(Sailor) Andy Rice

The first ever interview I did was in the spring of 1990 with Jochen Schumann, a hero of the former East Germany who won two Olympic gold medals in sailing. It wasn't long after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Jochen was grappling with adjusting to life in the western world - how to use a credit card, how to book his own flights and hotel (which had always been booked for him by government officials). I sold that interview to Seahorse International magazine and I've been writing about sailing ever since. These days I pour my efforts into various sailing projects at different levels of the sport, from interviewing the champions in the Olympics and the America's Cup, to organising grass-roots events like my Sailjuice Winter Series in the UK, and my how-to-sail-faster website, www.sailjuice.com

Back in the 90s I was part of the GBR Olympic squad, crewing a 470 than steering a 49er skiff, but I wasn't quite good enough to represent my country at an Olympic Games. Even so, I've had some reasonable success, winning some national and European titles in a few classes. But I'm better known as a writer and TV commentator, bringing with me the background of having competed at a high level back in my youth. I don't know how, but even now in my 50s I love sailing as much as ever. It's such a complex sport, it consumes every part of you, physically and mentally. No two days, no two races courses, are ever the same. While the live TV commentary has become a bigger part of what I do, most of my bread and butter is writing, still for Seahorse more than 30 years later, along with various others including Yachting World, Yachts & Yachting, Boat International and many more. If you're as mad about sailing as I am, then I think you'll enjoy my website, www.sailjuice.com too.