NAWILIWILI — Lead exchanges at the final turn of the Horse phase of the race sprouted a red flag of protest, Thursday at the Nawiliwili Yacht Club Horse and Pony Series, Race No. 4, the final race of the series.
NAWILIWILI — Lead exchanges at the final turn of the Horse phase of the race sprouted a red flag of protest, Thursday at the Nawiliwili Yacht Club Horse and Pony Series, Race No. 4, the final race of the series.
Malihini, a 35-foot catamaran, finished the Horse phase first, but corrected out to second place to Speedy, the Olson 30 that waged a battle for the lead with the catamaran in the final stretch of the horse race.
“There was a protest filed in the horse race which, when heard, may alter the results of this race, and ultimately, the series,” said Sharon Gibson, the NYC scorekeeper. “But for now, this is how it shakes out.”
Speedy, crossing the horse race on a 39:45 elapsed sail, 37 seconds behind Malihini, corrected to a 39:49 PHRF to Malihini’s 40:07 PHRF to take top honors in that phase, excluding the protest filed by Malihini, its red flag flying in strong contrast to its blue finish.
Quanah Green, piloting Speedy, jumped aboard the pony, or Laser, and piloted it to a first finish to give Speedy two combined points for first place overall.
But that first place ended up tying Fast Company in the overall series standing with 19 points, Fast Company finishing third overall on a 40:36 elapsed sail, Thursday, and correcting to 40:40 PHRF. To add to the woes, Lee Evslin, the pilot of the pony, took a 5, or equivalent to a Did Not Finish, after Evslin and two other pony skippers were confused on the pony course and took a wrong mark.
That resulted in Fast Company ending with a combined eight points, just one shy of a tie between Malihini and OZone at a combined seven points apiece.
But throughout the four-race series, Fast Company posted lower scores than Speedy, giving the tie-breaker to Fast Company, overall in the PHRF Open Class.
Malihini, finishing first in the Thursday race on a 39:08 elapsed sail and correcting to a 40:07 PHRF, got a 5 in its pony race, managed to stay in a tie for second with OZone, but dropped to Coyote in the overall Club standings by one point after correcting to 38:08 Club, a third finish in this class.
OZone was the victim of a snapped line just seconds before the starting lineup.
But quick work by its crew jury-rigged a makeshift arrangement and OZone was able to hobble through half of the horse course before retiring with a 5. Chris Jordan, skippering the crippled Olson 30, hopped aboard the pony and piloted it to a second finish for a combined seven points and a tie with Malihini. OZone also finished third overall in the Club class with 29 points.
Fast Company was content to stay out of the tight race for the lead, laying back to finish on a 40:36 elapsed sail and correcting out to a 40:40 PHRF and a 39:34 Club.
Coyote, taking the overall Club class with 24 points, finished Thursday’s exciting race with a 44:41 elapsed sail and corrected out to a 41:51 PHRF and a 34:42 Club for top honors in the Club class in the horse race.
The excitement came to a head in the final legs of the horse race when Speedy, with the help of its spinnaker, overtook Malihini entering the harbor from the Kalapaki Bay mark.
But Malihini, using the 10-20 knot winds to its maximum advantage, stayed on top of Speedy, gaining ground heading to the final turn.
Misfortune struck Speedy when, in the process of pulling in its spinnaker, the wind pulled the sail into the water, adding drag to the yacht.
Malihini took advantage of this break and on a tight inside turn at the mark, regained the lead and sailed across the finish line.
With the completion of this exciting series, the public is invited to view the arrival of the boats from the Kaua‘i Channel Race this Friday.
Boats leave Ko Olina at 7 a.m. and will start arriving at Nawiliwili as early as 2 p.m., depending on wind conditions.
Gibson said due to unforeseen circumstances, there are ample event shirts the public can also purchase during the arrival and at the post-race party, Saturday.
Following this O‘ahu-to-Kaua‘i race, the next harbor series will be the Wahine Series starting on Aug. 12 at 5 p.m. All boats participating in this three-race series must have a female skipper on the helm from the prep flag, or four-minute warning, through the finish.
Visit www.nawiliwiliyachtclub.org for more information.
