Micky is European champion!

By Jake Farren - Price

Micky Beckett sailed a fantastic regatta to win the European Championships! Jake Farren-Price tells what happened:

This year’s European Championships after being delayed from Earlier in the Spring took place during the first week of October in Varna, Bulgaria. In the couple of days before the regatta started there was a marked change in the weather – from sunny skies and temperatures in the high teens and sometimes above 20 to a very cold Northerly breeze.

For what was predicted to be a nice light wind event turned into an absolute hike fest with awesome sea state and cold grey days.

The race course was tucked just under a peninsula so we had quite dramatic side swell for most of our racing which made the racing challenging. We had 3 days of qualifying which we managed to get 5 races in and 3 days of finals managing to get another 5 in. The race committee decided to split up the timings for ILCA 7s and the ILCA 6s giving one fleet a lie in each day before racing. It turned out to be a wise decision as the race committee were insistent on having perfect wind for each race which meant a lot of waiting around under the AP flag. In 20 knots with some serious wind chill, it wasn’t received too well. However, the races that did happen were fair and true.

Our Micky Beckett sailed a blinding series starting the week of with two bullets which set the tone for how he conducted the rest of the regatta. Leading after every day it was a clear display of how to race in those conditions. He now adds a gold European medal to his cabinet alongside 2 silvers in previous years. He also adds the tally of British dominance at Europeans in the ILCA 7 to 4 wins in the last 5 years.

Now preparations have started for the World Championships in Barcelona in early November, watch out for the Brits smoking out the top of the fleet there.

And to hear a great interview of Micky by Jon Emmett - click here