NAWILIWILI — Bonjolea II, with Bonnie Tiffany behind the big wheel, captured top honors for the opening race of the Nawiliwili Yacht Club Short Series.
Thursday, Tiffany attempted to improve on the standings with another win, but came up short as the big Sydney 36 took line honors by less than a minute, and could not overcome the handicap that gave the winning berth to Jim Saylor and his crew aboard Fast Company over the three-lap, 3.22-mile course.
The winds blowing at 10 to 14 knots out of the northeast could have gusted more to give Bonjolea II the added edge at the finish.
“Fast Company and Bonjolea II had good starts on port tacks,” said Chris Jordan, aboard OZone that was called “over early” by the NYC Race Committee. “At the Kalapaki mark rounding, it was Bonjolea II in first. But they went a little wide and Fast Company snuck inside and took over the lead.”
OZone was snagged with cleaning the room duty because of its costly “over early,” but caught up downwind under spinnaker to the G-7 buoy gybe mark, managing to pass Papa A‘u and Weatherly while 12-year-old Stella Fornari board Double Espresso appeared to enjoy watching mom Alison in last place aboard OZone.
“Following each lap, the rules require the boats to pass through the finish line in the event the Race Committee needs to shorten the race,” Jordan said. “Following the G-5 buoy Bonjolea II tacked to stay inside before tacking back to the breakwater. Fast Company went further before tacking towards the breakwater, taking it close to the breakwater before breaking for the Kalapaki buoy. But Bonjolea II avoided the header near the Kalapaki buoy and rounded in front, followed by Fast Company. OZone, Double Espresso and Weatherly bunched together next.”
Coming upwind on the final lap, Bonjolea II had to tack to stay inside the G-5 buoy as required by the rules.
“Somehow, Fast Company was able to pinch up and just make it inside the buoy without hitting it — credit to Jim’s driving,” Jordan said. “By saving two tacks and heading in very close to the breakwater before tacking, it appeared they were on the lay line to the Kalapaki buoy. But fate intervened in the form of a header, and following Bonjolea II’s two tacks to get around the buoy, Fast Company had to do two short tacks to make it.”
Bonjolea II took line honors after sounding the finish horn on a 41-minute, 57-second elapsed time, followed by Fast Company at 43:00 elapsed and OZone at 43.55 elapsed. But the corrections saw Fast Company get the lead spot on a 43:04 PHRF correction, followed 55 seconds back by OZone at 43:59 PHRF. Bonjolea II, finishing with a more-than-two minute lead, overall, could not overcome the handicap and was awarded third place at 44:16 PHRF.
In the Club class, Double Espresso claimed first place with Stella Fornari steering the Olson 30 to a 41:16 Club reading followed by Dick Olsen aboard Speedy, and Lily Briones aboard Weatherly.
Following the tally of points, and with just two more races remaining in the NYC Short Series, Fast Company, OZone, and Bonjolea II are deadlocked for the standings lead.
The third race for the NYC Short Series takes place Thursday when the first flags fly at 5 p.m. off the NYC Race Committee mole parking area.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
