Kato wins First Race of the Horse and (No) Pony Series

Bonjolea II, a Sydney 36 skippered by Bonnie Tiffany, took an early lead with a fast-starboard tack start and, as the windward boat, effectively blocked the wind from adjacent boats OZone, an Olson 30 skippered by Dr. Chris Jordan, & Kato, an Olson 30 skippered by Kevin Millett, with her large sail plan. Fast Company, an Olson 30, skippered by Jim Saylor, attempted a port tack start but had to duck Bonjolea II & weave around other boats as that tack did not give her the speed she needed to get out ahead.

Bonjolea II, rounded the first mark at Kalapaki ahead of the pack with OZone hot on her heels. OZone got ahead of Bonjolea II soon after rounding the first mark & they both started the long port tack out to the Ninini Point Lighthouse Buoy. Kato & Fast company were in hot pursuit. The rest of the fleet began to stretch out behind of the leaders as the winds shifted ENE to NE, causing boats to have to keep adjusting their course towards the mark.

Fast Company, & later Papa Au, an Express 27, tacked over to starboard & then back to port after several hundred yards to get a better angle on the windward mark, the rest opted for a single long port tack & then a starboard tack to fetch the first windward mark.

OZone by this time had secured a lead over Bonjolea II & Kato & rounded the windward mark, the Ninini Point Lighthouse Buoy, first, followed closely by Kato, Bonjolea II & Fast Company. Once down the race course, OZone rounded the leeward mark first several boat lengths ahead of Fast Company who was dueling it out with Kato in 3rd. Bonjolea II had fallen back to 4th place. OZone went into the 2nd leg clearly in the lead, followed by Kato, Fast Company & Bonjolea II. During the starboard turn towards the windward mark, however, a tactical move by Bonjolea II resulted in her taking back 3rd place from Fast Company, which Bonjolea II held to the finish.

A dual for First place between OZone & Kato characterized the rest of the second & third legs of the race with Kato finally besting OZone around the final Leeward mark, a lead she & her skipper, Kevin Millett, held to the end. Bonjolea II had pulled away from Fast Company on the Leg 2 downwind run & held on to a solid third place across the finish line, with Fast Company crossing in 4th.

A few moments of chaos ensued as OZone stalled just 10-20 meters from the finish line with Bonjolea II closing fast. OZone’s expert skipper, Dr. Chris Jordan, got the boat going again with just enough momentum to cross in 2nd, 8 seconds ahead of a charging Bonjolea II.

After corrections were applied, the results were:

PHRF:
1st Place – Kato, corrected time of 1:13:52;
2nd Place – OZone, corrected time of 1:14:16;
3rd Place – Fast Company, corrected time of 1:15:32

Club Class:
1st Place – Speedy, corrected time of1:09:03;
2nd Place – Bonjolea II, corrected time of 1:14:04;
3rd Place – Weatherly, corrected time of 1:14:24.

The skippers, crew & friends were treated to a delicious dinner of sea bass in black bean sauce, beef broccoli, vegetarian tofu w/peas & mushrooms, brown & white rice, & wontons, hosted by OZone.

Conditions: Wind: ENE to NE at 7-10 kts. Swell: East at 1.5M.
Fleet (9): Bonjolea II, Fast Company, Iwa, Kato, Lelele, OZone, Papa Au, Speedy, Weatherly.
Course: B-A-D, 6.03 miles with two long legs & one short leg.

The next NYC Race will be the “Horse and No Pony” #2, to be held Thursday, June 28. The public is invited to watch from the Jetty.

Click for complete results and more photos by Charlotte and Pam