He was allowed to helm the yacht across the line to what he thought was victory and Lewis Hamilton is unlikely to forget his first taste of sailing for more reasons than that. Just when he thought it might be safe to step into a boat without a hint of the trouble which has dogged his motor racing season, the vessel carrying the British F1 superstar was involved in a prang on the Isle of Wight yesterday morning that ultimately lost his team the race in the officials room six hours after they had finished.

Hamilton was one of the 18 crew members on board the Hugo Boss yacht, competing in the Open 60 class at the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, when it was involved in a collision before the cannon had set them on their way. The other boat, a smaller Farr 45 called Atomic, lost its mast and after a protest when their race was over, the Hugo Boss team was duly disqualified. By the time the decision was made, Hamilton had long left the Isle of Wight by helicopter for his next appointment. But he will be back.

As a race record of 1,875 boats gathered while the fog lifted slowly just before 6am, the comparisons were immense: the general competitor in the same event as the Olympian and the star guest of the day cannot wait to return. “This is one of the coolest things I have done and I am looking forward to having another opportunity,” said Hamilton, who earlier this month was penalised for driving into the back of Kimi Raikkonen during the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

Hamilton was on board a yacht being guided by Alex Thomson, the youngest skipper ever to win a round-the-world race, and Ben Ainslie, the British Olympian chasing a third successive gold medal in Beijing this summer. “He made quite an impression. He had the natural feel,” said Ainslie. “For most people who have not sailed before, they get on the helm of a boat and are extremely wobbly and all over the place. Alex and I talked him through it and after a while, he was fine on his own and that focus and concentration that he uses so well in F1, it is a similar technique for sailing these boats around.”

But it was quite a start. Hamilton said: “We tried to avoid them but it took the front of the boat off. I am gutted. It is a beautiful boat.” Ainslie was similarly frustrated, adding: “It is disappointing because we felt we had the right of way. There is nothing we can do about it but regardless, we still had a great day.”

During the four hours, 23 minutes and 29 seconds it took Hugo Boss to circle around the island, Hamilton gradually saw the comparisons with his day job. Not that the speeds could be compared to those he would hope to reach at Silverstone next weekend for the British Grand Prix – a man who is in control at 180mph should be capable of handling speeds of 25 knots (27.5mph) – but the McLaren driver surprised himself. “It is incredible,” said Hamilton. “It is very technical and the cool thing is that it is very similar and has a lot in common with F1. It is a fully carbon fibre boat, it is very complex and I do not know what half the things on here are doing. But I was very fortunate that they allowed me to drive the boat for 30 or 40 minutes and supposedly I did quite a good job. It had a similar sort of feeling to driving a car. You get the real feel for it. It is mind-blowing. It felt very smooth and responsive. The great thing is that these guys are under so much pressure but they are cool at all times.”

In six weeks time, the pressure will be on Ainslie, who was making his final public appearance on the waters in Britain before heading deep into his run-in to Beijing. He will compete in a match-racing regatta in Sweden next week and then fly to China for three-and-a-half weeks of preparation for what could be one of the toughest tests sailors have ever experienced at the Games.

Not only are light winds and a strong current expected, the sailing venue of Qingdao has been hit with what has been described as a carpet of seaweed. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of sailing in such difficult conditions,” said Ainslie.

“It makes it more exciting in a way. I think you will see some more surprising results. It will increase the element of luck but the top guys should still come out in the end.

“My personal performances have been very good in China so far. I won two test regattas, so I am reasonably confident of racing there and mastering those conditions.”

Ainslie was chatting after the result of the protest, but the race itself was far from over. Even on a day of strong gales, the smaller boats were given a cut off time of 10pm if they hoped to register their result. By then the picnics would have run out and the star performers would be home, but like Lewis Hamilton, the occasion will remain.