NAWILIWILI — Papa‘au pocketed its fourth first place in five races by a scant three seconds, Thursday at the Nawiliwili Yacht Club’s Gene Wells Memorial Series, Race No. 5. The Express 27 crossed the finish line fourth in the fleet
NAWILIWILI — Papa‘au pocketed its fourth first place in five races by a scant three seconds, Thursday at the Nawiliwili Yacht Club’s Gene Wells Memorial Series, Race No. 5.
The Express 27 crossed the finish line fourth in the fleet of 10 boats, but corrected to first place just three seconds ahead of Fast Company, the first overall finisher.
Racing in 12 to 15-knot winds out of the Northeast, Papa‘au made the 3.4-mile crossing on a 45:31 elapsed sail, correcting to 43:34 PHRF.
Fast Company, with Jim Saylor at the stick, clawed its way back to the lead over OZone heading to the inland turn on the final leg of the opening lap, capitalizing on a spinnaker mis-handling by OZone to overtake the Olson 30, the antics being captured by aerial video from a hobbyist’s radio-controlled quad-copter which hovered over the fleet.
The radio-controlled craft, equipped with a GoPro video, was on a trial run by its owner and drew the attention of several NYC members who were spectating along the jetty wall.
Saylor, in the meantime, kept Fast Company in the lead for the remainder of the race, crossing on a 43:33 elapsed sail and correcting to 43:37 PHRF for the runner-up berth.
OZone was on her heels, crossing at 43:53 elapsed and correcting to 43:57 PHRF for the third spot.
Weatherly, the newest Olson 30 to the NYC fleet, filled in at No. 4 on a 45:00 elapsed sail, correcting to 45:04 PHRF.
Bonjolea, with Bonnie Tiffany at the wheel, crossed at 47:34 elapsed and corrected to 45:44 PHRF for the No. 5 spot. She also corrected to 39:44 Club for top honors in that class.
Speedy (49:40 elapsed, 49:45 PHRF), Mapuana (52:50 elapsed, 50:17 PHRF), Coyote (53:53 elapsed, 50:28 PHRF), Malolo (51:20 elapsed, 51:39 PHRF) and Lelele (55:54 elapsed, 55:44 PHRF) rounded out the fleet.
With just two races remaining, and one throw-out allowed, Papa‘au sits securely in the lead with four first finishes in five races.
The public is invited to view the last series of the NYC calendar year when the first flags fly at 5 p.m., Thursday at the Nawiliwili Harbor.
Visit www.nawiliwiliyachtclub.org for more information.
