Tom Slingsby Shares Rare Insights at DBSC

Last Wednesday was a momentous evening at DBSC. The clubhouse was packed with members intently listening to Olympic Gold Medallist Tom Slingsby recount highlights of his illustrious sailing career. During the evening Tom shared rare insights on his journey to become one of Australia’s best sailors, including the highs and lows on the way to success and the mind-set and dedication it takes to win. 

Tom admitted that he wasn’t the best youth sailor, preferring tennis at an early age. However, after giving up tennis, his love for sailing quickly blossomed.  Winning the 2007 Laser World Championships he was ranked number one going into the 2008 Olympics. Tom shared the many reasons for his crushing 22nd place in those Olympic Games, and the resilience it took to keep going and eventually win Laser gold in the 2012 Olympics. 

Tom also revealed how Oracle Team USA made their incredible comeback against Team New Zealand to win the 34th America’s Cup, and spoke about winning both the Sydney to Hobart and SailGP events. On top of that, he shared some of his tips and tricks on how to be a faster Laser sailor, one foot per wave.  

The audience was captivated by Tom’s stories and particularly by the candour and personal touch that made it very relatable. Commodore Andrew Cox commented, “Tom has been an inspiration to many, me included.” Former Commodore, Luke Parker concurred, stating, “This is wonderful. It is a fantastic record, that belongs in the archives of Australian sailing.”

The momentous event was part of the club’s Sailing Stories series, and was organized and hosted by Martin White. Many thanks to Martin, as well as to Diana Chen and Peter Collie for coordinating the evening, John Vasey for generously sourcing staging and lighting, and to Kirk Marcolina for capturing Tom’s extraordinary talk on video. Some of the footage of the evening will be published on our website shortly – we’ll let you know when it’s available for viewing.  

Tom Slingsby speaking with Martin White. Photo by Peter Collie.