HAMPSHIRE trio Golding, Ellen MacArthur and Alex Thomson shared the limelight when they opened the London International Boat Show.

Southampton ace Golding and Gosport star Thomson was making their first public appearances since Golding' Ecover rescued Thomson during the Velux 5 Oceans Round the World Race last month.

Golding was also taking the congratulations of people following his MBE in the New Year's Honours List.

"It was real honour to open the show, and it was realy good to catch up with Ellen who I have not seen for quite a while," said Golding.

"Of course Alex and I now have quite a refined double act!"

The three sailors took to the water on an Extreme 40 catamaran, an experience Golding enjoyed.

"It was great fun," he said. "Obviously flying a hull in such confined stretch of water in really not very much wind is great, and it is nice to get back to something which is so simple but fast and exciting.

"It was a lot of fun. I would loved to have a go for longer.

"It is good for your sharpness and for your skills.

"On the Open 60 it is sometimes easy to get lost in the detail and this can be much more direct and simple."

Golding was also keen to stress that his MBE wasn't anything to do with his rescuing of Thomson.

"I got the message about day 14 or 15 of the race, well before the incident with Alex," he said.

"It is just a lovely thing to happen and at the time and maybe accounts for why I appeared unexpectedly happy at the time when all around me was perhaps not going so well.

"I think some people are confusing it with a recognition for the rescue, but it is nice because it is about an overall contribution to the sport."

Golding, meanwhile, is confident that Thomson will be back sailing soon.

"I don't think we will see any loss of determination from Alex," he said. "The loss of his boat clearly affected him quite deeply and the attachment to the boat was way more than he realised. And until you are in that situation you probably don't appreciate that attachment.

"He definitely has wobbled a bit, but I am sure he will be back. It hasn't wobbled me. I have not changed. You are aware of the risks when you do this.

"To be brutally honest, Seb Josse (who hit an iceberg and damaged his bow during the last Vendee Globe race) wobbled me much more.

"In fact when this happened with Alex I was just starting to think about that. I was thinking right, we are getting into the possibility of ice here' and there is a tension that builds."