Olympic sailing hero Sir Ben Ainslie has revealed he came close to quitting the sport in the wake of the death of friend and fellow sailor Andrew "Bart" Simpson.
In a piece for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Sir Ben said the last few weeks had been "the most upsetting, the most painful and the most bewildering of my life". The Cornish sailing superstar threw light on his friendship with Mr Simpson and recalled last week's memorial service at Sherborne Abbey.
He said: "Our friendship stretched right back to when we were boys coming up through the ranks. We grew up together.
"As we got older we went out and got up to all of the usual high-jinks that guys in their late teens and early twenties get up to. We took a few road trips together, driving around Europe and Australia; running out of fuel, breaking down, generally being irresponsible. Those are really happy memories.
"And now he is gone. It is going to take a long time for those of us who loved Bart... to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer with us."
Mr Simpson, who lived in Dorset, was killed while training for the America's Cup in San Francisco Bay on May 9.
