The boats which carried British sailors to Olympic gold were built by a world-renowned Burnham-based boatmakers.

The vessels of Athens Olympics gold medallists Ben Ainslie and Shirley Robertson and her crew were both constructed by Devoti Sailing.

Former Olympic sailor Tim Tavinor created Devoti Sailing with his long-term friend Luca Devoti in 1992.

The company is known for its top-notch craftsmanship and has been going from strength to strength since being nominated as a boat supplier for the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Kay Tavinor, of Burnham, operations manager, said her husband "had in his mind what would make an effective boat, but then the boat is only as successful as the sailors in it. It's down to the competitor to make it work for them."

Three years ago, Devoti moved its manufacturing arm from Burnham to Poland where Ainslie's boat was made and where the company is producing 100 finn class boats for Russia.

The making of Robertson's yngling class boat was overseen by Mr Tavinor himself who had the hull made in Canada before being shipped to Burnham for fitting and finishing.

Mrs Robertson and race-mate Sarah Ayton are members of the Royal Corinthian sailing club in Burnham and stayed in the town when they collected their boat, Legally Blond, from Devoti

Published Tuesday August 24, 2004

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