a crack at a professional sailing career, and if I didn’t
get those results, I was screwed.
“I’ve never led a normal life. In the past 10 years I haven’t spent more than
two weeks continuously at home in the UK. I’m a nomad, which is hard on
family, relationships and friends. But I’m incredibly fortunate because I do
what I love doing more than anything else in the world. You get an amazing
sense of achievement to get up on the podium. Now I don’t feel like I have
to go out there and race for anybody else; I’m doing it for myself.”
KIT BAG
ROOSTER CLASSIC HIKE SHORTS £85, www.roostersailing.com
“Hiking” is an essential part of Finn sailing (see the accompanying graphic)
but it generates a lot of friction and unusual pressure on the backs of the
thighs. These neoprene shorts can help, as they have built-in pads to
protect this vulnerable part of the legs, and they keep you warm when you’re
wet. In addition, knee pads protect against annoying knocks when you are
moving about in the boat’s cockpit.
GILL CHAMPIONSHIP SHORT-FINGERED GLOVES £20, www.gillclothing.co.uk
Not everyone uses gloves when they’re sailing dinghies. Those who choose not
to say it’s because they lose crucial awareness of even slight changes in
tension on the “sheets” (ropes) with gloves on. However, these
short-fingered gloves from Gill provide an excellent compromise, as they
leave the top half of your fingers exposed to maximise feel, while providing
additional Kevlar protection just above the palm to prevent rope burn and
skin blisters.
HENRI-LLOYD STEALTH RASH VEST £30, www.henrilloyd.com
Lightweight, super-stretchy and quick-drying, a rash vest is the
standard-issue base layer for dinghy sailors, as it provides protection
against the chafing of buoyancy aids, hiking shorts and wetsuits. This
Henri-Lloyd vest also features a contoured fit (which means it’s less likely
to snag on equipment) as well as a UV rating of 30 to protect you against
the many hours that will inevitably be spent in the sun.
AINSLIE’S TECHNIQUES FOR A FAST, FLAT FINN
The Finn is fastest when it’s raced flat in the water, and the battle to keep
it that way is called hiking. The manoeuvre is also called sitting out, and
requires the helmsman to redistribute his weight windward (upwind) to reduce
the extent to which the boat heels (leans away from the wind) and so
counteract the threat of capsizing.
In light airs such as those typically experienced in Qingdao, where the
Olympic regatta was being held, the dinghy barely leans over — or heels — at
all, because there is little pressure from the wind pushing against the
sails. In these conditions the helmsman balances between the middle of the
boat and the side-decking.
Once the wind is up to six or seven knots (force 2), the helmsman needs to sit
on the decking to keep the boat flat. There are toe straps running along the
floor of the cockpit to help Ainslie keep his balance.
As the wind rises beyond eight or nine knots (force 3), the pressure on the
sail increases. The helmsman must then lean farther out of the boat, using
more effort, to keep the boat flat and fast. Hiking like this over long
periods demands high levels of strength. The Finn can sustain wind speeds of
up to 35 knots.
THE REGIME
DIET
Ainslie’s diet depends on where he’s competing next. If a venue is likely to
be windy, he’ll bulk up in advance — adding an extra 7kg so he can use the
extra weight to keep his dinghy level.
“If I’m trying to put on weight, I get up at six and have a protein shake,”
he says. “If not, I’ll wait for breakfast at 7.30, and have an omelette,
wholemeal toast and skimmed milk.”
Lunch is a much lighter meal, as he’s often sailing in the middle of the day. “I
get by on PowerBars for protein or energy, supplemented by rehydration
drinks. Coming off the water, I’ll grab a sandwich or a bowl of pasta.
“Dinner is chicken or steak, with rice or potatoes and a salad or some
vegetables. And sometimes I’ll have a beer to relax.”
GETTING RACE-FIT
After the world championships of 2005, Ainslie took a two-year break from
racing Finns, to work for Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup. He returned
to the boat in 2007, and said in a recent interview with the International
Finn Association (www.finnclass.org)
that while he adapted quickly to sailing a single-handed dinghy again, he
had to work hard to regain his fitness. It took him a couple of months to
get back into shape.
Ainslie’s pre-Olympic regime focused on both strength and endurance. To build
the strength in his legs (essential for “hiking” — see graphic, above) he
did 3-4 static bicycle sessions a week, which had the added benefit of
improving his aerobic fitness. He would do one hour at 70% of his maximum
heart rate — around 155 beats per minute — then 45 minutes at 80-90% of his
maximum heart rate, about 170bpm.
Weights sessions included bent-over rows with a pair of 28kg dumbbells, as
well as bench presses, standing shoulder presses and biceps curls.
