Six of the best (From Dorset Echo)

Six of the best

8:59am Tuesday 2nd September 2008 in Local Video By Laura Kitching

THOUSANDS of people lined the streets of Weymouth and Portland to celebrate the return of Dorset's Olympic sailors and windsurfers.

A victory bus decorated with banners escorted double gold medallist Sarah Ayton, gold medallists Paul Goodison and Andrew Simpson, bronze medallist Bryony Shaw and their teammates Nick Dempsey and Saskia Clark on their homecoming parade.

Celebratory music was blasted from the speakers of the open top bus as crowds waved Union flags, cheered, whistled and honked their car horns.

The bus left Weymouth Pavilion at 1pm and made its way to Weymouth town centre, where thousands of people filled the crossroads of Bond Street and New Bond Street as far as the eye could see.

The sailors and windsurfers were in good spirits as they competed to see who could encourage their side of the crowd to cheer the loudest, signed flags and posed for pictures.

Windsurfer Bryony Shaw of Buxton Road, Weymouth said: "The turnout today has been amazing.

"I feel so proud that Weymouth and Portland has come to support us here and it makes the medal feel so much more special.

"My parents are down there with friends, family and my Gran who's 97 has come out today.

"It's just been an amazing experience from the time that we landed in the United Kingdom."

From the town centre the bus snaked through Wyke Regis and Fortuneswell to The Heights hotel on Portland where they were greeted by more crowds, champagne and a new sign that said Thank you to the worlds' best Olympic sailors'.

The parade then proceeded to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy where the sailors and windsurfers took part in a press conference.

They thanked the academy for providing them with a world class facility in which to train and pledged to achieve even more Olympic medals in their home waters in 2012.