Solo Thames Valley Open at Maidenhead Sailing Club

Solos at Maidenhead © Victoria Brooks

Solos at Maidenhead © Victoria Brooks

Solos at Maidenhead © Victoria Brooks

The second Thames Valley Open Meeting of 2010 was held at Maidenhead Sailing Club on Sunday 18th April 2010. The event was gifted a beautiful sunny spring day, an ideal opportunity to dispense with wetsuits and wear t-shirts and shorts. 14 boats entered the meeting which included 5 visiting boats. 3 races were scheduled, with 2 to count.

Wind conditions were disappointing and racing conditions were “marginal”. However after a postponement of 30 minutes it was decided to continue and the first race was completed with winds ranging from 1 to 4 mph. The leeward end of the line proved significantly advantageous and Barry Wicks (Maidenhead), David Walford (Broadwater), and Daniel Goodman (Littleton) soon lead the pack. But during the race there was continual changing of positions as the wind continued to come and go. The final beat was instrumental in the result with many boats changing positions and at the finish Barry Wicks took 1st place with Peter Witherington 2nd, and Daniel Goodman 3rd, only 40 seconds separated these 3 boats.

The second race was held after lunch and the wind was even more challenging (0 to 2 mph). David Walford made an excellent start and pulled away from the pack building a huge lead that he maintained throughout the race. The rest of the fleet was split into two as the wind fell away on boats at the back of the pack and finally Barry Wicks secured 2nd place with Daniel Goodman 3rd.

The third race was not held due to lack of wind, so the overall result was based on the two race results with no discard.

Barry Wicks took, first overall followed by Daniel Goodman and David Walford.

Overall Results: