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Published On 8/5/2023
I have sometimes been less than enthusiastic about the 4 Shorts Series races that are all inside the harbor. But this one I enjoyed.
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Published On 7/5/2023
The first of the 5 race Wahine series was held on Thursday 6/29/23 with 12 knot winds out of the North-northeast. The 5 women skippers had course A-E-A With the first and last legs out to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy and the middle leg around the Kalapaki buoy over a distance of 5.8 miles.
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Published On 6/18/2023
As the 6 boat fleet headed out of the marina to race, the weather threatened rain. And indeed shortly thereafter the crews were soaking wet. But that didn’t diminish their enthusiasm as they jockeyed for positions at the start.
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Published On 6/12/2023
For the 3rd race of the 4 race Invitational Series Weatherly and Papa Au had on board the 3 Japanese around the world sailors who just sailed into town, as each boat is required to have a guest on board. The weather cooperated with a 12 knot breeze out of the North for course A-D-E. This 4.51 mile course had one outside lap to the lighthouse and 2 inside laps around the Kalapaki Buoy.
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Published On 6/4/2023
The second race of the four race Invitational Series took place on 6/1/23. The 6.11 mile course was A-C-E with two outside laps to the lighthouse buoy and one inside the harbor lap around the Kalapaki buoy. The wind was out of the North-northeast at 12 knots.
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Published On 6/3/2023
The Invitational Series of 4 races requires that a guest be on board to promote sailing. Without a guest, the boats are penalized to last place plus one more point. Ouch! So be sure to bring a guest.
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Published On 5/23/2023
It was raining hard most of the day as we prepared for this last race in the Roger Cable Memorial Rum Race Series. Most of the boats were questioning whether to race or not. But then miraculously about 4:15pm before the race the rain stopped and it didn’t start again until the boats were all put away. The race was on!
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Published On 5/16/2023
Was it a B-A-D race? Yes it was, course wise. Two laps went out to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy with the first lap leaving the Kalapaki Buoy to starboard, out to the lighthouse and then on to G-7 and G-11. The second lap went straight to the lighthouse and back to G-11. The final lap was around the Kalapaki buoy to starboard, then downwind to G-7 gybing to G-11 and then upwind to the finish line.
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Published On 5/9/2023
On May the 4th the force was with us as the strong gusty winds and huge seas made sailing a challenge. All the Olson 30’s had reefs in their mainsails to compensate for the strong winds.
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Published On 4/30/2023
The 5th race in the Roger Cable Memorial Rum Series had course A-A-E with 2 laps out around the Ninini Lighthouse Buoy and back around the G-11 buoy by the Coast Guard Station. The 3rd lap was around the Kalapaki Buoy and then the G-11 buoy again for a distance of 5.8 miles.
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Published On 4/25/2023
The Roger Cable Memorial Rum Series Race #4 started with light 4 knot winds out of the Northeast and ended with winds coming from the opposite direction. The course was D-E-A over 4.51 miles with two inside the harbor laps and one outside lap to the Ninini Lighthouse Buoy.
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Published On 4/2/2023
The Roger Cable Memorial Series is named in honor of longtime Nawiliwili Yacht Club member Roger Cable who passed away on 9/22/22 at the age of 84. Roger had a general aviation background and worked at Cable Airport in Upland, California. Here on Kauai Roger was general manager at Inter Island Petroleum. But more importantly to those of us racing sailors is that Roger held the Papa Au crew together and he kept the boat racing up until he passed. He will be missed by his wife Roberta and all of us who knew him.
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Published On 3/28/2023
The thunder and lightening just before race time made several boats decide not to race. But three brave (or foolish) boats made it out onto the race course. Ozone was seen to be paddling all the way out to the mole in the very light air. Because of this light air the race committee wisely decided to do two short inside the harbor courses with the first lap upwind towards the mountain in order to round the G-7 buoy and then downwind to the Kalapaki buoy.
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Published On 3/24/2023
Jim Saylor and his crew on Fast Company were chomping at the bit to make it 5 wins in a row. But could they do it in the light and flukey Southwest winds?
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Published On 3/15/2023
The National Weather forecast called for 7 knots of breeze out of the West for the 5th race in the Jerry McKenna Memorial Series. But leaving the dock and at start time it was 7 knots of wind out of the East, our usual trade wind direction. But that was not to last...
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Published On 3/5/2023
The wind and waves were again challenging for the Jerry McKenna Memorial Series Race #4. Since the first race was cancelled that means that Fast Company with Jim Saylor on the helm has now swept all 3 races.
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Published On 2/28/2023
The winds were strong and gusty and several boats were seen to put their reefing lines in place in case they had to reef their mainsails. And the waves outside the harbor were some of the biggest ones we have ever seen there. A few were breaking even
at the lighthouse buoy.
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Published On 2/18/2023
The Opening Day races on Saturday February 4th were cancelled due to heavy rain and lightening and thunder very close to the boats at the dock. That was a good call by the race committee...
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Published On 10/19/2022
It was probably the lightest wind of the year for our sailboat races with the wind out of the North at perhaps up to 7 knots at times. The race committee wisely decided to do course D-E with two short inside the harbor laps around the Kalapaki Buoy.
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Published On 10/8/2022
It was another beautiful day for sailing with the winds out of the Northeast at 8-10 knots. The 4.63 mile course was B-E-D with one outside lap to the Ninini Lighthouse Buoy and two inside laps around the Kalapaki Buoy. The wind was so far north that Ozone, Fast Company and Weatherly started on port tack by the race committee and this paid off.
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Published On 10/1/2022
There was very sad news for the fleet who learned that Roger Cable, the captain of Papa Au, had passed away the day before the race. There will be lots of Roger stories as he was not only a wonderful sailor but a great human being. He will be missed.
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Published On 9/25/2022
HE’S BACK!!!
After a long absence Jeff Olsen is back and he expertly steered Papa Au to victory in the 6 boat fleet in very light winds. In fact, with the winds so light the course had to be shortened from A-C-E to just A-E with an outside lap to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy and an inside lap around the Kalapaki Buoy. This was a wise decision on the part of the race committee. The first outside lap to the lighthouse buoy seemed to take forever with boats tacking back and forth in what usually is just a close hauled sail the entire way. The wind was more south of east than usual at maybe up to 7 knots at times.
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Published On 9/17/2022
The course was A-D-E with an outside lap to the Ninini Lighthouse Buoy followed by 2 inside laps to the Kalapaki Buoy over a distance of 4.51 miles. The wind was light at 7 knots out of the East. Fast Company had Jim Saylor back from the mainland (and I confess that some of us missed him). He was short of crew and he wasn’t sure about using his spinnaker. But he did set the starting pin for the seven boat fleet.
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Published On 9/15/2022
The course was A-B-E over 5.92 miles with 8-10 knots of wind. Papa Au was able to replace their frayed wire shroud so that they could race. But Fast Company didn’t race and since they usually set the starting pin the race committee instead had to use the G-5 buoy as the pin end of the starting line.
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Published On 9/8/2022
The sailors were happy to have 3 long outside laps to the Ninini Lighthouse Buoy with course A-B-C. This was a 7.52 mile race and the winds were out of the Northeast at 12-15 knots.
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Published On 9/4/2022
NYC Club Update
- Membership Growth
- Financial Status
- Clubhouse Progress
- New Website
- Creating The Kauai Maritime Foundation (501C3)
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Published On 8/27/2022
After last week’s race Papa Au came in close to the end of the breakwater near the loading dock and their keel hit the rocks. Ouch! But they were able to haul the boat out with Carl Andersson’s help and Mott did a nice job patching the damage. The boat was back in the water 2 hours before the race! But unfortunately before the start they noticed that one of the starboard shrouds had at least 4 of the wires frayed. They quickly took down their jib and used the jib halyard to reinforce that starboard side. But they didn’t miss out on the squalls! They got soaking wet just like everyone else.
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Published On 8/22/2022
Since Fast Company’s skipper Jim Saylor was away on vacation, it was Kevin Millett of Kato fame who was guest steering. And Double Espresso with the youngest Kauai Sailing Association kids couldn’t race because Uncle Carl Andersson broke a finger in his left hand. But there were still 6 boats out on the race course.
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Published On 8/16/2022
The sailboat racing is tight and after 2 of the 4 Shorts Series races there is a 3 way tie for first place between Bonjolea II, Fast Company and Ozone.
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Published On 8/6/2022
After sweeping the Invitational Series and taking a 5 race break in the Wahine Series, Bonjolea II came roaring back to win the first of the Shorts Series Races. In spite of the lighter air at 6-8 knots out of the East and only short inside legs around the Kalapaki buoy, Bonjolea was gone!
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Published On 8/1/2022
The winds were quite light at 5-8 knots out of the Northeast and the boats were using their larger #1 headsails. The 4.51 mile course was D-A-E with one lap outside the harbor to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy squeezed in between the two inside laps around the Kalapaki Buoy.
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Published On 7/25/2022
The 4.51 mile course D-E-A had a somewhat unusual two inside laps around the Kalapaki buoy before the final outside lap to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy. The winds were out of the Northeast at 10-14 knots. At the start Ozone was too early at the pin end and...
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Published On 7/16/2022
The wind was out of the Northeast at 10-14 knots for the third Wahine Series race. The 6 mile course was A-E-C with two outside laps to the Ninini lighthouse buoy and in between an inside lap around the Kalapaki buoy.
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Published On 7/9/2022
The second Wahine Race was course B-A-D with two outside laps to the Ninini lighthouse buoy and one inside lap over 6.03 miles. The wind was 10-14 knots out of the Northeast. The wind was strong enough that Speedy decided to put a reef in the main. Ozone put in a reef line but held off on reefing when they saw the young kids on Double Espresso with a full mainsail.
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Published On 7/2/2022
The Wahine Series of 5 races requires that a woman be on the helm. The first race had course E-A-B with an inside leg to the Kalapaki Buoy and two outside legs to the Ninini lighthouse buoy over a distance of 5.92 miles. The wind was out of the northeast at 13 knots with larger gusts.
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Published On 6/26/2022
As the wind was shifting between 8 – 14kts, 5 minutes before the starting horn, excitement was building for the crew of Bonjolea II to make sure every moment counted with the opportunity to take the last race and sweep the Invitational Series.
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Published On 6/13/2022
The 2022 Invitational Race Series Race #3 was held in relatively light 6-12 knot winds blowing from NE to ENE. The swell was very light, less than 4 ft, coming in from the SE with no wind waves. Four boats participated, Bonjolea II, Ozone, Speedy and Weatherly. The course, B-A-D, consisted of 3 legs, 2 long with Ninini Point buoy being the windward mark, and one short with the Kalapaki #4 can the windward mark.
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Published On 6/6/2022
Bonjolea II with Bonnie Tiffany on the helm now has two bullets for the first two Invitational Series Races. The Sydney 36 never had to look back at the four Olson 30’s that made up the rest of
the fleet.
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Published On 5/29/2022
The weather was gorgeous for the first Invitational Series Race held on 5/26/22. This series requires that the boats have a guest
on board or they are penalized the number of boats in the race
plus one. The 6.11 mile course was A-C-D with two outside laps
and an inside lap. The wind cooperated with 8-10 knots out of
the Northeast (compared to the very fluky Kona winds last week).
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Published On 5/28/2022
Zoey Huntley gave herself a high school graduation present winning the final race in the Doug Gibson Memorial Series with
her teenage Kauai Sailing Association crew on Weatherly...
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Published On 5/16/2022
The 5/12/22 race had strong winds of 15-20 knots out of the east northeast. The 6 mile course was A-E-C. Fast Company yet again had the best start at the pin end with Jim Saylor on the helm. Ozone’s skipper Chris Jordan had 3 women crew show up and they put a reef in the main as without any of the hefty male rail meat usually available they thought that they would be overpowered.
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Published On 5/9/2022
The race on Cinco de Mayo had 12-17 knot winds out of the east northeast. The course was B-E-C a 6.12 mile course (which was shortened with a middle inside lap instead of 3 outside laps as one of the sailors needed to get to the airport for a flight to the mainland).
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Published On 5/2/2022
The 4/28/22 race was course A-E-A over 5.8 miles with winds out of the East at 12 knots. Most boats had their large #1 sails up except for Ozone who put up their #2. Skipper Chris Jordan is still kicking himself for making that decision and for leaving the #1 in the car. I had to agree with winning skipper Jim Saylor at the end of the race when he said to just throw that sail in the trash...
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Published On 4/19/2022
The third race of the Doug Gibson Memorial Rum Race Series was held on 4/14/22. The course was C-B-D with 2 outside laps to the Ninini lighthouse buoy and a final inside lap around the Kalapaki buoy. The course was 6.23 miles long with winds out of the north-northeast at 15 knots.
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Published On 3/23/2022
There were only six boats racing on Thursday 3/17/2022 (St. Patrick’s Day) for the sixth race in the Bob Hamby Memorial Series. Papa Au didn’t race this week as they didn’t have enough crew and Kato is out for awhile as skipper Kevin Millett is cruising his catamaran in Mexico. We also miss Iwa with Karen and Woodie Cole who apparently have their insurance company not covering racing. Bummer!
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Published On 3/19/2022
The 5th race of the Bob Hamby Memorial Series was held on 3/10/2022. The 4.51 mile race was course A-D-E with one outside lap to the Ninini lighthouse buoy and two inside laps around the Kalapaki buoy. The wind was 3-8 knots out of the North-northeast...
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Published On 3/8/2022
With Bonnie Tiffany on the helm of the Sydney 36 sailboat
Bonjolea II there was no looking back! She finished over 8
minutes ahead of the next boat in the 7 sailboat fleet
racing in Nawiliwili Harbor...
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Published On 3/8/2022
The weather forecast for the 4th race of the Bob Hamby
Memorial Series on 3/3/2022 suggested rain and no wind. But it
turned out to be a lovely day. The wind was light at 6-8 knots
with occasional gusts. It was mostly a northerly but at times the
wind was all over the compass...
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Published On 3/3/2022
The wind was 13-18 knots out of the Northeast for the race on 2/17/2022 (my mother Elizabeth Jordan’s 91st birthday!). The course was A-B-E with two outside laps to the lighthouse and one inside lap over a distance of 4.93 miles. Papa Au and Speedy were back in the water after their painting and repairs which made for a fleet of 7 boats...
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Articles

Published On 4/17/2024
It was a rainy, miserable day with no wind...just like sailing in Seattle! But I didn’t have my long underwear on. Good thing as all my clothes ended up soaking wet in spite of wearing my foul weather gear.
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Published On 4/7/2024
The wind was blowing like stink with very big waves outside the harbor. The race committee decided on 3 inside the harbor laps. Although some were disappointed not to go out to the lighthouse, it was a move for safety.
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Published On 4/1/2024
The wind was 18+ knots out of the Northeast and the 5 boats all had their small jibs up and reefs in their mains (except for Kato who doesn’t have a reef point). But Kato’s skipper Kevin Millett had rail meat with big Ray Woolard, Thor Temme, Bob Kolosky, and the more petite Holly.
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Published On 3/30/2024
The first of 6 races in the Rum Race Series was held on 3/21/24 with course A-A-E over 5.8 miles. This race had 2 laps out to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy and back to the G-11 buoy by the Coast Guard Station followed by an inside lap around the Kalapaki buoy and on to the G-11 buoy again before finishing.
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Published On 3/20/2024
The 6th and final race of the Ken Martinez Commodore Series had JT Schoonover as skipper on Fast Company as Jim Saylor was back on the mainland. And Kato’s skipper Kevin Millett had crew Bob Kolodny back again this week as another secret weapon. Bob is owner with his wife Mary Kopitzke of the beautiful Lagoon 50 catamaran that is moored right out in front of the clubhouse. And Speedy had a new set of sails just waiting to show the other 4 Olson 30’s what they could do with them. Double Espresso had Kauai Sailing Association instructor Zack on the helm with the young KSA sailors. They seem to be getting better and better each week.
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Published On 3/13/2024
The winds were strong for the Ken Martinez Commodore Series race #5, probably 20 out of the North. The Olson 30’s all had reefs in their mainsails except for Kato who has no reef points. It looked dicey...
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Published On 3/4/2024
The initial course for this race was A-A-F but it was shortened by the race committee to A-A, probably because it was getting dark. This course had two laps out to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy and back around the G-11 buoy by the Coast Guard Station for a distance of 4.8 miles.The wind was out of the Northeast at 13 knots and the 4 Olson 30’s had their smaller #3 headsails up.
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Published On 2/28/2024
The Ken Martinez Commodore Race #3 was really a different one. Ozone and Fast Company just couldn’t leave each other alone...
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Published On 2/18/2024
The wind was unusual out of the North-northwest at 11 knots which made the start interesting. Even though the starting buoy was placed well towards the Kalapaki side of our usual starting line it still favored a port tack start. And that is what all 4 boats in the race did as they started the 4.51 mile course A-D-E.
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Published On 2/15/2024
The course turned out to be C-D after the race committee shortened the race in the light air of 9 knots out of the North northeast. The distance was 3.71 miles. For some great photos by Charlotte Ross check out the NYC racing website.
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Published On 2/10/2024
The wind was howling on opening day with gusts expected to hit 30 knots. Only 3 boats hit the race course all with reefs in their mains.
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Published On 10/16/2023
The 7th and final race of the Gene Wells Memorial Series was held in winds out of the North at about 10 knots. The course was C-H-E with one outside lap to the Ninini lighthouse buoy and two inside laps around the Kalapaki buoy. The distance was 4.46 miles.
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Published On 10/8/2023
The Kona winds were totally opposite from our usual trade winds so the start headed towards the mountain. And the courses T-S were two short ones inside the harbor that no one was familiar with so it was a little bit of a challenge. The “T” course went upwind to the G-7 buoy and then on to the Kalapaki buoy. The “S” course went to the G-11 buoy by the Coast Guard Station and then to the G-7 buoy before heading to the Kalapaki buoy and finally to the finish line. The winds were light and variable mostly out of the West at about 3 knots.
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Published On 10/6/2023
The Gene Wells Memorial Series has 7 races. There is one throwout of a boats worst score. This 5th race had Course B-E-D for a distance of 4.63 miles. The winds were out of the North-northeast at 11 knots and as this is at the upper limit of the Olson 30’s large #1 head sails the Olson’s instead had their smaller #3 jibs up.
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Published On 9/25/2023
The 4th race in the Gene Wells Memorial Series only had 4 boats racing. And the RaceQ’s computer tracking of the race died at 2 and a half minutes into this hour and10 minute race so this article will be a short one.
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Published On 9/18/2023
The third race of the Gene Wells Memorial Series had course A-C-E over a distance of 6 miles with winds out of the Northeast at 12 knots. Of the 4 boats racing, 3 decided to start on port tack by the race committee while Speedy went for starboard tack at the opposite pin end. And when the boats met up...
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Published On 9/15/2023
As Bonjolea II and Speedy were setting up for a port tack start by the race committee, Ozone came running down the starting line on starboard tack with the right of way, trying to mess them up. Ozone tacked just to weather of Bonjolea II in an effort to slow them down. But Bonjolea II is so fast and can point so high that they were soon to weather of Ozone and out in front, leading the fleet.
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Published On 9/4/2023
This series is named after longtime NYC member Gene Wells who was a master boat builder. These were all wooden sloops and he built them in his garage in Anahola. Although none of these boats were in this race they are fondly remembered. Jim Saylor, the recently retired jeweler, still has the 25 foot “Whitecap”. I always coveted the 26 foot “Rebel” which I thought had beautiful lines.
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Published On 8/28/2023
The final race of the Shorts Series (where all the racing is done inside the harbor) had course F-E-E-D over 3.91 miles with winds out of the Northeast at 16. Five boats raced including the Sydney 36 Bonjolea II and 4 Olson 30’s (Speedy, Weatherly, Double Espresso and Ozone).
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Published On 8/20/2023
It was a beautiful day for sailing with the winds at 12 knots out of the Northeast. The course was H-E-F-E with 4 laps inside the harbor all around the Kalapaki buoy upwind with a couple of new courses downwind.
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Published On 8/14/2023
The Short Series race #2 was a very unusual race. There
were 5 laps (F-H-D-E-D) the most we have ever done.
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Published On 7/30/2023
Bonjolea II, with Bonnie Tiffany on the helm, won all 5 Wahine races and they swept the series with 5 points. Ozone took second place with 12 points and Weatherly was third with 19 points.
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Published On 7/26/2023
The winds were blowing for the 4th race in the Wahine Series with 16-20 knots out of the Northeast and even stronger gusts. The Olson 30’s had reefs in their mains and their small #3 headsails up. The 5.8 mile course was E-A-A with an inside lap to the Kalapaki Buoy followed by two outside laps to the Ninini Lighthouse Buoy and around the G-11 buoy by the Coast Guard Station.
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Published On 7/18/2023
The third race in the Wahine Series was held on 7/13/23 with 7 boats competing with their female drivers. The course was B-A-D with 2 laps out to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy and one lap inside around the Kalapaki Buoy over a distance of 6.03 miles. The wind was out of the Northeast at 13 knots.
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Published On 7/17/2023
7 boats competed in the second Wahine race where a woman has to steer the boat.The course was A-C-E with two outside laps to the lighthouse buoy and a final inside lap around the Kalapaki buoy over a distance of 6 miles. The wind was out of the Northeast at 6 knots.
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Published On 5/27/2023
A Light E-ESE breeze of 6-8 knots with a small swell in a similar direction greeted the 3 boats that came out for this series of races. This was a make up series since the 2023 Opening Day series was canceled due to weather.
Papa Au, Speedy and Bonjolea II faced off against each other in this 3-race series that featured absolutely beautiful, albeit slow, racing conditions.
Bonjolea II corrected out to first in all 3 races.
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