Weymouth, London 2012's sailing venue, is promising to deliver a spectacular event for the next Olympics.
Weymouth chief promises long-term plan for British sailing
The London 2012 Olympics isn't just an opportunity to showcase a two week festival of sport, which brings together dedicated and talented athletes from around the globe to compete for gold, silver and bronze.
In addition, and arguably more essentially, it will provide a re-motivated country with an almost unbreakable foundation to build a new legacy of sporting excellence as well as radically increasing participation across a wider variety of activities.
This philosophy is strongly held by the forward-thinking Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, which is the first venue to be completed and ready for what they expect to be a highly successful 2012 extravaganza.
Great Britain have been ruling the waves at the past three summer Games and in China last year the formidable team sailed back home with an awesome haul of four gold, one silver and a bronze.
The country's sailing stars, most notably treble Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie, can often be found honing their skills in the waters at Weymouth and there would appear to be no boundaries as to what they might achieve on home territory in three years time.
But John Tweed, the chief executive of the WPNSA, is sure the venue will offer no unfair advantage while he doesn't expect the competition to be hampered by the same wind and tide problems experienced at the Olympic sailing venue in Qingdao last summer, which caused racing to be postponed on several occasions over 12 dramatic days.
He said: "The great thing we have here of course is the quality of the sailing waters. We have some of the best sailing waters on the planet here in Weymouth and Portland and of course we have the ability in that it's a large area which provide the five race areas which are part of the Olympic specification.
"All of that is combined with a very benign tidal climate - so we haven't got those strong tides which would give anyone with local knowledge an advantage.
"We would hope that we will have more consistent conditions here in 2012 and one other big factor in China was that there were some strong tides offshore and it was either blowing very hard or there was not enough wind to complete the races on some occasions. It was very variable and we hope that we will offer greater consistency."
The chasing pack
Tweed has witnessed the extraordinary talents of the British sailors first hand but would like to think the terrific facilities at Weymouth and Portland have played a small part in their astounding progress over the past decade.
"I guess it was a factor but the most important aspect was the skill and dedication of the athletes as well as obviously the quality of the coaching they've been getting," he said.
"The sailing team's preparation was so meticulous under the excellent direction of Stephen Park, the Royal Yachting Association's Olympic Manager."
Team GB dominated sailing in a similar fashion to how Sir Chris Hoy led the cycling team to unprecedented levels of success inside the Laoshan Velodrome and it would be fair to say the general public will be expecting even more in 2012.
But, as Tweed warns, both of these tremendous teams are being chased hard by rival nations who will no doubt feel they have a score to settle.
"I know the team will be trying very hard to emulate the success they've had in previous Games but it is getting harder all the time," said Tweed. "We've got one less medal to compete for at 2012 than we had in Beijing and Athens and a lot of countries are very keen to come here and knock us off our perch.
"I think the Australians for example were quite stunned that they didn't do too well in China and will redouble their efforts for 2012.
"A lot of people are focusing on the methods of our sailing and cycling teams use to get their success and fiercely trying to emulate some of those."
But the elite accolades and honours are just the tip of the ice berg, and merely just a sign that the development of the sport has never been healthier.
And Tweed can only see it go from strength to strength, thanks to the Olympic redevelopment of the Academy.
He said: "We'd be delighted to see further success for the Brits at London 2012, obviously, but it's only part of the picture.
"We're trying to ensure a wider participation and to inspire people to try sailing, which is a sport suitable for all ages, rather than just being a spectator. So we want people to take this up and participate.
"The Academy will go on long beyond 2012 with lots of people wanting to sail here as it's an Olympic venue and we want to ensure we have a long-term, sustainable future as an organization.
"We look at other previous Olympic venues such as the Port of Kiel in 1972 and how they've created a cultural and sailing festival, which is very important to the local economy. We're trying to do something similar with the Spirit of the Sea, which started last year and will hopefully continue long into the future and be a lasting benefit and legacy to the local area."
Bright future
One of the most influential initiatives the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy promote is the 'Sail for £5 Chesil Trust Programme', which provides children and young people with disabilities a wonderful opportunity to try the sport at a low cost.
In addition SailLaser, who operate the sailing school at WPNSA, run a number of other programmes for all levels of ability and ages, while naturally ensuring there is an advanced route for promising individuals to achieve excellence.
Tweed explained: "We have a very active community programme which is run alongside a local charity - the Chesil Trust - and SailLaser, who provide our sailing school on site, and it's very important for us to have this to ensure greater participation.
"The Chesil Trust has a number of programmes. It tries to increase participation by its very successful scheme 'Sail for £5' where local children get the opportunity of a half-day sailing session to try out for just five pounds. The charity and Sail Laser pick up the remainder of the cost.
"So far over 3,500 local young children have got the opportunity to go out onto the water for the first time. But in addition to that we try and take them on so that those who are interested and enthusiastic about sailing have the opportunities to continue in the sport.
"The Chesil Trust has a programme to give some financial assistance to the very talented youngsters to pursue their interest. It's very broad ranging from initial participation through to encouraging future talented athletes.
"One of the objectives is to overcome the barriers of participation, whether it's financial or if people have disabilities."
Tweed is also keen to point out the likelihood of a novice coming face to face with an Olympic hero such as Sarah Ayton and Paul Goodison while out at sea.
He said: "Obviously they have to retain their focus but they are brilliant bunch who are good at mixing. For example a young person be going into the water for the first time might be going along the slipway alongside an Olympian.
"There are not many sports where that would action happen and that's a real inspiration for young people."
Breathtaking
A commonly-held perception of sailing is that it's not really geared towards spectators.
But the redevelopments at the WPNSA could well revolutionise the sport and attract new crowds to come down and attend a live event. And they promise to host a spectacular show.
Tweed said: "At London 2012 there will be big screens showing the action from the water, expert commentary, cameras on the boats and GPS tracking of the boats so you'll be able to see some of the tactics being played out."We think this is the chance to transform our sport to being an experience for the spectator. Also we're hoping to create a carnival atmosphere in Weymouth for the whole of the 14 days of the Games, such as street performers, music and cultural events running alongside the sporting activities. It really will be something to look forward to.
"It's a fantastic experience to go to an Olympic event and it's not going to be very often we have them in the UK."
The WPNSA completed its redevelopment work to be ready for London 2012 over three years ahead of schedule and in budget but Tweed insists there was no need to rush due to the fact their were starting from a very good standpoint.
They also had key environmental concerns to consider and having handled these with so much care, even Natural England were compelled to lavish praise on their efforts.
Tweed said: "We had relatively recently built the main part of the sailing academy and were an existing venue. We have the great advantage that the field of play is already there for us and what ne needed to do was enhance the onshore facilities.
"We've done very thorough environmental assessments and put in place measures to protect the natural habitat, including a microscopic worm which lives in the sediment at the bottom of the harbour, which is unique to Portland Harbour and the UK and it's an endangered species internationally.
"We've done a lot and Natural England have described us as a model of best practice because of the measures we've taken to ensure that we don't affect what is a sensitive environment."
Big influence
Tweed is also delighted to have Ainslie on the board of directors and believes his influence from a sailor perspective provides invaluable insight to how the WPNSA must be run.
He said: "He is a great ambassador both for the Academy and for the sport in general. He's the most successful and best known sailor in the world and with our other directors they all play an important part as ambassadors for the Academy and the area.
"We've got a very good board of directors with broad experience. Ben is one of three people on the board who have competed in Olympic sailing events so that brings a very useful athlete perspective to everything that we're doing and the issues raised. It's vital that our facility is right for the participants and competitors here so their perspective is essential."
Versatile
The venue's offshore facilities can cater for a wide variety of events such as triathlons, boxing fights, cycling races and also a starting point for full and half marathons.
The rich versatility ensures they've become an integral part of the community and Tweed insists they'll be no let up as the Olympic Games edge closer, with a packed programme of events planned for the year ahead.
He said: "We have a fantastic full programme this year including the Sail for Gold regatta in September, which has all of the Olympic classes participating so this means we'll have the world's elite sailors competing here.
"We've got various World Championships including those for the RSX and the Techno - which are both for windsurfers - and the Tornado class while we're doing more and more big boat events.
"We're not sitting on our hands waiting for London 2012, everything is going on here and it's really exciting to see the venue in full use."
Tweed admits the WPNSA are continually in gratitude to their sponsors, who have helped them hit all their targets and much more.
And as long as the partnerships continue to grow, there's little doubt the future will be bright for British sailing.
He said: "We're attracting a growing number of sponsors and they assist us in different ways. We've got a gold sponsor in Scottish and Southern Energy and they've assisted us with new green energy generators on the site. Currently up to between 15% and 20% of energy used on the site is actually generated ourselves. We've got solar panels, a small wind turbine. They've also helped us financially which has improved our facility as well as our community programme.
"We've also got Charles Russell, a London firm of solicitors, who again provide financial support for us and assist us with community sailing. We've recently also signed a deal with Musto, who supply clothing, while the likes of BA Systems and Ribeye ensure we have a great set of sponsors.
"We realise the current economic circumstances make it very difficult but we're always delighted to speak to new people to see how we can assist them by promoting their brand and how they can assist us in promoting the Academy.
"I think the experience our sponsors get is a good one - it's an association with excellence, a world-class venue and we have the facilities to do things like corporate entertaining and team building for their staff."
