My first London home: Sir Ben Ainslie

Telegraph

19-03-2025

My first name isn't Ben. [He was born Charles Benedict Ainslie.]
Sailing was a huge part of my family's life growing up. My father, Roddy, skippered a boat in the Whitbread Round the World race, the first-ever crewed round the world race in 1972. Hearing the stories from that race and his many other experiences was the key influence in getting me out on the water.
In sailing, Sir Robin Knox-Johnson is someone I admire. He was the first person to single-handedly sail non-stop around the world in 1969 with none of the technology we have nowadays. We've become good friends over the years and he's a great inspiration. In terms of other sports, Roger Federer is a brilliant example of how I think athletes should carry themselves both in and out of a competition.
'Never give up' is the best advice I've ever received and it was from my father. It was way back in my junior sailing days.
I've been fortunate to be involved in some truly amazing sporting moments. The two that stand out most for me are London 2012 and winning the America's Cup. I won my final Olympic gold medal in front of a home crowd, it was a special Olympics for the country and Team GB, and with that came high pressure, so to pull that off is one I won't ever forget. The other was winning the America's Cup with Oracle Team USA. We were 8-1 down and turned things around to win 8-9 in what many call the great comeback in sport, it was an unbelievable experience.
My first London home was in Hampton Court. I currently live in Wimbledon Village.
Wimbledon has a great vibe and sense of community. The Common is great for family walks. We love going to the Light on the Common, the River Café near Hammersmith and Scott's in Mayfair is a serious treat.
My daughter Bellatrix is my biggest supporter but also my most vocal performance analyst. She is always the first to tell me if I didn't win the race. She's very competitive, I have no idea where she gets it from.
At the moment, we have the Emirates GBR SailGP Team which is currently topping the SailGP Leaderboard after two events of the 14-event global season, and we have the Athena Pathway Team, which is creating pathways for diverse and underrepresented athletes into sailing – including having a team in last year's Women's America's Cup Team. Finally, with Athena Racing we're also the official British challenger for the next America's Cup – so lots on!
If you're looking to improve your sailing, find a good group to train with, so that you can push each other to get better with great coaching. Make sure you put the time and effort in to achieve your goals.
There's a great saying that 'luck is preparation looking for an opportunity', and I very much believe that to be true.