Mokaygee | Pikmin 1: Consistent area cutscene skip for Distant Spring (saves 22 seconds every time) @Mokaygee | Uploaded May 2017 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
So, it isn't 100% consistent at the moment. The bowsprit is not always as close to the ship and therefore arrives at the ship too late for the setup. You can fix this slightly by just being fast on the way back from collecting gluon drive.

The timing for the throws onto bowsprit is when the gluon drive is fully on screen. The bowsprit must be just about to touch the aura in front of the ship.

Also, standing on the exact spot is incredibly important. This isn't too hard when you know what to look for. I'm sure there's a spot that gives better likelihood of success, however the one I use works for me. The flower pattern on the floor has a concave shape. Stand in this shape, a few pixels closer to the ship, and there you go.

Finally I should note that while this will save those 22 seconds from the area cutscene + gluon drive, getting the bowsprit is now harder since you must be exactly frame perfect. You can still skip the bowsprit cutscene by pressing A in the aura in front of the ship. If you are too early you cannot get the Bowsprit cutscene skip.

I believe this is the most rewarding, on average, setup to go for since the 22 seconds timesave is likely, with potential for the extra 7.