Solo Thames Valley Open at Kingsmead Sailing Club
by Rob Fairhurst 12 Oct 2010 11:04 BST
9 October 2010
Solos at Kingsmead © Rob Fairhurst
Dan conquers fickle winds to win Solo series
Daniel Goodman of Littleton SC won the final Open of the Thames Valley Solo season held at Kingsmead Sailing Club on Saturday 9th October.
Dan coped best with the fickle winds which gusted to F4 on rare occasions but sometimes dropped to almost zero. He had a good start in the first race but was closely chased by Ian Ayres from Rollesby Broad SC. He had a bad start in the second race and managed third when Barry Wicks lost a screw in his tiller extension. It all came down to the last race and Dan made no mistake by leading from start to finish with a clear lead.
Although the day was mild with many sailors in shorts, the promised sun didn’t appear; some of the boats resembled the Marie Celeste as they emerged from the misty gloom
Ian came second overall and Barry Wicks of Maidenhead was third. The event was well attended with 16 participants. Littleton could claim club honours, with Vanda Jowett coming fifth overall.
Maidenhead also had a good showing with Steve Jones 3rd and Keith Meekings 7th.
This win enabled Dan to lift the Thames Valley Travellers series for 2010. Vanda Jowett came second and Barry Wicks third.
Kingsmead hosted the event and the galley laid on a great lunch and tasty tea for their guests. Their sailors couldn’t take advantage of home waters but in some ways KSC could take credit since both Dan and Ian were members of the club; also Nigel Goodhew of the RORC and Alan Bird of Frensham , both of whom finished in the top 10 were club members, many years ago. So if you want to do well in the future, join KSC for a few seasons!