Driving a fork lift's plain sailing for Webb

"You could say the locals were offering me advice which, thankfully, I couldn't understand."

Robertson and Ayton admitted they found the sight of Webb driving the fork-lift in her bikini "hilarious" because of the reaction from the locals who never fully got used to the idea of a woman operating the machine.

Webb, 27 years old, and Steve Mitchell, who is competing in the Star section - both from Weybridge - are the only two sailors qualified to work the fork-lift. With no local cranes available, it was crucial for the British team to have their own lifting capability and the long training days that underpinned the gold medal triumphs in Athens started and finished with the boats being lifted in and out of the water.

A Yngling weighs 1390 pounds and is impossible for the three-man crew to manhandle a craft that 36 investors paid £1,000 each to buy for the girls.

Webb, who narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympics in the 470 class, joined Robertson and Ayton in the boat just over 18 months ago, replacing Inga Leask who had to quit because of illness. The girls put in endless hours of training to get themselves into a position to challenge for what became the first gold won by Britain at these Games.

Being in a boat with Robertson, a gold medal winner in Sydney in the solo Europe class, made the Athens triumph even more memorable for Webb, who said: "Shirley treats us as a team not as sailors tagging onto her success and we created a really good bond. That trust in each others skills was very important when the racing started.

"We started here on 5 June and it has been my responsibility to pick up our boat each morning and put it safely into the water and then get it back out when we had finished sailing in the evening.

"The Royal Yachting Association bought the fork-lift truck for the British team and it was vital because of where we were sailing out of on the coast. There wasn't anything here to do the job.

"You have to get close to the edge of the dockside to work, which is why the key for the fork-lift is on a cork float - we couldn't afford any disasters!

"I joined the girls a year and a half ago and I was working at that time and never thought I would be in Athens competing in the Olympics, winning a gold medal. I had a trial period with Shirley and Sarah and things went well in the pre-Olympic races and a tough training winter followed. It's all been worth it. This has been a fantastic experience."

Webb has developed a real affinity with the fork-lift, constantly referring to it as "she", although the machine has yet to be given a name. Webb said: "It's quite hard to travel on the road because the fork-lift has four solid rubber wheels which makes it a pretty bumpy experience.

"It's been hugely enjoyable and with my fork-lift certificate I am now a qualified driver. I am proud of having taken the course and passed."

As she said farewell to the yellow machine in the parking lot, Webb reflected on her new status as a forklift driving blonde gold medal winner: "We could get on the cover of Fork-lift Monthly - if there was a magazine for fork-lift trucks!"

After her success in Athens, one may just make the news stands in the near future.