NAWILIWILI — Fast Company came up fast and slipped between Speedy and Malihini to rocket into the lead from the start, Thursday. But the lead for the Olson 30 disappeared as Malihini, a 35-foot catamaran, had solid control of the
NAWILIWILI — Fast Company came up fast and slipped between Speedy and Malihini to rocket into the lead from the start, Thursday.
But the lead for the Olson 30 disappeared as Malihini, a 35-foot catamaran, had solid control of the lead coming back from the Ninini Point turnaround.
“She’s been rarin’ to go,” said Sharon Gibson, the NYC scorekeeper. Malihini had been unable to participate in the previous two races due to parts, but those parts arrived in time for the catamaran to take its place in the five-boat field on the final race of the Junior Series.
With winds blowing in the 10-20 knot range, Gibson said she let the boats run on two long courses that totaled five miles.
As the smaller monohulls worked with different tack lines and working sails to the best advantage in the brisk winds, the Malihini steadfastly kept her lead, keeping her bow into the wind.
This was a departure from normal races when the catamaran would be the boat either in the middle of the pack, or trying to keep up with the smaller boats.
But when the final flags dropped, and the horns sounded, the catamaran prevailed with an elapsed time of 51.00, almost three minutes ahead of the second finisher Speedy who stopped the clock at 53:56.
With the corrected times, Malihini topped the field in the Open PHRF Class with a corrected time of 52:17. Speedy settled into second place in the PHRF Open class with a corrected time of 54:16.
That time gave Speedy the top slot in the PHRF Mono class (a catamaran has two hulls).
Third place honors went to OZone (54:25 PHRF), the second of three Olson 30s competing in the brisk winds, followed by Papa‘au (56:26 PHRF), an Express 27, and Fast Company (1:00:31 PHRF), the last of the Olson 30s.
OZone’s performance earned her top billing in the Club Open class where her adjusted time came in at 52:42 Club.
The next series on the NYC calendar is the Wahine Series which will feature three races starting July 12.
A special requirement of this series is that each boat must have a female at the helm while the boat is racing. This will move Gibson from behind the scoreboard to behind the wheel of Malihini when the first flag flies at 5 p.m.
The public is invited to view the competition from the jetty wall and join the NYC crews at the post-race get-together at the NYC Clubhouse at the Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
