Sir Ben Ainslie

Presenter0:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young. Thank you for downloading this podcast of Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio 4. For rights reasons the music choices are shorter than in the radio broadcast.

Presenter0:10

For more information about the programme, please visit bbc.co.uk slash radio four.

Presenter0:34

My castaway this week is the sailor, Sir Ben Ainslie. Eleven times world and nine times European champion, he is also the most successful sailor in Olympic history.

Presenter0:45

As he crossed the finishing line at the London twenty twelve Games, winning his fourth gold.

Presenter0:50

The crowd gave a rousing rendition of Rule Britannia.

Presenter0:53

Indeed, he rules the waves with such a ruthless will to win it seems somewhat contradictory that on dry land he comes across as an unassuming bloke from Cornwall.

Presenter1:02

He was eight when, in a dufflecoat and wellies, he made his first solo journey in a little wooden boat. Ever since, sailing has been his obsession. Brave, strong, and skilled, yes, but it's his tactical nouse and maverick streak that sets him apart. In last year's America's Cup he turned a one-eight defeat into a nine-eight win for the US. Whether he can do the same for his home team may be his next big challenge. He says the desire to win is still the same as ever. If it wasn't there, that would be a worry. Motivation has never really been a problem for me. So, Ben Ainsley, highly motivated then, when it comes to winning. I wonder when you're racing.

Presenter1:47

The feeling of wanting to win, how does it physically manifest itself?

Sir Ben Ainslie1:52

Well, it's a strange thing'cause as you said, in my life and most other things, I'm not really that aggressive or concerned about winning or losing. But for some reason, when I when I get into a boat, um, that's all I really care about. It's sort of a I morph into almost a different character. And um I suppose in the past I have scared myself on the odd occasion. But no, I'm I'm very focused and determined to try and be the best sailor I I possibly can be and whenever I'm out there racing I of course I want to win.

Presenter2:21

Give me an example of when you've scared yourself.

Sir Ben Ainslie2:23

Oh, a couple of years ago I got sort of taken out of this race by a media boat, and I ended up jumping onto the media boat and in no uncertain terms mentioned to this driver of this boat that he certainly shouldn't have been where he was, and he he'd ruined my race. And it got me into a lot of trouble. But I guess for me it was also quite a good learning experience.

Presenter2:42

Um we think we know what makes a champion sprinter, or what makes a a champion tennis player. Your challenges in being a world class sailor are multidisciplinary. Many diverse things are required in terms of your skills. What do you need to do what you do?

Sir Ben Ainslie2:57

Well, you're absolutely right. It's uh sailing is is an incredibly diverse sport. Of course you like any other sport you have to be fit and strong. You have to have some kind of understanding of the weather and the wind and the seas and how that's going to affect your race. And quite a strategic mind, I think, to be able to put all that together whilst you're sailing along, trying to sail the boat as quickly as you can, but you're also sort of effectively playing chess on water is is how a lot of people describe it.

Presenter3:24

And last year then was the thirty fourth America's Cup in San Francisco. The US team looked like they were absolutely well beaten. As I said in the introduction there, they were one eight down. Are you fetted now, wherever you go in the United States?

Presenter3:36

They treat you as a god among men.

Sir Ben Ainslie3:38

Well, it it's interesting in the US because sailing is a big sport there, but it's of course it's nothing like basketball, baseball, they're they're key sports. And so I think everybody was relieved that America had hung on to the trophy. But no, I wouldn't say walking around the streets of New York that um too many people have stopped me to thank me.

Presenter3:57

Let's go to your first piece of music, then, Ben Ainsley. Tell me what we're we're gonna hear.

Sir Ben Ainslie4:01

Well, this is I'm Still Standing by Elton John.

Presenter4:03

What I do like this.

Sir Ben Ainslie4:04

Well, I think you've gotta have a little bit of Elton John if you're gonna be stuck on a desert island, and it's just a very uplifting song, isn't it?

Speaker 44:10

You can never know what it's like You're blood like winter fuses just like ice And there's a cold and only light that shines from you You whine up like the rig you hide Behind that mask to you

Speaker 44:24

And did you think this fool could never win? Well look at me, I'm a coming back again. I gotta taste the love and a sample way. And if you need to know while I'm still standing, you just fade away.

Speaker 44:36

Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did?

Speaker 44:42

Looking like a true survivor

Speaker 44:44

Feeling like a little kid

Presenter4:47

That was Autonjohn, and I'm still standing. We were chatting a moment ago, Sir Ben Inslee, about the America's Cup and the great success that you brought the American team to just last year. When you're at the helm, you're trying to go as fast as you can, but also keep the boat under control.

Presenter5:03

To somebody like me, give me a sense of what that's like.

Sir Ben Ainslie5:06

Well, actually, um, we were all beginners in this game of the the new class of the Americas Cup boat, the multi holes that we saw flying around, so they're lifting out of the water on their foils.

Presenter5:16

That's it.

Sir Ben Ainslie5:16

And that so that's something which was completely new to the Americas Cup. And for the last three years we all had to learn how to sail these boats and and frankly it was terrifying at times because they were completely out of control. We had no idea how to tame the beast, if you like.

Presenter5:16

Breath

Presenter5:32

When Sir Ben Ainslie is terrified, are you ever thinking, Um this is the last time?

Sir Ben Ainslie5:38

Well, no. At the moment you're just thinking about how to get control of the boat and how to sail the boat properly. And you don't really have time to be too scared or too fearful because um that's when the mistakes will really set in, I think. So you just have to try and focus as hard as you can with your teammates. It's it's it's a team effort on these boats to get control of the thing and and start sailing it.

Presenter5:58

It seems very personal often between you and the crews that you are opposing. Is it I mean, do you go into the bar and have a pint with them afterwards?

Sir Ben Ainslie6:05

Yeah, it can be personal, especially in the Olympic sailing that I've done because it's single-handed sailing, so it's sort of mano-mano, if you like, and sometimes egos get in the way and um it can be difficult, but no, I I would have to say on the whole, sailing is one of those sports that, yeah, you go out on the water and you fight for everything you've got, but you come back, you get onto the land and you shake hands and yeah, you might go and have a beer at the end of the event.

Presenter6:29

Sometimes.

Sir Ben Ainslie6:31

Most of the time.

Presenter6:32

So it's clear that you like to win, what are you like when you lose?

Sir Ben Ainslie6:35

Oh, I'm uh I'm fine, you know. No, I I'm pretty I I guess I'm a little bit dark for a while. Yeah, I don't I don't like losing. I just take myself off.

Presenter6:39

Now I

Presenter6:41

I guess I'm a little bit.

Presenter6:46

For a walk or run, are you on water? What do you do?

Sir Ben Ainslie6:48

Yeah, running's good. Going to the gym just to get away and um let out some steam and then you move on.

Presenter6:54

Let's have some more music, then, Sir Ben Ainsley. We're on your second. Tell me about this one.

Sir Ben Ainslie6:58

Well, this song Coming Around Again by Carly Simon is one of my father's favourites and really my dad was the person who got me into sailing and inspired me to be a sailor. He competed in in the first ever Whipbread Around the World race in 1973 and you know growing up listening to the stories of that race and this being his favourite tune it sort of takes me back to my childhood.

Speaker 47:21

Baby sneezes.

Speaker 47:24

Mommy

Speaker 47:28

Dead Easter's in

Speaker 47:34

So good on paper

Speaker 47:38

So rondy.

Speaker 47:41

So bewildery.

Speaker 47:49

I know.

Presenter7:51

That was Carly Simon and coming around again. So, Sir Ben Ainsley, you were mentioning there that your father uh sailed in it was the first ever Whitbread race, wasn't it, in nineteen seventy three?

Sir Ben Ainslie8:00

That's right, yeah.

Presenter8:01

Yes. As a little boy, you heard him tell tales of that. What did he tell you about his experience?

Sir Ben Ainslie8:06

Well, it was an amazing story because my parents lived in Cheshire at the time and they were very amateur sailors. I think they used to sail from Holyhead in North Wales in small folk boats, which are little sort of twenty foot wooden clinker boats. And this race was announced to be the first ever crewed around the world race. And they just decided they were going to do this race in the bar one evening with their friends. And they all sort of either sold or mortgaged or took out loans to charter a boat. And all of them were complete amateurs. They'd never really been offshore at all. The only sort of professional sailor that they had was a navigator out of the navy who thankfully knew what was going on. He could navigate them around the world. And they took it on. And I think out of twenty three yachts that entered the race, they finished seventh, which, considering they had no idea what they were doing, was amazing.

Presenter8:55

And I say you're a boy from Cornwall, but actually you were born in Macclesfield, nineteen seventy seven. Um what are your earliest memories of life at home in Macclesfield?

Sir Ben Ainslie9:03

Yeah, well we grew up on a farm, or next door to a farm. So I remember being incredibly naughty and quite often jumping over the fence with my friends at the time. One particular incident I managed to start a tractor at the age of about five.

Presenter9:17

Well done.

Sir Ben Ainslie9:17

Ah

Sir Ben Ainslie9:18

And we were so scared we didn't know what to do, so we left the tractor, jumped over the fence, went back home and proceeded to tell mummy mummy there's some very naughty boys that have been in the farm yard and started the tractor. Of course my mum knew in an instant what what had happened and I got in a lot of trouble.

Presenter9:34

It's part of the folklore of your back story, then, that you woke up one Christmas morning to find this little second hand wooden boat in your bedroom that Father Christmas had delivered, and that your Dad said to you, We're going to the pub. There's the water, we'll meet you there, and let you go off in your boat, dressed in a duffle coat and wellies, and not much else.

Sir Ben Ainslie9:53

Hmm.

Presenter9:53

It's mostly true, is that the bit that I can't understand is the life jacket. Was there a life jacket?

Sir Ben Ainslie9:58

Yeah, no, I have to admit there wasn't a life jacket, which is which is very, very dangerous, and of course, I think these days would would be frowned upon quite rightly. But back in the early eighties, people didn't worry about things like that quite so much. We lived in a very small fishing cottage on on the edge of the water. And yeah, my my dad pushed me off in this little dinghy, and that was the first time I'd ever sailed on my own. And I'd never forget the feeling of freedom and just listening to the water running under the boat. Really amazing feeling at that age to be in control of something.

Presenter10:31

And you were only eight years old. Um

Presenter10:34

Really a pivotal moment in your life? Do you think that suddenly the hand was in the glove and you thought, Yeah, this feels good?

Sir Ben Ainslie10:39

I think so. I think to a certain extent sailing was my salvation. I struggled a little bit at s at school and and sailing was my outlet, if you like. It was my way to to escape from everything on land and I just loved being on the water and and then as I started to sail at the local club I made some great friends down there um and those were really my my long term friendships came through sailing after that.

Presenter11:01

Right, we're going to hear your third then, Ben. Tell me about this. What are we going to hear?

Sir Ben Ainslie11:05

Well, this is Read All About It by Emily Sandey, which.

Sir Ben Ainslie11:11

Apart from just the most amazing voice was of course some of the music based around the London twenty twelve Olympics, which is very special for a lot of people and certainly great memories for me.

Speaker 411:24

Cause I wanna see.

Sir Ben Ainslie11:25

Uh

Speaker 411:27

I wanna shout.

Speaker 411:30

I wanna scream till the worms dry out

Sir Ben Ainslie11:34

Try out.

Speaker 411:37

Put it in all of the papers. I'm not afraid.

Sir Ben Ainslie11:37

It in all.

Speaker 411:44

We can read all about it, read all about it at all.

Speaker 411:53

Oh ow.

Presenter11:56

That was Emily Sunday and Read All About It and I'm wondering Bear and Eansley as you listen to that what what's maybe your strongest memory from the Olympics?

Sir Ben Ainslie12:06

Ah without doubt, walking into the closing ceremony I was given a huge honor to walk the flag into the stadium and I hadn't been into the Olympic Stadium before that and the atmosphere was just incredible. It was electric and to go into that particular stadium at that moment and think about everything that had just taken place and it sort of had to pinch yourself really to say, Wow, I can't believe I'm standing here after such an incredible event at in in our home country.

Presenter12:36

You've described yourself as a worrier as a child. Wh where did the worry come from? What was the problem?

Sir Ben Ainslie12:44

Well, uh many things I suppose, but um I didn't really have anything uh at school as I was growing up until I found sailing that uh I really could get my teeth into that I really loved doing. And um it was just a case that uh would I sort of be able to um find a path with my life moving forwards, which I I suppose at the age of sort of ten or twelve it's a little bit deep thinking, but um for some reason that was that was something that bothered me.

Presenter13:12

You had I read that you had a sort of skin condition that would be exacerbated by the sun. You had what skin that blistered or flaked or?

Sir Ben Ainslie13:18

Yeah, well well I still s suffer from it not as as badly as as I did when I was a child, and yeah, it's rather unfortunate as a sailor.

Sir Ben Ainslie13:26

Two have a a sun allergy, which is eff effectively what it is.

Presenter13:29

And w were you picked upon because of that at school?

Sir Ben Ainslie13:31

Yeah, well when I when I was younger unfortunately it it also covered my my face, which um, you know, i that's perfect for for most kids um to to have a bit of a go at. And I was I I guess that made me quite a sensitive soul and I did did struggle with that and um was was very upsetting at times. And I think that drew drew me back a little bit and made me quite reserved and very, very shy.

Presenter13:39

But

Presenter13:54

Were you actively bullied?

Sir Ben Ainslie13:56

Uh yeah, yeah, no, I was at times. Um and that made certain periods of my school life um

Sir Ben Ainslie14:05

A very difficult period, you know, it was.

Sir Ben Ainslie14:09

I think the great thing for me was finding sailing and that gave me an outlet and gave me a lot of confidence as well.

Presenter14:14

There was a moment at school, I understand it was at the school assembly, when things changed quite dramatically for you. Tell us what happened.

Sir Ben Ainslie14:21

Well, it was a great story because I was fifteen and my parents packed me off to New Zealand to go and race in a world championship and somehow or other I managed to win this world championship. And so I came back home and the first school assembly, the headmaster stood up and he said, Well, you know, we've got this world champion, sort of the first world champion we've had in this sort of age or whatever. And and all of a sudden my my classmates were looking round and they were in complete disbelief and and after they said, Well, we knew that you were really into sailing, we didn't realise you were any good at it. And suddenly then I got there was an element of respect there and that changed things for me.

Presenter15:01

I'm sure you don't look back at the the bullying in in school and and think of it as a positive thing, and yet do you think it really did help consolidate your your idea that you wanted to make a mark and you didn't want to let people get the better of you?

Sir Ben Ainslie15:15

Certainly it gave me a huge desire to try and be successful and achieve something with my life. But I have to say I went back to the school because they opened a new sports hall in my name, and so I went back recently. And I have to say going back was great and in many ways for me it sort of lifted a whole sort of host of bad memories from school going back there. And actually it's not so bad here and and maybe it wasn't quite quite as bad as I thought it was. And certainly I would hate anyone to think that there's there's anything negative about the the school as such.

Presenter15:49

Let's have some music, Ben. We're on your fourth choice. Tell me about this, Ben. Why have you chosen it?

Sir Ben Ainslie15:53

Well, I have to admit, I'm not really a classical music lover, but but I do really love this particular piece of music, which is from the movie Hannibal, and uh it's called Vide Cormia.

Presenter15:56

That's fine, that's loud.

Speaker 416:08

Morning

Speaker 416:13

Uh

Presenter17:04

Vide Cormayum written by Patrick Cassidy for the film Hannibal with soloists there Daniel Denise and Bruno Lazzaretti.

Presenter17:12

So, Ben Ainsley, when you were just uh twelve years old, all the Ainsleys travelled to Japan uh to support you as uh as you took part in the World Championships there. That must have very vivid memories for you.

Sir Ben Ainslie17:24

Yeah, it did. I mean, it was a great adventure for all of us in those days. And my sister Fleur, who's who's three years older than I am, came with us. And we'd had many amazing trips over the years as a family. So yeah, it was I always like to say whenever we were sort of stuck in an airport, missed a flight or whatever, it was really, really tough, I'd sort of always used to say, Oh, well, it's a family sport, you know, and I get many scowls, but I would never have been able to do what I did as a youngster without my parents' support.

Presenter17:54

You loved it as a little boy, but I'm wondering when you were on, for example, those sixteen hour round trips to Rutland to be on freezing cold water for not very long at all, what was keeping you going?

Sir Ben Ainslie18:00

Okay, so

Sir Ben Ainslie18:05

It's very int interesting'cause I was thinking about coming on the show and and that's one of the nice things about it really, isn't it? It's something cathartic that you go back through your your past. And I remember the training camps that we did in Rutland Water, which is in the Midlands. And we used to have training camps in January, February, freezing cold. You know, at times we'd have to take down a kettle of boiling water to defrost our main sheets so that we could actually let the sails in and out, and wandering around the boat with your feet feeling like they're just stumps'cause they're completely blocks of ice. But we loved it, we just lo loved doing it.

Presenter18:13

Goodbye.

Presenter18:38

But did you have ambition at that stage?

Sir Ben Ainslie18:40

I think I just wanted to be to be good at sailing, and I just wanted to be a part of the team. Yes, of course I knew about the Olympic Games and the America's Cup, but they were very much dreams at that age.

Presenter18:52

You said you were quite a shy little boy, though. Did you articulate those things, say, maybe even to your parents? Did you say, you know, that I'd love that?

Sir Ben Ainslie18:58

Well, I think they knew I was a dreamer. So, and growing up in Falmouth in the mid to late 80s, there was an America's Cup team that was based there backed by Peter DeSavary. And they were out there sailing in the old-fashioned America's Cup boats. And I remember as a kid watching those boats and just being in complete awe. And we were actually out watching one day with a close friend of mine, and his dad actually turned around to me and said, You know, you could do that one day. I said, No, don't be silly. He said, No, no, you've got the talent, you could do that. And it was a dream then, though.

Presenter19:32

Right, Sir Ben, let's have some more music from you then. We are on your fifth. Tell me about this.

Sir Ben Ainslie19:35

Yeah, okay, well I'm a massive Formula One fan and so The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. I would just sit back and think of all the great Formula One races and heroes and really enjoy it.

Presenter20:16

That was Fleetwood Mac with the chain and you chose that Ben Ainsley because it reminds you of all the great races you've seen in in F1. I gather you're I don't know if you're a friend of Lewis Hamilton or you just know him.

Sir Ben Ainslie20:26

Yeah, we went sailing once around the island race, which is an annual race around the Isle of Wight. And it was a funny story because Lewis came on the boat at the very last minute before the start of the race and he was sort of busy taking photos. And the next thing we had a huge collision with another boat and actually managed to pull the mast out of this boat that we crashed into. And all of a sudden, you know, the Blackberry went away and Lewis started concentrating a little bit. But he was fantastic. We got him steering the boat and he was onto it straight away. So clearly he has an innate talent there for steering objects very quickly. And very spotted.

Presenter21:00

I'm glad you spotted that. There are, I think, some reasonable parallels that can be drawn between Formula One and the way you race, which is, you know, the the tactics of it and doing things that are sometimes considered not quite sportsmanlike. Do you think that all is fair in love and war as long as you stay just within the rules and you definitely win?

Sir Ben Ainslie21:24

Well, I think in in sport there are clearly rules there which you have to abide by and and certainly I would never take any satisfaction in in winning anything outside the rules. But yeah, you have to push it because your competitors are are doing the same thing and if if you're not fighting for every inch, you're not competing at that highest level.

Presenter21:42

Well, let me take you then to the two thousand Sydney Olympics. You won your first gold. You beat the legendary Brazilian sailor Robert Scheidter. It was a a fraught and controversial victory. Sir Roger Bannister criticised what he called your unsportsmanlike methods. So how would you sum up your behaviour in that race?

Sir Ben Ainslie21:58

No.

Sir Ben Ainslie21:59

Yeah.

Sir Ben Ainslie22:02

Well, I think it it was, from my point of view, it was absolutely fine. But no, what you tell us what you do.

Presenter22:07

Tell us what you did.

Sir Ben Ainslie22:08

Well, Robert Scheidt and I had had an intense rivalry for four or five years, and it was amazing psychologically, because nobody else thought they could beat him. They were racing for second place. And I was the only person who really said, No, I'm gonna take this guy on and I'm I'm gonna beat him and he didn't like that. So we had some in a very intense rivalry, we had a lot of ding dongs and inevitably it came to the final race showdown in in the Sydney Olympics. And what I did really was to use the rules and my boat to slow Robert down and put him to the back of the fleet. And the way that the scoring system worked in those days in in sailing, if I could get Robert Beneath twenty-third place, I think it was, in a fleet of of thirty-five, forty boats, then I would win the gold medal. And the conditions on that day, that was a far safer bet than trying to gain those points by just sailing.

Presenter22:59

You received death threats that were considered serious enough for you to actually have police protection. What do you make of that?

Sir Ben Ainslie23:04

Well, yeah, and they were apparently they were burning effigies of of me in in Sao Paulo and um I wasn't very popular in Brazil for a while, but they did let me back in eventually.

Presenter23:08

Damn.

Presenter23:13

Uh do you understand why people were so cross with you that people thought, you know, it's just not the done thing. You w you want to get across the finishing line first. You don't want to try to keep other boats back. That's not the way to do it.

Sir Ben Ainslie23:23

No, well uh well as time has shown actually um it is because um they've actually developed the Olympic scoring system to encourage that type of racing. Now we have a medal race where the points count for double and it's really to try and encourage the interaction between the medalists going for those final three medals. And at that time in two thousand no one had really done it before at the Olympic level. So it shocked a few people, like Roger Bannister.

Presenter23:48

Let's have some music. Um, we're on your sixth. Tell me about this.

Sir Ben Ainslie23:51

Well, this is a very poignant song for me because it takes me back to my great friend Andrew Simpson, who we tragically lost last year in an accident in San Francisco training for the Americas Cup. And he actually was the one who got me into cold play. And he loved cold play, and they played this song at his funeral in Sherbourne Abbey. So there wasn't a dry iron in the Abbey, and it's very, very moving.

Speaker 424:20

And the tears come streaming down your face

Speaker 424:27

When you lose something you can't replace

Speaker 424:34

When you love someone but it goes to ways

Speaker 424:41

Could it be wild?

Speaker 424:51

Lights will guide you.

Presenter24:58

That was Cold Play and Fix You and you dedicated that, Benningsley, to the memory of your very good friend Andrew Simpson, who was also a fellow British Olympic champion and he lost his life, as you were saying last year, in a sailing accident. I wonder when somebody is such a dear friend and also you've been through great victories with them and they die in a sailing accident. I wonder how it has affected your relationship with the sport that you love.

Sir Ben Ainslie25:23

Well, uh I suppose I hated it for for for quite a while and um we all we all came back to the UK to to try and support Andrew's family and all of his very close friends and um something like that of course it it stops you in your tracks and it makes you um really wonder what life's about.

Presenter25:40

Yeah.

Sir Ben Ainslie25:45

Sony puts things into perspective.

Sir Ben Ainslie25:47

And um yeah, for a while I wasn't I wasn't sure um necessarily if I wanted to go back to San Francisco and and keep training for the Americas Cup. Um but in time you

Sir Ben Ainslie25:59

you don't recover, but you um I think you go through that period of reflection and then what would Andrew have said? He would have been the first guy to say, Don't be ridiculous, this is your life, this is what you love doing, get back out there and and get on with it.

Presenter26:12

Did it power you in a way to that extraordinary victory?

Presenter26:16

Was there was there a bit of it that was for him?

Sir Ben Ainslie26:16

The

Sir Ben Ainslie26:18

Oh, certainly. Certainly afterwards, when it when it had all died down and we'd managed to carve our way through the spectator fleet and we sailed under the Bay Bridge and that was um yeah, it was the stretch of water where where the accident had actually taken place. And uh yeah, I certainly spent a bit of time on my own at the back of the boat reflecting.

Presenter26:37

Yeah.

Sir Ben Ainslie26:37

On on Andrew and and everything that had happened.

Presenter26:41

And in the longer term, you're thirty six now, and and as much as we all love to watch what you do, and our hearts are in our mouths, do you think, well, what is this about? I've done it for thirty six years and I'm lucky to be standing with my two feet here on the earth. May maybe maybe it's time to move on?

Sir Ben Ainslie26:59

Yeah, I won't lie to you, the thought has crossed my my mind a couple of times. Quit while you're ahead and do something else with your life. But I still have sort of one burning desire, which is to try and win the Americas Cup with a British team. I think we're a very proud maritime nation. You can think back to Drake and Nelson and Frances Chichester, Ellen MacArthur, all of these sort of sailing heroes that we we have. And the Americas Cup is actually the one thing which we've never won, so it'd be amazing to be a part of that if we could if we could make that happen.

Presenter27:04

And

Presenter27:32

Um the endless travelling, the physical exertion, the mental pressures. Do you have any sort of personal life?

Sir Ben Ainslie27:38

Yeah, I do. I have a a very lovely girlfriend who works and lives in New York at the moment. So that was great during the Americas Cup. And I try and see as much of her as I can and I'm ver very happy.

Presenter27:50

I'm so glad. Right, your seventh disc.

Sir Ben Ainslie27:54

Well, uh this is a very beautiful piece of music which whenever I listen to it it really sort of gets the the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I would love to uh just be lying on the beach looking out over the sea and and playing this music and and feeling very proud about being British.

Presenter29:09

That was part of Nimrod from Elgar's Enigma Variations, played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Charles McCarras. You've competed, of course, then, Sir Berriensley, in the last five consecutive Olympics. You've said you won't compete in twenty sixteen in Brazil. I get the feeling you get sick to death of answering this question. That's a definite, is it?

Sir Ben Ainslie29:27

Yeah.

Sir Ben Ainslie29:29

That's definitely a good idea.

Presenter29:29

Uh

Presenter29:30

Okay. So let's go then to the Americas' Cup, to your dream of heading a British team. Where are your plans right now?

Sir Ben Ainslie29:37

Well, since the success of the Cub I've really been working very hard to get the funding together, the budgets will be around $100 million.

Presenter29:44

Yeah.

Sir Ben Ainslie29:44

So it's a huge task to get that money.

Presenter29:47

When you go and talk to somebody who's a sailing nut and has lots of spare cash, you're really a appealing to the heart rather than the head.

Sir Ben Ainslie29:54

Oh yeah, absolutely. It's patriotic support and they love sailing. They would love to see Britain be successful in the Americas Cup.

Presenter29:55

Yeah.

Presenter30:02

As we know, your parents, your family have been a key part of your success. What do they think of all the recognition you've had, not least the knighthood and the gold medals and all that?

Sir Ben Ainslie30:10

Well, I I think my parents are very proud ab about the the knighthood.

Presenter30:14

Did they come with you?

Sir Ben Ainslie30:14

Did they come with you? Yes, absolutely. And they've been the biggest supporters. Of course, they have.

Sir Ben Ainslie30:20

But yeah, they're completely over it to be honest. I mean my sister and sh I have a niece and nephew who are thirteen and ten and they just completely sort of blank me. They're like, Oh, oh, you won the Americas Cup, all right, well yeah, well whatever. I've been playing rugby at school. They're just over it and uh that's very nice of course.

Presenter30:35

As it should be, I suppose. I'm about to cast you away, as you know, Ben Ainslie. No access to a boat. Um how would you feel about that? Just staring at the water, but not being able to get on it in a craft.

Sir Ben Ainslie30:45

I think initially I would struggle, but then, you know, with this fantastic music I'd get over it quite quickly and I'll look at the waves and I'll think about the sailing that I've been very fortunate to do, racing and cruising and just dream about boats most most likely.

Presenter31:00

Let's hear your final piece then. We're on your eighth disc of the morning. Tell me about this.

Sir Ben Ainslie31:04

It's a Wonderful World by by Louis Armstrong. Um I'm quite a fan of of jazz and um of course it's just a fantastic song, isn't it? And things wouldn't seem too bad if you put this on.

Speaker 331:15

Your baby is crowned.

Speaker 331:18

I watched them grow.

Speaker 331:22

They'll learn much more.

Speaker 331:25

Then I never knew.

Speaker 331:28

And I think to myself.

Speaker 331:33

What a wonderful move

Speaker 331:39

Yes, I think to myself.

Speaker 331:47

What a wonderful

Presenter31:51

Louis Armstrong, of course, and a wonderful world. So, Ben, it's time for me to give you the books. You get to take the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare and then a book of your own. What would you like to take?

Sir Ben Ainslie32:03

I think I would like to take uh Great Expectations by Dickens. I just love the characters and it's a wonderful story about life.

Presenter32:05

Bye-bye.

Presenter32:10

It's yours to take, and you're allowed a luxury. Now, for somebody like you, I imagine you survive pretty well without a luxury, being a sailor, but you are allowed to take something along to make life a little more bearable. What would you like to do?

Sir Ben Ainslie32:21

I'm not sure if this comes within the rules, but what I would really love to take is a proper commercial flight simulator.

Presenter32:29

Yes, you can have that.

Sir Ben Ainslie32:30

So that would be perfect because I've been trying to learn to fly and I really haven't been able to find the time. And this would enable me to sit there in my simulator and fly anywhere in the world in any type of plane. And then you know after I've done that, perhaps I might be able to find wreckage of a plane somewhere in the jungle on this island and uh if I can get it back together I'll be able to fly off

Presenter32:48

Creeping into the practical there, and I'm I'm banking on the fact you would not find such a wreck, so I'm going to give you the flight simulator. And which of the eight tracks would you like to save from the waves if you had to?

Sir Ben Ainslie32:52

Give you the flight simulation.

Sir Ben Ainslie32:57

I think definitely the last one. It's a wonderful world because uh

Sir Ben Ainslie33:02

You know, sitting there on the island, although you'd be away from all your family and friends, you could put that track on and it wouldn't seem that bad.

Presenter33:08

It's yours. Sir Ben Ainsley, thank you very much for letting us hear your desert island discs.

Sir Ben Ainslie33:12

Thanks, Kirsty.

Presenter33:53

You've been listening to a download from the BBC. You'll find more information on the Radio 4 website: bbc.co.uk slash Radio4.