Fast Company wins Kaua‘i Channel Race

NAWILIWILI — Fast Company, being on O‘ahu for a recent summer series of races, returned home to Nawiliwili Saturday night in first place in the Kaua‘i Channel Race organized by the Nawiliwili Yacht Club.

“I went to see the finish,” said Jakki Nelson, who sometimes crews aboard the Olson 30 captained by Jim Saylor. “They were the second boat to cross the finish line, a little past 8 p.m.”

Racing from the entrance of Kane‘ohe Harbor to Nawiliwili under 12-to-16-knot winds and 1-to-2-meter seas, the Sleeping Dragon captained by Dawson Jones earned line honors in the Class B competition, sounding the finish horn on an elapsed time of 12 hours, 37 minutes, 21 seconds for the 95-nautical-mile, cross-channel race.

Fast Company crossed the line second on a 13:12:08 elapsed time and corrected to 20:12:08 PHRF for top honors in the race after the Sleeping Dragon corrected to 19:37:21 PHRF for overall third place.

Rick Osborne aboard the Lele Pono challenged Fast Company, but finished less than a minute back of the Kaua‘i Olson 30 on a 13:13:07 elapsed time and corrected to 20:13:07 PHRF for second place.

Speedy, skippered by Dick Olsen, was the second Kaua‘i boat participating in the Kaua‘i Channel Race. Speedy finished seventh in the Class B competition on an elapsed time of 15:23:08 and correcting to 22:23:08 PHRF in the race that had no participants in the Class A and the Class Aloha divisions.

Ron Quinton piloted Koa to first place in the Class Multihull category on a 15:22.22 elapsed time and corrected to 22:22:22.

The NYC will launch its Wahine Race Series that requires a wahine to be on the helm of the participating boat. The first race in this series is Thursday when the first flags fly at 5 p.m., best viewed from the Nawiliwili Harbor jetty parking area.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.