Micky Beckett, the pride of Solva and a stalwart of the British Sailing Team, once again etched his name in the annals of sailing history with a resounding victory at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma last week, marking his third consecutive triumph at this illustrious event. The 29-year-old maestro showcased his dominance in the men’s dinghy class amidst stiff competition from a formidable fleet of 193 boats, clinching the title with a day to spare.

His gold-medal feat spearheaded a triumphant campaign for the British contingent, as John Gimson and Anna Burnet secured bronze in the Nacra 17 category, while the rising star Matilda Nicholls clinched her debut senior-level medal, a bronze in the ILCA 6 class.

Entering the pivotal double points medal race, Beckett held an unassailable lead atop the leaderboard, a testament to his unparalleled skill and unwavering determination. Despite the comfort of his position, Beckett refused to relent, clinching a second-place finish in the decisive race and ultimately sealing victory with an imposing 44-point margin.

Reflecting on his remarkable achievement, Beckett humbly acknowledged the significance of his third consecutive triumph, stating, “I’ve been trying all week not to think about the fact that if I won this event it would be three in a row, but now it’s real and it’s pretty cool.” His sentiments echoed a blend of confidence and humility, underscoring the arduous journey that led to his triumph.

With his sights set on the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, Beckett exuded a mixture of confidence and determination, aware of the challenges that lie ahead. “All the top guys will be following their own plans to build up to this summer, but I have to say that beating them is a nice confidence boost,” Beckett remarked, encapsulating the competitive spirit that drives him towards excellence.

Despite his past setbacks in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Beckett remains undaunted, poised to make his mark on the global stage in Marseille, where he aims to transcend mere participation and carve his legacy amongst the world’s elite ILCA 7 sailors. With a European title in 2021 and a world silver in 2023 adorning his resume, Beckett’s journey is a testament to perseverance and unwavering dedication to his craft.

On a lovely evening down Pill division 4 strugglers Milford Athletic hosted fellow strugglers Carew III’s and as both teams have previously played out close, exciting encounters, this was expected to be another great game!

With a good home crowd, Carew won the toss and decided to play downhill in the first half, and it was a decision that initially looked like it may backfire, as the attacking Carew team met staunch resistance from the Athletic defence. Club stalwart Sam Daine’s was having a great game winning everything aerially and mopping up loose balls superbly, whilst Ashley Busby in goal was like a reincarnated Gordan Banks between the sticks!!

Ultimately, the slope, the windy conditions and superb attacking play from Tyler Worral saw the Athletic defence finally undone at the half hour mark, and then Carew continued their dominance with another two quick fire goals, courtesy of Harvey Drummond & Tom Woodford. 3-0 at half time and a slightly flattering scoreline for Carew.

The second half saw Athletic start brightly with the defence remaining resolute and Macaulay Chapman starting to dominate midfield, creating chance after chance.

In the space of 11 seconds half minutes, Athletic found themselves back on level terms, with Ciaran Lewis scoring twice, and a stonewall penalty being despatched by Pete Tunstall. What a turnaround!!

When everyone thought Carew may fold under pressure, up they stepped and re-took the lead with Harvey Drummond completing his well taken hat trick, and Carew found themselves back in the lead! What a game this was turning into!

It took all of 2 minutes for Ciaran Lewis to equalise, and complete his hat trick and for the remaining 20 minutes the game was end to end, with outstanding chances, last ditch tackles and great saves all over the place!! Final score Milford Athletic 4-4 Carew III’s in what could well be a game of the seaon contender.

As well as the football being superbly entertaining, no yellow cards were necessary and referee Marty Jones had complete control of the game despite the world’s worst offside decision where he agreed he had totally missed the Athletic fullback out wide! In his defence it was sunny.

A great game and a credit to both teams.

Clarby came out on top of a nine goal thriller at Neyland on Saturday. The result means that Clarby remain in 3rd whilst Neyland will now be relegated to the second division.

The visitors started the better and 7 minutes in Laurie Howarth scored directly from a corner. However Neyland came back flying and started to cause problems for the away team.

There was then two goals in five minutes. The first Ben Gale nipped in between the Clarby’s centre backs to slot home and minutes later it was 2-1 as a deep cross evaded Clarby defence and Leo Power slid in to give the home side the lead.

After 32 mins Ben ‘Rocky’ John beat a defender at the left of the box and his outside of the foot effort went found its way in to make it all square again.

Some great play by Wood and Matthew Davies down the Clarby right hand side meant the latter crossed for Howarth to head home his second goal of the afternoon advantage visitors.

Haworth then completed his hat trick to make it 4-2 Clarby and it seemed the madness was over for the first half. However there was time for another goal as a wicked cross from Harry Young was deflected off the head of Rheinallt George into his own net for 4-3 at the oranges.

Seven goals in the first half, however the second half saw the game settle down well a little bit.

Laurie Haworth scored at the far post, Matthew Davies again the provider and it looked like Clarby would roll home. But Mikey Chandler scored in the 89th minute, a deft chip from all of 30 years an over Sam Edge in goal.

Despite a late push from the hosts it finished 5-4 to the visitors and it’ll be second division football for Neyland next season.