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.
Bonjolea II and Ozone maneuvered for a starboard pin end start while Fast Company did a port tack start by the race committee. And the port tack start paid off as Fast Company passed in front of the fleet. Papa Au was running down the line on starboard and tacked back onto port to follow Fast Company. But Papa Au had to duck the starboard tackers.
Fast Company took it all the way to the breakwater before tacking and they continued to be in the lead. Bonjolea II and Ozone tacked early and just made it out of the harbor while Fast Company went further towards the Kukui Lighthouse before tacking out of the harbor. Bonjolea II gained n the upwind leg and they were the first boat to round the Ninini Lighthouse buoy followed by Fast Company, Ozone, Speedy and Papa Au.
Downwind under spinnaker it appeared that Fast Company briefly had a wrap in their spinnaker and Ozone gained a little bit. However, the fleet maintained their positions until the second downwind spinnaker run when after rounding the Kalapaki buoy Ozone was able to pass Fast Company on the way to the G-7 buoy gybe mark. After rounding the G-11 buoy by the Coast Guard Station it appeared that Ozone was giving bad air to Fast Company behind them and Fast Company tacked away early towards the
breakwater while Ozone kept going towards the mole. When they met up again Ozone had perhaps gained a little bit and they tacked in front of Fast Company. Fast Company quickly tacked back towards the breakwater and then tacked back again as they got close to it. But Ozone had the good fortune of just barely making it around the Kalapaki buoy without tacking.
Meanwhile Bonjolea II was just crossing the finish line as Ozone and Fast Company approached the G-11 buoy by the Coast Guard Station before the final upwind leg to the finish line. But would it be enough time with Bonjolea II’s handicap to stay in first place? Bonjolea II had struggled with some spinnaker disconnects and twists, sheets led wrong twice, jib sheets tangled up in the spinnaker and more which had cost them a lot of time. Would they be able to untangle the mess and still beat Fast Company and Ozone who were breathing down their neck? Upwind from the G-11 buoy to the finish line Fast Company tacked early towards the G-7 buoy which was now the pin end of the finish line and perhaps a shorter distance away. Ozone a little ahead tacked to cover them. And the horse race between the two boats to the finish line was on once again!
And at the finish line the crew of Bonjolea II and skipper Bonnie Tiffany were happy to see that even with their handicap they finished in first place by 13 seconds over Ozone. And Ozone was in second place by 15 seconds over Fast Company who was in third place. Tight racing! Speedy was next and Papa Au rounded out the fleet. This makes it 6 wins in a row for Bonjolea II! Nice going.
Next Thursday 6/8/23 is the third race in the Invitational Series with a 5 pm start. The public is welcome to watch the races from the Nawiliwili mole parking lot along with the race committee. Afterwards there will be an educational talk open to the public at the Kauai Sailing Association Clubhouse. We have some Japanese sailors who are on the last leg of their around the world trip who will tell us about their adventures. And we will also have a demonstration by Hu on how to make a soft shackle. A complimentary Chinese food dinner will be provided by Chris Jordan’s Ozone crew.
-Chris
Click for complete results and the raceQs replay on the
Club Racing page.