Smash hit

I have a First Direct Visa card for the Olympic campaign, and a Virgin debit card for personal use. We couldn’t run our campaign without the credit card because we are usually abroad and always running up a deficit.

Are you a saver or spender?

I am a spender, and I like to enjoy myself with friends. I am not super-organised with money and I am not bothered about saving for a rainy day.

If we had any surplus cash we would probably go on holiday to Ireland or spend it on our home. My husband is much more careful than I am.

But I am good at managing the budget for the Olympic campaign. It is entirely separate from our personal expenditure; otherwise keeping track of overheads becomes too stressful.

How much did you earn last year?

Last year I was only sailing; I did no other work. We each get £1,000 subsistence a month from the lottery, which is great. It is enough to live on. In addition, we get funding from the lottery to pay for flights and hotels in our training and racing programme.

Our main sponsor is Volvo. The company is helping us with the Olympic campaign and there is no way we could manage without its support.

Volvo also provides us with a powerful car to transport the boat everywhere. We are lucky enough to have an XC90 off-roader, which is ideal for what we need. We also get support from BT Broadband and the Isle of Wight council.

Have you ever been really hard up?

Yes, we always seem to be hard up. The worst time for me was during the campaign for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

I was 24, and depended on contributions from friends, family and whoever else would support me. Even a couple of hundred pounds from the local council made all the difference. The sport did not offer subsistence, so I had to rely on the goodwill of other people.