NAWILIWILI — Malihini, a 35-foot catamaran, may have finished first, but after the correction factors were applied, OZone, whose crew sported new crew shirts, earned top billing in the Nawilwili Yacht Club Minnesota Fats Series, Race No. 2, Thursday. “I
NAWILIWILI — Malihini, a 35-foot catamaran, may have finished first, but after the correction factors were applied, OZone, whose crew sported new crew shirts, earned top billing in the Nawilwili Yacht Club Minnesota Fats Series, Race No. 2, Thursday.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a race this close,” said Sharon Gibson, the NYC scorekeeper. “It may come down to who wins the pool tournament.”
The Minnesota Fats series features a post-race pool tournament where one member of each participating boat takes part at the NYC Clubhouse.
But the pool tournament did not affect the overall standings once corrections were applied. OZone, finishing second overall, gained the top berth on a 55:57 PHRF correction (55:52 elapsed).
Malihini, whose crew battled from the back of the pack at the start, steadily climbed through the two long courses to overtake OZone at the final inland turn and eked out a first overall finish at 55:28, but with the PHRF adjustments, fell to third place on a 56:52 PHRF sail.
Papa‘au, with Louie Abrams at the tiller, weaved through the pack throughout the race and nailed down second place on a 56:18 PHRF sail, despite finishing fourth overall on a 58:49 elapsed sail.
But the action was not limited to the front runners as Coyote and Bonjolea waged their own battle in the back four of the pack.
Following Malihini, Coyote, among the first four leaders at the start, finished fourth on a 57:39 PHRF sail (1:01:33 elapsed).
Fast Company, constantly jockeying for lead positioning through its tacks, finished in fifth place(58:23 PHRF, 58:18 elapsed), despite crossing the finish line third overall.
Bonjolea relied on its pool player to wrestle the CLUB lead from Coyote to finish first in the Clup Open Class following the pool tournament on a 52:27 sail. Coyote, before the tournament, had snatched first place in the Club Open Class on a 48:02 CLUB sail.
Lelele (1:00:56 elapsed, 58:10 PHRF) and Speedy, among the early leaders, (1:02:15 elapsed, 1:02:21 PHRF) closed out the nine-boat fleet.
The public is invited to view the NYC Minnesota Fats Series, Race No. 3, Thursday from the jetty wall area.
First flags fly at 5 p.m.
