OZone wins Wells, Race No. 3.

NAWILIWILI — The fourth race of the Nawiliwili Yacht Club Gene Wells Memorial Series will take off on Thursday, Sept, 26, when the first flags fly starting at 5 p.m.

“The public is invited to watch the races from the Nawiliwili mole parking area with the NYC Race Committee,” said Chris Jordan, skipper aboard OZone.

OZone was declared the winner of the Gene Wells Memorial Series, Race No. 3 that unfolded last Thursday, Sept. 19, under light 10 to 11 knot winds blowing in from the northeast.

Following two legs of the three-leg race course, Jordan said Bonjolea II, captained by Bonnie Tiffany, was in the lead rounding the Kalapaki buoy located inside of Nawiliwili Harbor closer to Kalapaki Beach.

“When the boats reached the Kalapaki buoy rounding, it was Bonjolea II in the lead followed by OZone and Speedy, who were close enough to Bonjolea II that they both had visions of beating her with Bonjolea II’s handicap rating,” Jordan said. “After rounding the G-7 and G-11 buoys to head to the finish line, it was Bonjolea II taking line honors by 37 seconds over OZone.”

“But with the handicap applied, OZone took first place on a corrected time of 59 minutes, 25 seconds,” the Ozone skipper said. “Speedy took second place with a time of 1 hour, 1 minute, 33 seconds. Bonjolea II finished in third place with a handicap time of 1:02:15, and Double Espresso rounded out the fleet at 1:04:00.”

The start of the fourth race of the Gene Wells Memorial Series indicates the NYC is nearing the end of its sailing calendar.

The Gene Wells Series is the final shoreline series race for this year before the traditional Halloween race ends the calendar because of the unfavorable sailing conditions that appear with the winter. Sailing will start back up in February 2025.