Ben Ainslie paid tribute to his coach Dave Howlett this week after being named 2002 ISAF Rolex World Sailor Of The Year in recognition of his meteoric success in Finn Olympic class racing.

It is the second time Ainslie has been voted the best sailor in the world after he was recognised in the 1998 awards for his achievements in Laser class sailing - and it is the first time someone has won the award twice.

Howlett also coaches Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell - nominated alongside Ainslie for the coveted world sailor title after they became Star World Champions having raced the class for just one year.

"You need a certain amount of talent but it only gets you so far," Ainslie told the Daily Echo. "But the single biggest factor in my success has been having David Howlett as coach. He has a huge amount of experience and allowed me to bypass two years of learning how to sail Finns."

The 25-year-old Lymington yachtsman announced only in January that he was leaving the OneWorld America's Cup syndicate to return to Olympic competition but, instead of going for a second gold medal in the Laser class, he set his sights on winning a Finn medal at the Athens Games in 2004.

His experience in the new class was limited to a few hours "mucking around" between regattas in a Finn belonging to his friend Percy, the Finn gold medal winner at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

A heavier boat than the Laser, with a completely different rig, the Finn required new disciplines. Ainslie was forced to pile on the muscle to give him the strength to take it, at full pelt, around the courses. But, within five months of making the switch, he had secured the national, European and World championship titles.

This outstanding achievement was recognised at an awards ceremony in Limassol, Cyprus where he was up against John Kostecki, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, and Bruno Peyron, who set a new round-the-world record earlier this year in the giant catamaran Orange.

"It was a bit special being up there with Steve and Iain and for me, it was a great result," he said. "I was at a low point when the year started after leaving OneWorld and never imagined I would finish the year in this way. It's been a fantastic year.

"I thought I would take a couple of years to get to this point and was looking to get in the medals at the end of 2003 so it's been a pleasant surprise. The next challenge will be staying at the top for the next two years - that will be an added pressure - but I got pretty used to that when I was racing Lasers."