NYC OPENING DAY RACES

It is too dark after work to do the sailboat races in the winter. So after 3 months of not racing and of sanding and painting and getting the boats ready, it was finally time for opening day. Saturday morning 2/8/20 started off beautifully with light air out of the north instead of our usual easterly trade winds. Five of the six Olson 30’s now have slips on the dock closest to the yacht club. This north wind made it a little harder for them to sail out of their slips as they don’t use engines.
Once out on the race course the wind continued to build and it became quite strong and gusty. In fact, it was so gusty that most boats didn’t fly their colorful spinnakers. Kato and Fast Company however bravely (?) did fly their spinnakers. Papa A`u wisely kept their beautiful brand new spinnaker in the bag so as not to risk tearing it.

The first race was inside the harbor to the Kalapaki Buoy and Bonjolea II quickly took the lead and with Bonnie Tiffany at the helm and although they had line honours the first place on corrected time went to Fast Company and 3rd place went to Papa A’u. The second race was the longer race out to the Ninini Lighthouse Buoy. Surprisingly this race ended in a rare first place tie between Bonjolea II and Fast Company. Papa A`u finished third. There was some excitement out at the lighthouse buoy as Fast Company and Kato were battling neck and neck. Unfortunately Kato hit the buoy and when trying to get clear they ran into Ozone (no significant damage). Kato did two 360 degree penalty turns which allowed several boats to pass them so they took 7th place. The final race of the three race series race was again inside the harbor and Fast Company took first place again for the third time. Papa A`u was second and Ozone finished third. Bonjolea II took an unusual seventh place finish. Fast Company with Jim Saylor on the helm took first place for the series overall with Papa A`u in second place and Bonjolea II in third.

After the races the enthusiastic sailors gathered at the clubhouse for cheeseburgers and to happily talk story after so many months of not racing.
The next set of races is the Spring Shakedown Series with 6 races on Thursday evenings starting at 5 pm. The public is invited to watch the races from the Nawiliwili breakwater parking area where they can socialize with the race committee and learn something about the racing boats.

-Chris Jordan

Click here for complete results on the racing page.

Photos by Charlotte Ross and Pam Zirker. Click for more photos by Charlotte and Pam.