NAWILIWILI — One second. That was the margin of victory, and it was the crowning cap to an afternoon of racing excitement as the Nawiliwili Yacht Club hosted its Wahine Series, Race No. 2, Thursday at the Nawiliwili Harbor. Lelele,
NAWILIWILI — One second.
That was the margin of victory, and it was the crowning cap to an afternoon of racing excitement as the Nawiliwili Yacht Club hosted its Wahine Series, Race No. 2, Thursday at the Nawiliwili Harbor.
Lelele, a Wells 30, emerged atop the frenzied scene, crossing the finish line with an elapsed time of 53:38, more than a minute behind Malihini (52:10 elapsed).
But the PHRF correction put Lelele on top with a 53:28 corrected time over Malihini’s 53:29.
Malihini, a 35-foot cat with Lindsey Vail at the helm, slingshotted out of the back of the pack at the start, and amidst yells of “Starboard! Starboard!” slipped past the opening pack to establish a clear lead.
Lelele, the eventual leader, was involved in a battle with Fast Company, piloted by Sea Peterson, and Speedy with Carol Marsh at the wheel.
Taking advantage of winds blowing steady in the 10-15 knot range out of the East-Northeast, the NYC Race Committee opted for three legs on this race: a short, long and short.
Following the bottle-necked start, more excitement churned on the ocean as spinnaker troubles plagued Fast Company’s attempt to overtake the catamaran.
But she was not alone because, in the tight race for second, third, and fourth places, Speedy lost her third place to Lelele when the trades decided to abandon the balloon aboard the Olson 30.
Coming in from the second leg, Malihini was still in control with Fast Company, Lelele and Speedy in a tight three-way battle for the next positions.
On the last turn heading for the final stretch leading into the third leg, Fast Company’s spinnaker acted up again and she lagged at the end of the pack, Lelele, with Susan LeHoven at the wheel, picking up the top spot over Speedy at the start of the final leg of the race.
The winds described by NYC scorekeeper Sharon Gibson as “robust” stirred up even more electricity when, unbeknownst to the NYC Race Committee on the jetty wall, a small collision took place at the lighthouse buoy between Speedy and Fast Company.
That resulted in protests being filed by both boats, a protest hearing being called to judge the dispute resulting from the accident.
“The conversation at the clubhouse following the race was adrenaline-filled,” Gibson said. “These wahine are really being tested.”
Gibson said the results of the hearing may or may not have a bearing on the results of the race.
Following Lelele and Malihini, Speedy filled in the No. 3 spot on an elapsed sail of 54:49 (54:54 PHRF) followed by Fast Company (56:30 elapsed, 56:35 PHRF), Papa‘au (1:00:06 elapsed, 57:32 PHRF), and Bonjolea (1:05:13 elapsed, 1:02:43 PHRF).
Bonnie Tiffany was at the wheel of Bonjolea and Marcie Millett was at the helm of Papa‘au.
With just one more race remaining in the series, the NYC invites people to view the lively competition from the jetty sea wall area, Thursday.
First flags fly at 5 p.m.
For more information, visit the NYC Web site at www.nawiliwiliyachtclub.org.
