NAWILIWILI — OZone slingshot from the No. 3 spot to the lead at the start of the Nawiliwili Yacht Club Invitational Series, Race No 4, the final race of the series, in Nawiliwili Harbor.
Milking the wind blowing 10 to 15 knots out of the east-northeast, Kato slipped across the start line cleanly, only to have OZone come from behind to wrestle the lead as Papa A‘u ducked OZone and threaded the needle between OZone and Double Espresso that carried the youngest kids with Carl Andersson, who let them helm and rotate positions throughout the race that spanned some six miles over three legs.
“Kato and OZone went a lot further to the Kukui Lighthouse area before tacking out of the harbor,” said Chris Jordan, skipper aboard OZone that finished third overall in the final race of the series.
The long tack to the Kukui Point helped Kato round the first of two long legs in first, followed by OZone, Papa A‘u and Bonjolea II. The lead helped the Olsen 30 stay ahead of the traffic jam between Papa A‘u, Speedy and Bonjolea II at the far buoy near the Coast Guard station.
Kato, with Adrian Bertsch filling in for Kevin Millett on the stick, continued to maintain its lead, sounding the finish horn on an elapsed sail of 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 5 seconds, correcting to 1:08:49 PHRF for top line honors and the race.
“With three first-place finishes and a second place for a total of five points, the Olson 30 Kato easily won the invitational series,” Jordan said. “OZone (1:09:20 elapsed, 1:09:46 PHRF) took four third place finishes in the series for 12 points, and second place. Bonjolea II (1:14:54 elapsed, 1:20:36 PHRF) was very close behind in third place with 13 points.”
Speedy, finishing fourth overall, corrected to 1:05:51 Club for top honors in that class followed by Double Espresso (1:13:09 Club), and Bonjolea II (1:15:22 Club).
“The next race heads up to Hanalei on July 3 and returns on July 5,” said Jordan. “Following that will be the Wahine Series of four races starting on July 8. This is always one of my favorites, as the rules require a female on the helm.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
