NAWILIWILI — OZone finished in second place during the final race of the Rum Series on Thursday, May 2, at Nawiliwili Harbor.
But the second place finish, its third in the six-race series, was enough to give the Olson 30, skippered by Chris Jordan, an overall first place finish with a total of seven points in the series.
Bonjolea II, skippered by Bonnie Tiffany, which finished first in the final race, ended the series with 10 points for second place in the series.
Fast Company filled in third place overall with 17 points,. That was one point better than Double Espresso with Carl Andersson and the Kaua‘i Sailing Association young sailors with 18 points. Speedy with Dick Olsen at the helm ended up with 19 points.
The final race of the Rum Series was held under northerly winds in the 14-knot range, and OZone and Speedy enjoyed great starts while Fast Company suffered an Over Early and had to double back for a restart that cost the crew more than a minute.
“The wind was gusty,” said Jordan aboard OZone. “Bonjolea II was back a bit at the start, but they were coming on fast.”
The Sydney 36 piloted by Tiffany snagged the lead heading out toward the Ninini buoy turnaround.
“The OZone crew got distracted by the surprising appearance at this time of year of a humpback whale that breeched three times,” Jordan said. “But, at least the crews’ adrenalin level was higher now.”
On the second downwind leg, OZone had to gybe approaching the G-11 buoy near the Coast Guard station.
“When they did, they had a spectacular round up,” Jordan said. “The boat was on its side with three of the crew inside the lifelines but in the water. It was a challenge to recover the boat. The spinnaker was taken down and a jib hoisted. This broach cost OZone a lot of time and Bonjolea II was now long gone in the lead.”
Bonjolea II took line honors with the first to finish on a 1 hour, 14 seconds elapsed time, more than eight minutes ahead of OZone who clocked a 1:08:17 elapsed time.
“Even with the corrected handicap time (1:03.52), they were more than four-and-a-half minutes ahead of the four Olson 30s in the race,” Jordan said. “Great job, Bonnie and crew!”
OZone corrected to 1:08:17, followed by Double Espesso (1:10:16), Fast Company (1:11.00) and Speedy (1:11.16).
The Invitational Series of four races started Thursday, May 9.
