The Becketts - A Family on Foils

A lot of people fly to Palma at this time of year to escape the chill of northern Europe, to relax in the sunshine and take a bit of downtime away from the blistering pace of modern life.

Unfortunately the sunshine and spring warmth has been in short supply so far this week, leaving many holiday makers disappointed with the usually reliable Mallorcan weather. But the Beckett family from Denmark don’t care. They’re not here to relax, and their busy lives certainly won’t be slowing down while they’re in Palma, because five of the family have flown from Copenhagen to take part in the Trofeo Princesa Sofia. They are taking part in the fastest and most furious of all the Olympic disciplines, the Men’s Formula Kiteboard event.

Three of the Becketts – Emil and his cousins Johan and Asger – are in their early 20s. Nothing particularly unusual about that in an Olympic fleet. But the other two, Thomas and Anders, are in their late 40s. Two brothers who both love their kitefoiling on the weekend, who love spending time with their sons in pursuit of the same high-adrenalin activity.

Thomas explains the attraction of coming to the Trofeo Sofia Mallorca: “I’m not trying to qualify for the Olympics, I’m here to enjoy the event and the atmosphere and get into some good racing on these incredible kiteboards with some of the best in the world. The atmosphere in this fleet, all the people racing here, it’s super friendly and it’s great to spent time on this circuit doing something we all love, and doing it with the family.”

As the Men’s fleet launched off the blustery beach with the wind gusting fiercely through the gaps in the tall buildings along Palma Bay, Johan’s kite fluttered to the water. It was getting dangerously close to a full soaking, which is not good for these delicately-balanced, gossamer-thin wing sails. Asger, already pushed for time if he was going to make it to the first race start, abandoned his own preparations to rush to the aid of his brother and get him launched and safely on his way.

Even for the Olympic aspirants, simply getting around the course on a 25-knot day can be a massive challenge. Kitefoiling on a tiny board at speeds over 30 knots is not for the faint-hearted. So it’s remarkable that so many Becketts all share the same passion for this breathtaking, high-adrenalin sport.