4) Ashby still hurts over the 2013 San Francisco disaster, when he was the TNZ wing trimmer as Oracle overturned a 1 - 8 deficit. "It was brutal - even now it still hurts to be so close. It will stay with us until the rest of our days. We've learnt a lot and have a lot of fantastic things we are going to be working on for the future. You just can't leave any stone unturned in your preparation. "
5) He had sailed A-class catamarans for just three months when he won the world title in Spain in 1996. "It was the most unbelievable and euphoric feeling I have ever felt."
6) Ashby and skipper Darren Bundock went into the 2008 Olympic Tornado class as favourites and ended up with the silver medal. He was denied a chance to go for gold in London because multihulls were dumped for the 2012 Games. His list of world championship medals is staggering and includes 15 golds.
7) mysailing.com.au reckoned that the catamaran ace is a generous genius "who is always willing to share his immense knowledge, but no matter how much he helps others set up their boats, they can't ever match him for speed or consistency."
8) Cheeky Ashby presented fellow Aussie Spithill with a legal king post in Portsmouth last year - a reminder of the world series cheating scandal which led to Oracle being handicapped two races going into the 2013 America's Cup.
9) Ashby is married to Mel and they have a sailmaking business - Ashby Sails.
10) When TNZ nearly capsized in spectacular fashion in San Francisco, Ashby was one of three sailors sent skywards. "I was just hanging on, like a koala," said Ashby, hanging on to Aussie roots.