NAWILIWILI — Bonjolea II’s command of the Nawiliwili Yacht Club Short Series brings the four-race series to a winner-take-all scenario Thursday when the first flags fly at 5 p.m. best seen from the Nawiliwili jetty wall parking area.
Bonnie Tiffany wheeled the 36-foot Sydney to its second consecutive victory in winds blowing out of the northeast at between 12 and 15 knots over the 4.22-mile course that snaked around the inside of Nawiliwili Harbor.
“Bonjolea II is fast and gets out in front early so they don’t have to deal with all the smaller and slower boats,” said Chris Jordan, skippering OZone in the seven-boat fleet. “Skipper Bonnie Tiffany and the Bonjolea II crew seem to have the boat dialed in.”
Tiffany and company ruled the waters in the third race of the four-race series, sounding the finish horn on an elapsed sail of 49 minutes, 54 seconds, and corrected to 53:42 PHRF to rule the third race.
Papa A‘u, taking the opening race of the series, capitalized on the the handicap to finish second, coming in fourth overall in line honors at 56:36 elapsed, and correcting to 54:25 PHRF for the runner-up honor.
Kato, finishing second overall at a 54:10 elapsed sail, corrected to 54:45 PHRF to claim third place, 30 seconds behind the smallest boat in the fleet.
“With one more race in the series, both Bonjolea II and Papa A‘u are tied for first place with six points each,” said Jordan. “But Bonjolea II is now over in Honolulu for some repair, and Papa A‘u looks to be unbeatable.”
OZone, sounding the finish horn on a 55:07 elapsed sail, corrected to 53:24 Club for top honors in that class, followed by Weatherly, sailing without skipper Astrid Andersson who left for college, sounding the horn on a 1:00:32 elapsed sail and corrected to 56:22 Club.
Fast Company, whose skipper Jim Saylor used the series to hone an inexperienced crew, slipped across the finish line on a 57:03 elapsed sail and corrected to 53:53 Club for third-place honors in that class, 31 ticks below Weatherly.
“The public is invited to watch the race from the Nawiliwili mole parking area,” Jordan said. “Unfortunately, the after-race dinners and educational talks are canceled indefinitely due to the COVID-19 virus.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
