The starters, with longer water lines or sportier features compared to Tuesday’s starters, should enjoy faster rides to the finish line off Honolulu’s Diamond Head, but—as is always the case in ocean racing—Mother Nature has the majority share vote in determining dockside bragging rights. The biennial race’s three middle-start divisions cleanly crossed the starting line off Point Fermin at 1300 and sailed out in 8-9 knots of shifty, Catalina eddy-driven southerly winds.