NAWILIWILI — Bonjolea II, with Bonnie Tiffany behind the wheel, picked up its second straight win in the four-race Nawiliwili Yacht Club Invitational Series Race No. 2 that was held last week at Nawiliwili Harbor.
“Tight racing,” said Chris Jordan, skipper aboard OZone. “At the finish line, the crew of Bonjolea II was happy to see that, despite their handicap, they finished in first place by 13 seconds over OZone. And, OZone was in second place by 15 seconds over Fast Company.”
Racing under 12-knot winds out of the north-northeast, the fleet raced through a 6.11-mile course that included two outside laps to the Ninini Lighthouse buoy and one inside-the-harbor leg around the Kalapaki buoy.
Following the clean start that had boats chasing different tacks, Bonjolea II broke away on the first upwind leg to Ninini Lighthouse, and rounded that buoy first.
“Downwind under spinnaker, it appeared that Fast Company briefly had a wrap in their spinnaker, OZone gaining a little by capitalizing on the miscue,” Jordan said.
“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 G7 buoy gybe mark. After rounding the G11 buoy by the Coast Guard station, it appeared that OZone was giving bad air to Fast Company behind them. Fast Company tacked away early towards the breakwater while OZone kept going towards the mole.”
More jockeying ensued between the pair of Olson 30s, while Bonjolea II was crossing the finish line with an elapsed time of 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 13 seconds.
“Would it be enough time with Bonjolea II’s handicap to stay in first place?” Jordan asked.
Doug Tiffany, aboard Bonjolea II said, “Bonjolea II had struggled with some spinnaker disconnects and twists, sheets led wrong, twice, jib sheets tangled up in the spinnaker, and more that 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?”
Bonjolea II corrected to 1:10:13 PHRF for first-place honors, just 13 seconds ahead of OZone, which finished with an elapsed time of 1:10:19 and correcting to 1:10:25 PHRF. Fast Company was third with an elapsed time of 1:10:34 and correcting to 1:10:41 PHRF.
The third race of the NYC Invitational Series takes place on Thursday, when the first flags fly at 5 p.m. off. the Nawiliwili Harbor jetty parking area.
“Following the race, there will be an educational talk open to the public at the Kaua‘i Sailing Association Clubhouse,” Jordan said. “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.”
