FAST COMPANY NOW HAS CINCO FIRSTS FOR CINCO DE MAYO

Fast Company appears to be unbeatable after their fifth first place in a row. The Olson 30 skippered by Jim Saylor won the Rum Race Series #5 on May 2nd on a 4.8 mile course with 10-15 knots of wind a little more southerly than our usual easterly trade winds. The race committee wisely chose 2 laps on the “A” course out to the Ninini lighthouse buoy and back in to the green #11 buoy. This was to avoid the dredging machines that blocked the #7 and #9 buoys.

During the race Kato, skippered by Adrian Bertsch, occasionally challenged Fast Company but to no avail. Ozone’s skipper set up the pole on the wrong side for the run back in from the lighthouse causing them to fall behind. In addition their jib pulled out of the track and their sheets got tangled with their spinnaker lines slowing them down even more and allowing Papa Au to pass them. Papa Au had their own issues when their spinnaker halyard got away and skyed. Ray scampered up the mast to retrieve it but in the process he sustained a large 2 inch gash in his right knee area. This was deep and impressive enough that it would need stitches.

At the finish, Bonjolea II with Bonnie Tiffany on the helm took line honors. But Fast Company took first place overall with a PHRF corrected time of 56:48. Kato came in second at 58:01 and Papa Au was third only 7 seconds behind Kato at 58:08. In the club class Bonjolea II was first, Speedy was second and Ozone was third. Weatherly also raced with a combination of junior and adult sailing students. There was not enough crew for Double Espresso to race. The beautiful Beneteau “Iwa” with Karen Cole at the helm was also on the race course.

Bonjolea II served up a delicious Cinco de Mayo Mexican dinner with green chicken enchiladas, black bean and cheese red enchiladas, Spanish rice, salad, chips and dessert.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates a small Mexican army victory over a larger French force at the Battle of Puebla on 5/5/1862. This event is actually celebrated more in the US than in Mexico. Here in the US we celebrate Mexican-American culture on this date by drinking almost as much beer as for the SuperBowl.

The 6th race of the Rum Series will be held on 5/9/19 with a 5 pm start. The public is invited to watch the race from the Nawiliwili jetty parking lot.

-Chris

Click for complete results, RaceQ’s replay and the current Series Summary results on the Racing Page. Click for more Photos from Pam