Double Olympic gold medallist films at Portsmouth

CNN TV presenter and Olympic sailing gold medalist Shirley Robertson with Prof Mike Tipton in the Extreme Environments Laboratory at the University of Portsmouth © Christopher Ison

A double Olympic gold medallist and broadcaster was plunged into a cold water immersion tank at the University of Portsmouth during filming for a monthly sailing show on international news channel CNN.

British sailor Shirley Ann Robertson OBE visited the University's Extreme Environment Laboratory to film for an episode of MainSail about survival at sea. She was plunged into cold water at 12 degrees Celsius in full sailing gear to examine the physiological effects of cold water immersion on a person who has fallen overboard.

Shirley met with scientists from the Department of Sport and Exercise Science and received advice from Professor of human and applied physiology, Mike Tipton, a world-renowned expert on survival at sea.

She said: "I was really impressed when I saw Professor Tipton on the Guy Martin show last year so approached him for advice on cold water immersion and what can be done to maximise potential survival time.

"I'm not very good with cold water – after too many years sailing in Scotland! I much prefer to stay on the boat and can get a bit panicky even in warm water."

Shirley has spent time with Volvo Ocean Race trainers – sailing's biggest offshore round-the-world race – and said it was a really eye-opener: "It's easy to get a little blasé in an open water race but when you hear big burly sailors who've done seven ocean races talk about how quickly they deteriorate when plunged into cold water you start to take notice.

"The stories you hear are thought-provoking. If you go overboard in your kit it's difficult to make progress. You imagine yourself in that scenario and think about how you would cope and what you would do. Getting advice from someone like Mike is hugely helpful so you can make informed decisions if you're ever in that situation. I'm much more aware of my own safety and will always check where the liferaft is when I'm on a boat now.

"The Extreme Environment Laboratory is a great facility. It's so wide-reaching – helping a variety of organisations, such as the RNLI, as well as the general public."

The laboratory is equipped to assess human performance and survival in extreme environments. Its immersion pool can be set anywhere between two to 40 degrees Celsius and its three environmental chambers are capable of simulating altitudes up to the summit of Everest.

Professor Tipton said: "It was fantastic to work with Shirley for her CNN show. Our facilities and team are here to provide life-saving safety advice to as many people as possible and shows like Shirley's are a great vehicle for getting the preventative, life-saving, medical advice out to the public."

The programme will be broadcast on Saturday 7 February at 17.30 GMT and on Sunday at 22.30. It will also be available online on the CNN Sailing page.

Shirley Robertson made it into the history books by becoming the first British woman to win two Olympic Gold medals at consecutive games, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.