Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2012 | Page 38

INTERVIEW

'You learn most from your biggest
disappointments and I did after
missing bronze that was mine'
She was already a regular visitor to
the Isle of Wight where her boat was
developed and its masts were built,
but despite the best preparations
she could muster, she now reflects
it could have been better, and as a
result her finishing position was a
disappointment.
“I was just one point off third place,
and to my mind I was responsible for
missing the bronze medal that was
rightfully mine,” she said. “I was the
one who gave it away. You learn most
from your biggest disappointments,
and I definitely approached sailing
differently after that. In a way it was
a big decision just to carry on, but it’s
a bit like gambling. You invest more
and more and are reluctant to go on,
but you are still looking to hit the
jackpot.”
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Her rise to world prominence
continued with silver medals at the
1998, 1999 and 2000 Europe Class
World Championships. Shirley moved
permanently to the Island in early
2000, reflecting “It was a big move,
but I had friends here and it was the
one place I felt comfortable. I was
looked after very well, with people
cooking me dinner, and transporting
me around.”
By the time the Millennium Olympic
Games in Sydney rolled around Shirley
had a wealth of experience to add
to her grit and determination. She
continued: “I had come pretty close
in 1996, so by 2000 I knew I had all
the right ingredients to do it. But in
the build-up I never thought about
what the eventual outcome could be,
or standing on the podium. There was

a lot to get right, and sailing in Sydney
Harbour was very complicated.
“Mentally I was very relaxed because
I knew life would go on, win or
lose. I remember sailing out into the
harbour, looking at the Opera House
and Sydney Harbour Bridge which
was quite something. But deep down
I knew I didn’t have a weakness; I
didn’t panic once, and that was a good
position to be in. It was all about three
years of preparation coming together,
and I had a good, solid team around
me. Any good athlete has a good team
around them, and in a way you feel a
bit of a fraud standing there on your
own on the podium.”
Fraud or not, that was exactly what
Shirley found herself doing at the
end of an exhilarating series of races
against world class opposition in her
Europe class yacht. She led virtually
from day one, but with two races
remaining the healthy advantage began
slipping away, and she now admits:
“I thought I had blown my chances
again, and I was even crying.
“With one race left I was one point
ahead, but at least guaranteed a medal
of some sort. The final race was really
tough, and we actually sailed under the
Harbour Bridge, with wind blowing
from every direction. The lead kept
changing, but I was quite relaxed, and
in the end I won by a few points.”
In 2000 Shirley was voted ISAF
World Female Sailor of the Year, and
was awarded an MBE for her services
to British Sailing. It would have been
easy to quit at the top, and she had
already made up her mind she didn’t
want to race in the Europe class again.
Instead she turned her attentions
to a new challenge. In 2001 she
switched to the new three-crew
Yngling class and finished 14th at the
World Championships. Over the next
two years the trio improved rapidly,
finishing third at the 2002 Olympic
Test event and winning the 2003
Pre-Olympic regatta.
Then at the 2004 Games in Athens
Shirley, along with Sarah Webb
and Sarah Ayton, swept to her
historic second gold medal, and the