Northern Ireland Sailor Wins British Sailing Champion's Paris Olympic ILCA 7 in Charity Raffle

18th October 2024

Betty Armstrong

Some top-performing BYC Youth sailors with Micky Beckett at the ILCA 6 handover included Dan McGaughey, Irish ILCA 7 2024 Champion, Polly Robinson, GBR's Micky Beckett and Iseult Speirs

British Sailing Team member Micky Beckett, who raised over £18,000 for the Andrew Simpson Foundation by raffling his ILCA 7, which he had raced in the Paris Olympics, has handed over the dinghy at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough for winner Mark McKee.

All £18,053 raised will go to the Andrew Simpson Foundation, a charity set up in memory of British Olympian Andrew 'Bart' Simpson following his tragic death in 2013. The foundation provides opportunities for youngsters to experience sailing from its Portland, Reading, Portsmouth and Birmingham centres, a cause Beckett is passionate about.

British Sailing Team member Micky Beckett competing at the Paris Olympics in his ILCA 7 dinghy won by Mark McKee of Ballyholme Yacht Club Photo: World Sailing

Micky is from Solva Sailing Club in West Wales and started sailing at five in a boat made by his father.

Irish ILCA 7 2024 Champion Dan McGaughey with Iseult Speirs and Polly Robinson from Ballyholme received the boat on behalf of Mark McKee who was unable to attend. Micky also delivered goodie bags from Ovington to Dan, Iseult and Cormac Byrne.

Published in Laser, Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing, Northern Ireland Waters

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Published in Laser

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ILCA 7

About The Author

Betty Armstrong

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Betty Armstrong is Afloat and Yachting Life's Northern Ireland Correspondent. Betty grew up racing dinghies but now sails a more sedate Dehler 36 around County Down

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About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2
ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2
ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2

ILCA 2026 Calendar

Apr 04–05 — Munster Championships — Baltimore SC
Apr 09–12 — Irish Sailing Youth Nationals — Ballyholme YC
May 09–10 — Ulster Championships — East Antrim BC
May 23–24 — Masters National Championships — Howth YC
Jun 27–28 — Leinster Championships — Skerries SC
Jul 24–26 — National Championships — Royal St. George YC
Sep 11–12 — End of Season Championships — Waterford Hrbr. YC

2026 ILCA World Championships

Men ILCA 7: Aug 23 – Aug 30
Women ILCA 6: Sep 04 – Sep 12
Royal St. George Yacht Club & National Yacht Club (Dublin Bay)

At A Glance – Laser Dinghy Specifications

Designer Bruce Kirby & Ian Bruce

Year 1969

Crew 1
Draft 0.787 m (2 ft 7.0 in)
Hull weight 58.97 kg (130.0 lb)
LOA 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
LWL 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in)
Beam 1.39 m (4 ft 7 in)
Mainsail area 7.06 m2 (76.0 sq ft)

Racing D-PN 91.1 RYA PN 1088 PHRF 217