A British medal jamboree at Princesa Sofía Regatta in Palma, and the ups and downs of racing on the professional circuit.
I won’t make a secret of it. I was in a bit of a hole after the Olympics. It was pretty shortly after that when I told myself, ‘well I’m going to have to go and win Palma next year!’” That’s what Micky Beckett told me soon after he stepped ashore from yet another victory at the Princess Sofia Regatta which took place in early April.
It was good to be back on the Olympic scene after eight months since that extraordinary Olympic Regatta in Marseille last July. Extraordinary for all the wrong reasons, as far as Beckett was concerned. The battle for Olympic gold in the ILCA 7 had been as hotly anticipated as Robert Scheidt versus Ben Ainslie back in the day. This time it would be the defending Olympic Champion from Australia, Matt Wearn, up against the rising start, Beckett from Britain.
While Wearn sailed a masterful regatta in impossibly light airs, taking gold with the Medal Race to spare, Beckett struggled. In the scrap for the minor medals Beckett had moments where bronze and even silver looked within his grasp, but he fell the wrong side of a Rule 42 penalty frenzy from the on-the-water umpires and slumped to sixth.
Micky Beckett for Gold
If Beckett ever had a right to feel hard done by, it was then. But the practical Welshman never seems one to dwell on defeat or victory for too long. He just asks himself, ‘what’s next?’. To come back and win the biggest event of the annual calendar in Palma for a fourth successive time, this time against a fleet of 174 entries, is just phenomenal. The Welsh Wizard is back. And so too is Elliot Hanson. After taking 18 months out of the boat to earn some money and learn new skills on the professional keelboat racing circuit, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic representative is back doing the hard yards in the brutal singlehanded dinghy.
Hansen finished runner-up to Beckett, beating all those world-class sailors who have been at it full-time over the past year and a half. So of course he was more than satisfied with such a strong come-back performance. Actually, not. Speaking after winning the Medal Race, Hanson told me: “It’s a funny feeling finishing second. I’m 31 years old and I came second here back in 2017. That’s eight years ago and I wasn’t here to come second. I came here to win, so I won’t be celebrating tonight. That’s no disrespect to Micky, though. Congratulations to him, amazing performance.”
I like that. You don’t often hear that searing level of honesty, a lack of humility and ridiculous expectation of coming back to Laser racing and expecting to win straight away. That’s the kind of self-belief Hanson will need to get past Beckett for that Olympic berth at Los Angeles 2028.
Palma, by the way, was a barnstorming performance for the British across the board. Five gold medals from 10 events was beyond wildest dreams. Of course we have to remember this is post-Olympic year so there were some notable absentees from the entry list, but not all that many.
More Success in Mallorca
Following that disappointing medal tally at Paris 2024, Palma was redemption day not just for Beckett but for Emma Wilson who took iQFOiL windsurfing gold, and for recently-wedded Nacra 17 team John Gimson and Anna Burnet who also took gold in the foiling catamaran. There were some encouraging golds too in the 49erFX for Freya Black and Saskia Tidey, and for Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris in the 470 Mixed. Five golds and a total medal haul of nine. Stunning.
Olympic Competition Vs Cup Campaigns
I was updating Ben Ainslie with the team’s exploits during a recent interview with him about America’s Cup and SailGP matters. I think that sometimes he wishes he was still moving in that simpler world of Olympic competition, where you have a large level of control over your destiny. And you actually get to go sailing rather than sitting in meetings. Although, as he pointed out to me, Ainslie is 48 years old, and he has had a good run of it over the past three decades.
Right now he finds himself embroiled in all the politics and machinations of relaunching an America’s Cup campaign. With Sir Jim Ratcliffe pulling Ineos Britannia out of another campaign, blaming Sir Ben on his way out of the door, at least he can start to put that unpleasant episode behind him. But there’s still plenty of negotiating to do be done with Grant Dalton and Emirates Team New Zealand and it’s not proving straightforward.
Pete Burling’s departure from the team suggests it’s not all roses inside the Kiwi camp. Burling had the opportunity to become the first skipper to win the Cup for a fourth successive time – to do a Micky Beckett! Instead Burling is choosing to spend his precious time on his Black Foils campaign in SailGP, and with his young family. Perhaps Cup campaigns aren’t as glamorous as they might sometimes seem to the rest of us.
Show Me More:
- New Boats: Fresh Designs on the Yacht Market
- Rüdiger Stihl’s Yachts: Aiding the Classic Boat Renaissance
- How to Face Bad Weather at Sea: Adrian Morgan’s Stormy tales
The post Micky Beckett’s Comeback: Positives of the Professional Circuit appeared first on Sailing Today.
Leave a Reply