FOR the second successive Olympics, the first man named for team GB is the same Scot – 470 helmsman Luke Patience. He learned the ropes at Helensburgh's Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club, but the London 2012 silver medallist is now based in Weymouth. And by the time the Olympic regatta opens, he will have spent several months in Rio de Janeiro.

He's been there for some 10 weeks off and on already, and returned again this week, to test wind and tide in the hope of going one better.

But such is Rio's pollution, he won't be tasting the waters, a pre-race ritual attributed to him at Weymouth. He laughs good-humoredly. "We won't be doing that. That was a myth that got taken out of context by the media. I like to walk to the water's edge, before a regatta. Take some time to myself. It sounds a bit hippy. I take a look at the battle ground and get ready. So yes, I will commune with the water, but no drinking nonsense.

"We take large precautions to ensure our health. It's dirty water there, so we keep up the hygiene we've been told about. A wee nip of whisky each evening may help wash it away.

"You see and hear all sort of sporting rituals, like Rafa Nadal with his water bottle labels facing the court. I have my wee green man. My mum gave me it when I was going through a hard time in junior sailing. I'd been wronged – a bit of unfair sailing and I was the victim. It resembles me pulling out of a dark time, and being successful afterwards.

"It's a wee figure filled with sand. It's just the size of my hand. It represents something greater of which it's a physical presence."

Sailing skullduggery is often not apparent, and Patience was a victim as a 14-year old at the European Championships on Lake Garda. Leading at the start of the last race, Italians who were out of contention obstructed the Scot, and sailed him back to fifty-third.

Patience has come a long way since then, so committed that at 29 he has never had a conventional job. In the 2012 Olympics he and Stuart Bithell finished second to their Australian rivals with a total good enough to have won gold at every previous Olympics.

"There's mixed emotions," he says. "We were so close and knew where we had lost the points. But that's life. Hindsight is always 20-20. We sailed our hearts out, scored a personal best, but they did slightly better. I can't spend long feeling bad about not winning."

That partnership has ended, as he explains. "Stuart and I knew Rio was going to be a pretty light-wind venue and we were not the optimum body weight to win. We had to be realistic."

So last February he teamed up with former rival Elliot Willis, a two-time world champion in the 470 class whom he and Bithell beat for the 2012 berth.

"His London partner retired," explains Patience. "Basically we very much needed one another – team up or the dream is over. He's a wonderful guy to sail with and I am very lucky to be in a position where we have an opportunity to win a gold medal."

Already omens are good. They won the European title last year, and their first World Cup regatta this year. They have had two wins over their Olympic nemesis, Mat Belcher and Will Ryan, including the South American Championships on the Olympic course in Rio, but trail them 2-3 in this year's results. "At the moment it's about testing equipment, and the best test ground is racing."

Their campaign would be impossible without the Lottery and UK Sport, but that does not cover equipment costs. "Would I like to be a footballer on £250,000 a week? No. I would not. I don't think there is much autonomy in that sport. I am in total control of my programme, master of my destiny with Elliot. Everything we do has a direct 100% effect on the outcome.

"Without the Lottery we'd be screwed, but we're always looking to raise funds to steal those extra inches. A new 470 hull costs £15,000 and we average about one and a half hulls a year. A suit of sails costs £1500. We use one every regatta: ten suits a year. Out annual equipment bill is about £40k. I am looking to win Olympic gold, not compete. I need those millimetres that will ensure I am ahead of them."

His father is an architect in Dubai. His parents are building a house on Tiree, and plan to retire and return home this year. He has recruited EDP, a Dubai architecture firm who help sponsor his son, and Volvo have also weighed in.

Wind and weather data is critical. "Anywhere there's an airport, there are great stats, but one leg of our course is just eight minutes. We are looking for minuscule details that will get us ahead of rivals. Big stats that say what happens through the month of August is not much help.

"We have a meteorologist on the team who accesses data because our engine is invisible. Yet it's the old salty seadog sitting on the shore who has the nuggets of information."

So this week the pair have spent time with the Brazilian 470 sailors, "trading off things that can be mutually beneficial. Seeing it all unfold around you is where the learning is done. Our experiences, what we have seen, not airport data for the last 20 years, is what will make it for us. These iconic mountains that surround the venue make it beautiful to sail, but the wind swirls - not random, but incredibly complex, and we do well to remember that. It will surprise us, so we have to become comfortable with uncertainty."