Heather Lulham-Robinson is stitching a sail when I call her.

The woman who, her husband fondly reminds her, was wearing a Chanel suit when they met, rarely has chance to dress up these days.

Weekdays, weekends, in fact any solitary spare moment she has is spent in the sail loft of the family’s Ilkley home, making nautical equipment, or swaddled in waterproofs by the water in some picturesque setting around Britain.

Heather, a qualified reiki practitioner, was lecturing in complimentary therapy when she met Peter, a Royal Yachting Coach. “He asked me what is the wicking factor – how fast the water goes away from your body. I had no idea!” laughs Heather. “When he finally persuaded me into a boat, I had to have the right gear on and everything was shapeless. There was nothing tailored!”

Heather refreshed herself with the sewing skills she had learned as a child and, with Peter’s expertise and knowledge of sailing, the couple were able to create a sail and kit out their boys’ boat when they became interested in sailing.

The boys were three when they climbed aboard, following their father’s footsteps. Matt, now 12, and 11-year-old Benjamin were talent spotted almost immediately when they took to the water in the £100 boat Heather bought after spotting an advertisement on a noticeboard in her local supermarket.

“We now know the coaches on the water were taking bets that it would fall apart before it finished the course – and they won!” laughs Heather.

With Matt at the helm and Ben crewing, the brothers swiftly progressed through the Royal Yatching Association Pathway Squads and are now competing at a national level and participating in championships.

Heather proudly tells how the boys are now on the first rung to Olympic success. In September they secured championship victory in the double-handed Mirror Dinghy at the RYA Volvo North Zone championship.

Often, the cost of equipment and competing can be prohibitive. The Lulham-Robinsons have offset those costs by manufacturing their own equipment.

Heather recalls their boat-builders, Keighley-based Winder Boats, giving them a spare hull. The couple custom-made the necessary sails and equipment and Lulham-Robinson Sails grew out of enquiries they received from people seeing their custom-made boat.

Sails, boat covers, toe straps and padded covers for the rudder and centreboard are some of the nautical range they are creating in their sail loft. The room doubles up as the boys’ bedroom. “They can’t get to sleep until we’ve finished!” says Heather.

Helping their parents create the sails for their own boats gives the boys a greater understanding of the sport they are so passionate about.

I ask Heather how she felt sending them out to sea for the first time. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” she says. “They were being coached so my husband was out on the water and as I was shoving them out to sea I thought ‘what on earth am I doing?’. But they weren’t worried or scared – it was me.”

She recalls the boys shouting with glee at a school of dolphins swimming around their boat as they came back in. “They are comfortable and confident, and there’s always a coach with them or rescue boats so they are looked after,” she says.

The boys are members of Yeadon, Otley, Yorkshire Dales and Hollingworth Lake sailing clubs but, despite their sailing commitments, Heather says they are equally committed to their school studies. According to their mum, their self-discipline and ability to stay focused comes from sailing.

Looking after the family and the business leaves Heather little time for sailing. “I have a single hander but I never get in it” she admits.

Being involved in sailing enables the family to spend quality time together. “It’s great because we are all together, we go to lots of interesting places, meet lots of interesting people and it’s fantastic. It’s a great geography lesson as well,” says Heather.

* For more information visit lulham-robinson.co.uk.