If edification can come thick and fast, that is how it happened. Walker and Covell were a point from gold, but they cherished the silver no less. Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield, two of the team's younger members, came within a single point of a medal in the men's 470s and their performance bodes well for the future, a future in which Percy intends to hand on the Finn mantle to his training partner Andrew Simpson, who, he says, could have won gold here. Such unprecedented success would have been impossible without the backing of the Royal Yachting Association and a large number of personal coaches. Their meteorological understanding has been improved beyond any of their rivals', and their equipment is second to none.
British sailing is now on the crest of a wave.
It would be churlish if British sailors were now unable to raise the money for a challenge for the America's Cup.