It is good to be back on home soil after a long time away but the memories of the Great Britain sailing team’s stay in China will last a long time. We exceeded our preOlympic target of four medals, winning four golds, a silver and a bronze, and for the third Olympics in a row topped the medal table. British sailing, like cycling and rowing, is a sport where we lead the world.

The difference between the gold rush in China and my first Olympics, in 1996, was immense. I was pretty disappointed with my silver medal in Atlanta, but Great Britain won only one gold across the whole Games, for Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent. For Britain to be up there fighting for third place in the medal table right down to the final day 12 years later was astounding. We have John Major to thank for bringing in the national lottery, which has done so much to turn talented athletes into world-class ones.

For me, winning my third gold medal in China was very special, especially after a tough start to the regatta when I had mumps and then finished well down the field in the first race. It was a huge inspiration to be out on the water on that middle Sunday, preparing for my own final race, and seeing the women win gold in their Yngling class. It gave me a huge boost and there was a domino effect with each boat’s success inspiring the next.

Our medal tally in Qingdao exactly matched what Great Britain achieved a century ago in the London Games, when the sailing was held on the Solent off Ryde, and our success last month has whetted everyone’s appetite, athletes and supporters, for the next Olympics and the regatta in Weymouth. I’ll certainly be wanting to compete in it: it is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity.

But we must not get carried away and start predicting that we will win golds in every class in 2012. That would be only setting ourselves up for a fall given the many variables and accidents that can happen. I think that our target again should be to win four medals - but to develop a squad that has the potential of competing for medals in every class.

That is what happened this year: in all 11 classes we qualified for the final medal race, which is limited to the top ten boats and where the points count double. Some endured heartbreak, such as Nick Dempsey in the wind-surfing, who was leading going into the medal race but came out of it in fourth place. I was really impressed with the way he dealt with his disappointment.

Others, like Leigh McMillan and Will Howden in the Tornado, were too far back going into the last race to gain a medal but still won it to ensure that they finished the regatta on a high, which shows their character.

And then we had Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson, who started the final race of the Star class well behind Sweden and sailed the race of their lives to claim gold. I was commentating on that race, with my sailing duties completed, and was delighted that two really good friends of mine had won, which may have affected my subjectivity but then I’m not really much of a watcher.

Being in Qingdao, some 300 miles away from Beijing, we felt a bit separated from the rest of Team GB, but we got a BBC television feed in and we were keen to follow the action from other sports. Nicole Cooke kicked it all off with her gold in the road race and received a loud cheer.

The sense of team spirit was very important, as was our familiarity with the regatta course in Qingdao. I think that apart from the Chinese we had spent more time there than anyone else. And the Chinese people made us so welcome. That is one of the memories I have taken away with me: how friendly the locals were. London has a lot to live up to but I am sure that we will put on a great Games and the nation will get behind us.