NAWILIWILI — Chris Jordan, crewing aboard OZone that was steered by Alison Fonari, said Stella Fonari, handling the stick aboard Double Espresso, won’t have to sleep on the couch following the Nawiliwili Yacht Club Wahine Series Race No. 2.
“The Double Espresso kids were awesome,” Jordan said after the Kaua‘i Sailing Association-crewed Olson 30 finished third overall in the second race of the NYC Wahine Series that spanned 6.03 miles in three laps under 10-to-14-knot winds blowing out of the northeast.
“The wind was strong enough that Speedy decided to put a reef in the main,” Jordan said. “OZone put in a reef line but held off on reefing when they saw the young kids on Double Espresso with a full mainsail.”
Following a clean start where Papa A‘u with Victoria Aiu on the helm was challenged by Weatherly with Elisabeth Biuk on the stick on port tacks, the youngest KSA kids on Double Espresso were doing remarkably well, the OZone crew said.
“Twelve-year-old Stella was on the helm, and she was really enjoying being ahead of her mother Alison, who was steering OZone,” Jordan said. “On the downwind legs, Fast Company did not use any spinnaker again, as they did not have a foredeck crew. Nonetheless, with Jakki Nelson on the helm, they were able to stay in the thick of things. Papa A‘u had borrowed Kato’s spinnaker pole, as their end fitting on their pole broke during last week’s race.”
OZone was finally able to pass Double Espresso, but it was Weatherly taking line honors and first place as Biuk sounded the finish horn on an elapsed time of 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 17 seconds, and corrected to 1:04:23 PHRF for top honors.
“Elisabeth’s crew is the older kids who are the sailing instructors for the Kaua‘i Sailing Association, and they obviously did a great job,” Jordan said.
OZone followed on a 1:05:58 elapsed time and corrected to 1:06:04 PHRF, with Double Espresso crossing the line on a 1:08:29 elapsed time and correcting to 1:08:35 PHRF for third place.
Kristina Chapman pushed Speedy across the line on a 1:11:51 elapsed time and corrected to 1:03:48 Club for top honors in that class, followed by Fast Company sounding the horn on a 1:08:29 elapsed time and correcting to 1:08:37 Club. Papa A‘u moved across the line on a 1:09:09 elapsed time and corrected to 1:08:38 Club for third place, just a second back of Fast Company.
The third race of the NYC Wahine Series gets underway Thursday when the first flags fly at 5 p.m. off the Nawiliwili Harbor jetty parking area. Jordan invites the public to view the competition with the NYC Race Committee from the Nawiliwili mole parking area.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
