Oahu to Kauai Race
On Friday, the Kauai Channel Race saw 14 boats sail some 100 miles downwind from the Kaneohe Yacht Club on the east shore of Oahu to the Nawiliwili Yacht Club on Kauai. Taking first place in class A was Dawson Jones’ Melges 32 Rufless, which beat out (among other boats) the Antrim 27 Intuition and the TP52 Locomotion II in 35-knot conditions.
The lone multihull entry — and first boat to finish — was John Florence’s Gunboat 48 Vela. Florence also goes by "John John," and has been the reigning champion of the World Surf League for the past two years.
After sustaining a knee injury at the beginning of the summer, Florence has been off the tour. "The diagnosis of my knee is a high grade partial tear to my right ACL. It’s a bummer not to be able to surf but I’m excited for the opportunity to get into some new types of adventures with friends and family while I’m recovering," he wrote on an Instagram post.
Vela was packed full of surfy celebrates, including musician Jack Johnson, waterman extraordinaire Kai Lenny, and surfing legend Joey Cabell. "I got the last-minute invite," said Johnson. "I wanted to make sure that someone knew how to get from point A to point B; pretty honored to be here and excited to learn." Footage from the Parallel Sea Instagram showed the Gunboat flying downwind, hitting 25.5 knots at one point.
We’re always excited to see new blood in sailing, especially when it’s the caliber of someone like Florence and friends. We wish John a speedy recovery, and look forward to seeing him in the lineup soon — and on the race course.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED: Readers, we received information from Brett Phillips of Crescent 3, one of the participants of the Kauai Channel Race, who gave us a revised list of finishers, which are as follows:
1st to Finish: TP 52 Locomotion, 6 hours, 40+ minutes
2nd to Finish: Rufless
3rd to Finish: Vela
4th to Finish: 2nd in Class A – Archibald 40 Crescent 3, top speed 26.3 knots 5th 5th: Intuition, 20+ minutes back in class A
"Also, two broken rudders and one drop out. Winds in the 30s," Brett said.