PAPA AU WINS WAHINE RACE #2 WITH VICTORIA AIU STEERING

The second race of the 4 race Wahine Series took place on 7/15/21 with 12-18 knots of wind out of the East-northeast. The 4.71 mile course was D-C-E with an inside lap, an outside lap and a final inside lap.

Most of the boats hit the starting line at about the same time with Weatherly right at the pin end. But by going to the Kalapaki buoy first even boats that started further down the line made it around okay. Ozone rounded first but Papa Au had a tighter rounding. At the G-7 buoy downwind Papa Au was inside Ozone and called for mark room. Bonjolea II had come roaring down and rounded this buoy first followed by Papa Au and Ozone. But Ozone gave too much room by going wide and Weatherly passed them. Kato followed and when they reached the G-11 buoy by the Coast Guard Station Kato had a tighter rounding than the other boats and they pointed better upwind and they were able to pass Ozone.

After the first lap it was Bonjolea II, Papa Au, Fast Company, Kato, Weatherly, Ozone, Double Espresso, Speedy and Iwa. At the Ninini Lighthouse Buoy it was still Bonjolea II leading. As Papa Au was on port tack at this buoy they had to stay clear of Kato coming in on starboard and Kato got in front of them (although Papa Au was still leading the fleet on handicap time).

Downwind at the G-7 buoy Ozone got inside at the mark and temporarily passed Weatherly. But on rounding the G-11 buoy Ozone’s jib sheet got tangled in the spinnaker during the takedown so they couldn’t pull in the jib to point and Weatherly easily passed them and never looked back. The next lap was to the Kalapaki buoy upwind and then downwind to the G-11 buoy and then upwind to the finish line. On the downwind leg Ozone didn’t hoist their spinnaker as it was so tangled. But all the boats essentially kept their same positions.

Fast Company had some adventures during the race with their spinnaker dragging in the water at one point and they fouled Papa Au at the final turn at G-11 when they tacked in front of them. Fast Company did their 2 penalty turns.

So at the finish line it was Bonjolea II taking line honors with Bonnie Tiffany on the helm. But Papa Au took first place overall on handicap in the PHRF Class with Victoria Aiu steering. They were 37 seconds ahead of Kato who was in second place with Emily Martin on the helm. Bonjolea II finished third. In the Club Class it was Iwa in first place with Karen Cole steering. Speedy was second with Christine driving and Weatherly was third with Astrid Andersson and the older KSA sailors doing a nice job to take third. An honorable mention goes to the youngest Kauai Sailing Association sailors on Double Espresso with Dasha and Maile steering. They finished close behind Ozone to take 7th in the PHRF Class. Great job!

After the race the Kauai Sailing Association talk was given by the older kids about their 5 day trip to Nualolo to study the coral and other things. They requested pizza for dinner and fortunately there was enough for the 30 people who showed up. Salad and dessert was also available.

The 3rd race of the Wahine Series will take place on Thursday 7/22/21 with a 5pm start. The public is invited to watch the race from the Nawiliwili mole parking area where the race committee hangs out. Afterwards a presentation of the SailGP race video from Plymouth, England will be given by Dick Olsen.

-Chris

Click the link for access to complete results and the RaceQs replay on the racing page as well as more photos from Charlotte and Pam.