San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Report - J World's Hula Girl - Evil Monday....

Evil Monday....

We didn't just park it. We valet parked it, lost the stub, the valet lost the keys, got fired, and went home early. By the time we got our ride back, it was looking pretty ugly.

Monday was unkind to us aboard Hula Girl in the Sand Diego to PV Race. Hula Girls goin' 'round the outside (for a variety of reasons explained earlier) got punished. We kind of expected everyone to be sitting in the light patchy stuff, slatting for a while, then catching a puff for an hour or two, then slatting for a couple hours all over again. It looked to us like the whole are was to be plagued with these unstable conditions. But, apparently, we were quite wrong. Blue Blazes put some 40+ more miles on us, as did Ocelot. And we only put 12 on Miramar?!? And that doesn't even touch on the beating the big boats gave to us. The reports from other boats were for nice 8-9 knots conditions.... while we were having a hard time keeping our bow pointed towards PV due to a lack of steerage.

This is precisely what makes Mexico races sooo challenging (and fun). We went from scary fast rides to a swim in a pond. We used almost every sail we brought along. We went form third, to fourth, to second, to fifth,.,... and it still ain't over yet!

As our buddy Mike put it: If you can't be with the wind you love, love the wind you're with.

We finally got into the prevailing breeze just a couple hours ago and are finally in 12 knots of breeze, just peeled from the 1A to the 2A a bit ago, making good tracks towards Puerto Vallarta. Roll call will be interesting in the morning, if only to see if anyone else found any of the killer holes, or if we were solo in our miseries!

BUT there is this too: I just sat in the cockpit for an hour with, at various points, Rob and Lee and Drew and Mark and Josh. It is absolutely fantastic right now. The moon is high,. The boat is hissing along,. The seas are flat. The weather is warm. Midnight right now (2am local time, actually, in the Sea of Cortez, in shorts and T-shirts and diggin' it.

Ok. Going to crash now. Unless the wind goes right as forecasted, we'll have to gybe south of the Marias (the prison islands) to give them the required clearance. I suppose sitting in a Mexican prison would make sitting in a wind hole look like a vacation at the Four Seasons. I think we'll skip that, and get to the Margaritas waiting in PV...

See you all in the morning...

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl Team...

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SD to PV Race Report - Hula Girl - Nowhere Slow

My head hurts. This stuff is grueling.

It's a drifter out here as we dig into day five of the PV Race. By our math, we did something in the neighborhood of 92 miles from 7am to 7am yesterday... by race committee math and distance down the course figuring, it was shy of that by a dozen or so. Either way you slice it, it was a slow day. And today is no different... worse, in fact, if the first 12 hours is any indication. We've been upwind and downwind on both port and starboard tack. Every puff brings a sail change, then hope (for persistence), then disappointment. Kids, it;s a primer for life! But we know that there is an end to this, and it's all gonna be all right... the wind will blow again!

I think we are still sitting ok. Good shot at second, and in this stuff, no lead is safe, so we'll keep chomping at the J/125 Timeshaver. Looks like they jibed/tacked/drifted/teleported (whatever the fluky conditions would permit) south with us to defend their substantial lead... Blue Blazes caught a bit in terms of straightline distance, but we have still been working south when the opportunity presents itself, so I think we sacrificed mileage for positioning and I'm ok with that. Not sure what happened to Ocelot... they have dropped back, while Miramar has actually scooted up... with all the time we all owe them, they will benefit with the light stuff in this time-on-time scoring (as will the J125)... when we are all stopped, they are both kicking our butts!

In the meantime: house (boat) cleaning, drying out, repacking sails, showers, and general reorganization. Lots of sea turtles. Sea lions. Some small dolphins, bored with us 'cause we are poking along so slowly. The little red crabs came back for a bit. And one friendly big yellowfin who followed our rudder all morning. Got right up next to it with the waterproof camera Were there wasabi aboard, that fish wouldn't have stood a chance, but in the spirit of oneness with our environment (Grasshopper), we simply admired it and welcomed it's company, and aquatic Albatross, we hope. Plus, would have been tough to filet with a rigging knife. And as Joel was saying today, all this stuff we would have missed had we come flying thru here at 10, 15, 20 knots, so there is a positive side to this light stuff, this slowing-down-and-smelling-the-roses thing....

But enough already. We want the breeze back. It would have been a looonnnggg day, but for the company aboard. Seriously having a great time with this crew. It hurts from laughing so much. That's one of the fun things about doing so many events with new crews... getting to meet and get to know all kinds of sailors from all over. This team is mostly from San Diego, my home town, so it's been particularly fun.

Almost 8pm now. A couple hours ago it shifted to the NW and started to fill ever so slightly... 4,5, occasional 6 now... but the really good news is that this, finally, is the prevailing direction and we hope it will stabilize now. We're not supposed to see much build over the next couple days, but slow and steady is a far cry better than what we've been doing.

That's all I got, for now... have a good watch, and see you in the a.m.

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl Team

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San Diego to Puerto Vallara Race - Feast Turns to Famine...

Feast or famine indeed.

This morning, as expected, the breeze for us out here in the 2012 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta race began to die. It was a prolonged, slow death, which gave us time to go from the jib top, to the code 0, to the 2A, to the 1A, and in the early evening, to the ultimate in agony, to slatting mode. We expect it's the same inshore. At the morning roll call, the boats along the beach were reporting 4-5 knots while we still carried 8-10... so hopefully we have had a bit more out here than on the inside. And now our breeze has shifted around to the West (5 knots from 270 at the moment) and filled a touch and we are scooting along on perfectly flat seas doing some 1.4 times windspeed straight at Puerto Vallarta, 400 miles to go.

Thanks again MIke for yet another addition to the soundtrack for this race: If you can't be with the wind you love, love the wind you're with. At this point, we love any wind.

As far as standings, who knows what's going to happen. The big boats are going to hit a wall (but honestly I haven;t been looking too closely at their weather, since what's going on locally has been keeping me busy). The J/125 is sitting pretty in first. We were actually second in class, second overall at roll call, but Ocelot didn't check in and I suspect they have been rumbling. We were pretty much boat-for-boat with Blue Blazes in terms of distance to finish and they are well inside us so that will provide a good benchmark for what is working at tomorrow morning's roll call.

Not much else to report.... a long day with lots of concentration from the team. Weird little red crabs all around the boat. Yours truly took a dive off the bow to snatch a piece of stubborn kelp form the keel as she skid by at a not very intimidating 1 knot. A care package sent along from Barrett ion San Diego scheduled for opening today at 5 pm couldn't have been better timed. We were essentially parked and were able to enjoy the sunset right about then. But, I was shocked to find contraband in there, which I of course immediately attempted to confiscate for the the good of the crew, but was outnumbered, so the gang got their grog. And we drifted into a beautiful evening, Really nice out here, quiet like no place else on earth. You find yourself talking in whispers. And when the water stars slipping by the hull and you hear the winches starting to click-click, it's music to a sailor's ears and our own little symphony of sorts.

But now the breeze is back: so iPod and Ramones, here we come... got to keep this ride moving!

All the best, and we'll see you at the 11pm weather fax broadcast, or roll call in the morning....

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl Team

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SD to PV Race - Day three begins...

So this isn't normal. But, then, what is in a Mexico Race? The typical experience is to expect the atypical.

We are now about 5 hours into Day 3 of the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race. Not more than 10 minutes after I posted last night's midnight report, the breeze veered right about 15 degrees, and to keep from sailing even farther outside, we dropped the 4A spinnaker and went with the Jib Top. Well, almost. A snafu ripped the top two feet of luff tape out of the sail, so we went with the #3 instead. We power reached thru the night in 20-25 from the NNE. In the morning, we got the repaired JT up, added a staysail for good measure, and rolled along.

You know those morning roll calls where you just know the news ain't going to look to great? Where you are sure you have taken lumps (deserved or otherwise) and now all your pain will be revealed? But somehow, miraculously, when the roll call happens, you are relieved and thrilled to find out that all is actually ok? Well, this wasn't one of those. Looks like Ocelot is launched, and the J/125 is not far behind. It was their weather, that breeze those waves... Blue Blazes didn't check in, and Serena is apparently out of the race (we don't know why). As expected, with our outside route, our miles to go looks a lot worse...

As Mike put it: Buffalo Girls go round the outside, round the outside... So what will the Hula Girl do?

We've pretty much hung our shingle out here, so we'll see what happens. It's supposed to get really funky and really light here pretty soon, and for a good while. If Ocelot and Timeshaver hit the beach (which it looks like they are) they might be able to play the shore breeze and drift along ... or, they might get parked. We could find the breeze we need to make it around out here in the deepwater, or we may get skunked on the shore breeze. We have out theories, and our hopes, so we'll see what happens. Not content to reach up behind them and fall into place in a reaching race, that's for sure. Where would the fun be in that?

Behind us, it looks like our class did more miles the first day out than any of the big boats, so it's clearly softer breeze back there. That helps us overall for the time being, but... well, you know, our turn is coming....

So the breeze lightened and backed in the afternoon. It's sunset right now, and we are seeing about 14 from the north. A couple hours ago we changed to the Code 0 and staysail combo and are now trucking along nicely in that configuration. Expected to drop even more tonight...by morning we are supposed to be in the 6 knot range. Ouch.

But we are having a fantastic time out here. Everyone on the team is solid, enthusiastic, and a lot of fun to sail with... in fact, everyone is out in the cockpit watching sunset, and dinner is almost ready, so I am signing off for the time being. All the best to everyone shoreside...

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl Team

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San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race - 36 hours in...

Well all right now.
It's middle of the night here off Baja. All the sensible people are at home in bed. But us head cases, well, we are now some 36 hours into the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race. We still have breeze and are still trucking along. It's pretty spectacular out here tonight.
So we are now on port gybe with the breeze NNE. In the last hour or two we've seen a big right shift, almost 20 degrees... to think we could be beam (or close) reaching along the lower bight of Baja.in a day or two. Interesting times... but I am getting ahead of myself.
Nice day. Really nice day. occasional punches past the 20 knot barrier. Not frequent, but also not rare. The 4A is still up. Been up all day with a brief drop to back down and clear something unruly off the rudder, which turns out to have been nothing at all. It seems that, after charging the batteries this morning, in an honest mistake, one of our gang thought the engine was off when they put it in reverse. Going 15 knots. Ouch. The engine shook and shimmied and otherwise objected. And in the process we broke a shifter cable to the motor right off the binnacle and apparently jammed the prop open (or one blade or???). Who knows, but it was causing the turbulence that felt like rudder drag. We let the prop freewheel for a second, popped it into gear (had to shift down at the transmission), and got her sweet and smooth again. And that was the excitement for the day.
Actually, that was the intermission. The excitement was the sailing. Man, this is some fun boat. Long and lean, she really gets going. The strut/bulb 'T' keel really feel great at speed... low drag and the Girl doesn't want to trip over it on the big surfs. You hang that bulb off to the side as the boat heels when you head up slightly to catch the wave, and you feel it's weight lever against the rig, against the sailpaln. If you can resist the temptation to crank the rudder over to turn down the wave (effectively killing your speed and hope of catching it), if you can just have confidence in the boat, you can feel the weight out there stand the boat upright, turn her down the face of the wave, and in an instant, you are off to the races...
We've hung it out here to the right side of the course.... partially due to intent, partially due to sail choices made early to help keep the wheels on the wagon for a crew who are mostly unfamiliar with the boat. But I'm ok with it. It's going to go soft,,, we could spend a couple of days in winds close to 5 knots and we are hoping that we 1) might have a better shot at maintaining some breeze and 2) get a better reaching angle in the light stuff. So we are rolling the dice, but when playing against boats as well sailed at Ocelot and Blue Blazes, we have to take our calculated risks.
Now the crew slumbers. Wind 20 knots, plus or minus 2 (although here at the nav table I just looked up and saw a 26 knot puff) from about 010 magnetic. The moon just rose off to starboard. As it gets a bit higher, it's going to make the ride even more fun... you forget how fast you are going when it's really dark, but when the light plays off the waves, well, you are ripping across a lunar surface. That all I got for now. Going to grab something warm to drink and get into the cockpit as this nav table is killing the sailor in me. Well, right after I look at the latest weather report... that's the competitor kicking in...
Cheers all, have a good night and we'll see you in the morning...
Wayne Zittel and Team Hula Girl
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Track them!

Nearly-live race tracking for the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race at: http://yb.tl/SDPV2012

PV Race - Day 1 Fun...

So, here's the deal.

We are just 24 hours into the 2012 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race, and we've already been having a blast of a trip! when we shoved off the docks at SDYC yesterday, we know we were in for a fast ride, then a slow ride. We started yesterday at noon off Shelter Island into a SW breeze... upwind with #1 genoa in a pleasant 8 knots or so out past the point.

Now for the FAST part:...

With the wind angle so far south, no one could lay the Coronados and we all went to the East of the islands. The J125 stayed low, down along the shore, as did Miramar. Blue Blazes was above us for a while, but right at the islands dropped down towards the rhumbline. Looks like Serena, the Thompson 1150, stayed seaward with us, and Ocelot split the difference. When we got to the building breeze, we changed to the jib top and genoa staysail, and carried that into the evening. The wind built offshore (as expected) to a pretty solid 25. Even though it looks solid inside of us too, I like being here as I think it should give us a pretty good angle down the course when the breeze goes light and right.

In the early morning, we set the 4A spinnaker, and are now sailing along at a steady 15 knots, with surfs up into the low 20 in breeze from 22-30 knots. Just awesome out here. As usual for us on J World's Hula Girl, we have a mostly new crew for this event, so everyone has been putting in the overtime to figure out how to sail this girl... and the team is doing really well. It's been a windy, wet, somewhat lumpy start to a long race on an unfamiliar boat, but so far I've been really impressed. Everyone is settling into onboard life well here. The dial got wound up pretty quickly yesterday. If we can keep in touch with the other boats in the fast early stages, I think these guys and gal will be able to really post a challenge later in the race.

As of 0700 positions, Blue Blazes was on about the same latitude, but a good way inside us. I imagine they set earlier and were able to sail deeper through much of the night. Ocelot is between us, and a bit punched out... those guys were probably screaming all last night. Those are there conditions... we should stand a bit of a better chance against them when it gets lighter. The J/125 Timshaver posted a morning roll call somewhere between Las Vegas and Santa Fe, so clearly that's a bad position... and just as dubious is Serena's. It has them over 100 miles in front of the next boat, but as of sunset we could see them behind and inside us, and through much of the night we saw lights over there, so I'm pretty sure their position is erroneous.

So that's the report for the first 24 hours in the PV race. The 'big boys' start today so we are happy to have clocked some miles before they start reeling us in. Supposed to go softer (then soft) starting anytime from 8pm to midnight, depending on what model you believe.

I'll try uploading some pictures later, but our Sat phone connection has been poor (to say the least). I'll send this via SSB... then I think it's time for some sandwiches, and I really need to go sit in the cockpit for a while, maybe do a bit of driving out there... it is pretty nearly perfect right now.

Cheers everyone, more soon...
Wayne Zittel & Team Hula Girl

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PV Race and MEXORC preview...

Had a great weekend in San Diego preparing for the SD to PV Race.  Hula Girl is feeling fast and chomping at the bit to head south.   FYI, There are still a couple of spaces left aboard for the MEXORC regatta from March 10-17, which is some serious fun in Puerto Vallarta:  racing in the warm waters of Banderas Bay during the day, a full agenda of great after-sailing parties/dinners/events, then slumber in a beautiful oceanfront (all inclusive) resort in the evenings.  More info here.  

Hula Girl in San Diego...

Everyone keeping an eye on spinnaker trim...   Matt (on the pedestal) better be careful:
 if he keeps sailing like he did with us, we'll enlist him as full time crew!

Nice job team, and I can't wait to get this race going!  We'll be posting updates here on the blog, of course, so stay tuned.  Our start is March 1.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Vallarta Cup Report

Hey everyone...  I hope you all are having as great a winter as we are down here in Puerto Vallarta.  The weather has been stunning, the whales are literally all over the place, and the sailing...  well, see for yourself:

This was from the final race of the 2012 Vallarta Cup, a regatta consisting of a race a day every Saturday in January.  We went out with a pile of great people and friends on Profligate, a 65 foot cat...  there was a whopping total of 29 people onboard...  but it didn't feel crowded at all.  And thanks to a great crew, yours truly was able to kick back, chat with old (and new friends), hoist a couple of cervezas, and catch some of the action on video.  There are a lot of shots of Kevin and Sandy's new-to-PV J/133 Paladin just 'cause she's a sexy looking boat.  And a couple nice views of the always well sailed Bright Star and newcomer Olas Lindas.  And dig that techno soundtrack!

Sooo... if this looks like your kind of racing, we still have a couple options for you this winter.  Even though the San Diego to PV Race and the annual Banderas Bay Regatta are both sold out, two spaces remain onboard our 50 footer Hula Girl for the fantastic MEXORC regatta in March, and there is a great racing clinic aboard our J/80s the week of April 2.

Cheers!

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Props

We here at J World have been working hard at our offshore racing and cruising programs.  These special events take a tremendous amount of work, time, money, and energy to put together and pull off in "J/World" style.  That's why it's always fun and gratifying after the fact to hear how much everyone enjoyed it...  and we keep in touch with alumni from years (and decades!) past, so it's good to know that what we are doing is working.

And now it's cool to hear the the 'main-stream' sailing media has heard the news about what we are doing.  In fact, SAIL Magazine featured us in their November issue in an article on Pay-to-Play Programs...  and they ran a great shot of our Hula Girl reaching into Hawaii (thanks again for the photo, Rob Grant!).

Our offshore programs are like no others I know of.  The number of clients aboard is extremely low.  And the level of participation is incredibly high.  You are a truly active and integral member of the team.  We don't load the boat with clients to the point where no one gets to do anything.  We won't just park you over a grinding pedestal.   And we aren't just  taking you for a ride like so many other big boat programs.  You are sailing the boat.  You get to drive, trim, navigate...  whatever your interests are, we'll be sure that you get to exercise that muscle.

And we are competitive...  3rd in the Pacific Cup, 4th in Transpac, 3rd in Cabo Race...  and stay tuned for the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race, MEXORC, and the next Pac Cup!

If you have ever dreamed of getting aboard a turboed offshore boat and really sailing her, get in touch with us and we'll be happy to discuss how to take your sailing to the next level, and how to have the adventure of a lifetime in the process...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

The Past Blast....

The 2011 Banderas Bay Blast wrapped up yesterday.  This three day event provides fun for all comers, and good things for the local school children.  The BBB is a fundraiser that focuses on providing kids with school supplies, and the local beneficiaries came by Friday morning to say thank you...

The Banderas Bay Blast is a charity event for local school kids

Then it was off to the races!  As I mentioned, it's a three day event, with casual point-to-point races each day and a host of activities each evening, but it culminates in the "Pirates for Pupils" charity spinnaker run from Punta Mita to the Paradise Village Marina.  For the final day of the rally, I was invited aboard the 63' catamaran Profligate with a large crew of old -  and new - friends...  here's about a third of our gang shoving off for the boat anchored out off of Punta Mita:  

The pupils were left ashore and the pirates headed out to the boat for the Pirates for Pupils Charity Spinnaker Run from Punta Mita to Paradis Village Marina

The breeze was light, but spinnakers were up right away, the sun was out, and you'd be a fool to complain!  Down the run a ways, we caught up to one of our classes on a J/80...  here's the the view from aboard Profligate.  And I'll commend Rick on his choice of shirts and assistants for the day.

J/World J/80 in the background, J World's coach Rick trimming, and future J/World  alum Saira before she sails off to the South Pacific...   right?

And here are Servando and Julio (with coach Chris) looking great as they jibed across our transom.  The breeze might have been dying in the evening, but the cheer and crew spirits remained pretty strong well into the evening.

An atypical evening cloudiness gave a bit of relief from the sun, and made for some beautiful lighting as we headed into the marina...

Another beautiful day on the water down here in Puerto Vallarta....  in December!!

C'mon and get down here...  you know you want to...

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Better Days...

Ok, this stuff kills me...  here is a little blast from the past.  It's a shot of the mighty fine lookin' Soverel 50 Locura back in 'the day.'

She was a fast boat, a successful boat, and not bad too look at either.  I got to sail on her a number of times and had fond memories...  even after design philosophies moved on, and rating systems changed, she was a powerful machine and loved to strut her stuff.

I dug the shot above out of my personal files because I happened upon a Soverel 50 for sale in San Diego.  Yep.  One and the same.  I was saddened to find this:  here she is now...

Ouch.  Ignobly waiting a new owner, which might be tough to come by.  They are virtually giving her away (asking $19K), so maybe she'll find some love... take care of your boats, folks, and they will take care of you!

What A Weekend...

A bit of weather blew thru San Francisco the tail end of last week, but scooted on by before the weekend leaving us with some great sailing. Here's one of the classes heading back to the marina at the end of the day Saturday.  Lookin' good.

Meanwhile this was the scene down in Puerto Vallarta at almost the exact same moment.  Nice breeze, broad reaching back to the marina with the kite up and Punta Mita in the background:

San Francisco Bay or Puerto Vallarta, you pretty much couldn't go wrong.  All our sailing courses are up and running at both locations, plus charters and special cruising and racing events.

And hopefully the sailing was as nice wherever you were, and we'll see you on the water soon!

Wayne Zittel & the J World Team
www.sailing-jworld.com

November Newsletter

Winter Heat

So, not that I am complaining, but it's been hot down in Puerto Vallarta.  But things have cooled off and the weather is pretty much perfect right now.  The air conditioning is now off, and the daily seabreeze blows thru the J World office all afternoon.  Life is good.  And the sailing is excellent.

  

We just wrapped up our first Learn-to-Sail class of the season, but have plenty more on tap.  Plus cruising options, and our next Racing Week is starting December 12...  and check out the list below for all the Special Events we have happening.  Man, this is going to be some winter!

Meanwhile, SF Bay has had some beautiful days.  Check out our blog for some great shots of a recent corporate sailing trip aboard the beautiful 52 foot J/160.  Look a little too relaxing for you hotshot racers? Keep reading..

Just Announced:  Winter Racing in SF

Jack Frost Series 2011-2012, Encinal Yacht Club

Saturdays November 19, January 21, February 25, March 24

Join our J World Team on a J/80 for this winter series. Participants rotate thru all the positions onboard (including helm) and gain valuable insights and experience from an onboard J World coach. Take advantage of the winter months to see what racing is all about, or if you already have the bug, improve your sailing skills and prep for the 2012 season. This is coming right up - first race in 10 days so contact us now for details!

MEXORC
March 10-17, 2012 - Limited Spaces Remaining!

MEXORC is a truly special event.  Held every two years, the regatta plays host to all the boats that have sailed down from California in the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Yacht Race, and the Mexican fleet that comes up from Acapulco.  There are six days of racing, including three days of point-to-point medium distance races all around Banderas Bay, and three days of buoy racing.  This event traditionally has a truly fantastic shore side agenda, including full tilt kick off parties, beautiful on-the-beach dinners, and an extravagant closing ceremony...  in fact, it is so over-the-top that the President of Mexico even came to the last MEXORC!

J World is entering our renowned Hula Girl in the regatta, and we have limited berths available.  The team will be led by a group of J World coaches, and is a great opportunity to come have some real fun and strengthen your skills!  Visit here for more info...

Banderas Bay Clinic and Regatta

March 18-24, 2012

Every March, J World runs a special event in Puerto Vallarta aboard our fleet of J/80s.  We start off with a three day racing clinic, essentially and abridged version of our renowned weeklong racing course.  Boathandling, sail trim, spinnaker work, strategy, tactics...  we cover it all!  Then it's showtime!  You get to race in the Banderas Bay Regatta with one of our coaches aboard.  Everyone on the boat gets a great workout at all the positions, from helming to trimming to tactician.  If you want to advance your racing skills and have a truly memorable time doing it, this is perfect for you. 

The Banderas Bay Clinic and Regatta has very limited space and sells out every year, so make your plans early to come join us!  More info ishere

2012 Sea of Cortez Cruise

Puerto Vallarta to Cabo San Lucas

The dates for our annual cruise across the mouth of the Sea of Cortez have been set.  April 29 to May 4 come join one of our top cruising instructors for and adventure in the tropics.  We'll spend a day or two in the beautiful Banderas Bay, then work our way up the coast of mainland Mexico visiting small towns, beautiful anchorages, and remote islands along the way.  Then we'll turn West, and head for the southern end of the Baja peninsula.  Great sailing, beautiful scenery, incredible wildlife are all on the agenda.  More info here.

2012 Pacific Cup

Race from San Francisco to Hawaii, July 2012
Only two berths left!

Berths now available on the 2012 Pacific Cup race from San Francisco to Hawaii aboard our 50 foot sled, Hula Girl.  Now is your chance to hop on a fast boat with great coaches and take off on the ride of a lifetime.  Last year, we got third in class, and fifth overall....  and in 2012 we'll be looking to beat that!  J World offshore racing programs have been getting a huge amount of praise from all sources, and there is nothing else in the world like it.  Visit here for more info.

Anyhow, that's the latest from J World.  Definitely remember to check out our sailing blog or our Facebook pages for more regular updates and all the additional details.  We realize that most people don't want to get more than one email a month from us, so we post a lot more frequently on the blog and encourage folks to check it out when they can...

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Beautiful Day on the Bay

We thought we'd share some pictures with you of a recent corporate outing on San Francisco Bay aboard one of our 50 footers, the elegant Mandalay...  Makes me want to go sailing.  Right now.  Many thanks to Peter Lyons of Lyons Imaging for the great shots!

Slipping past Yerba Buena Island

Wearing It Well....

Bay Bridge, NEW Bay Bridge, and Buoy...

The Intrepid Crew

Alcatraz

Ideal Day on the Bay.  Golden Gate Bound.

The pointy end of a powerful boat is a great place to be...

Mandalay and the Bay Bridge

Puerto Vallarta Sailing Season Kicks-Off!

Hey everyone...  This week officially kicks off our winter sailing season in Puerto Vallarta.  We are starting things off with a Learn-to-Sail course, but have all manners of sailing classes on tap...  cruising, racing, and general seamanship.

Beautiful Banderas Bay is a natural wonder.  Some 22 miles wide and 24 miles deep, the Bay boasts ideal sailing conditions throughout the winter.  Daily seabreezes combined with shorts-and-T-shirt weather from October to April make this one of the nicest winter sailing destinations in the world.  That's why J World is here.

And did I mention the scenery?  The old town of Puerto Vallarta is tucked in the southeast corner, right at the base of the spectacular Sierra Madres, where the jungle comes right down to the water in a spectacular way.  The popular Los Arcos, the secluded village of Yelapa, the rugged Marietta Islands with their secret beaches, and the world-class Punta Mita playing host to everything from the Four Seasons to trekking surfers are all right here.

Whales, dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays, and more.  Great sailing,  The best school in America (and out of America!).  Beautiful resorts.  Perfect, perfect weather.  Really, what are you waiting for?  Get on down here!

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team
J World Performance Sailing School, Charters, and Adventures

What a Croc...

Well, the sailing season-south-of-the-border is heating up.  The Pan Am Games just wrapped up here in Puerto Vallarta, so now we are shifting gears and getting ready for another fantastic winter season.  So we were down at the crane launching J/80s, when Chris remarked, "Hey, that log is.....  swimming?!?"  And indeed it was.  You see, up the canals, the luxury homes with docks fade away and the jungle takes over.  And the wildlife.  We know there are crocs up there, and you can take a jungle tour and check 'em out, and we've heard they wander down towards the marina, but we have never seen it ourselves until yesterday...   he was a big one too!

Ok, that's it for now...  more about all the happenings at our winter sailing facility soon...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Fleet Week!

Now here's an opportunity...

A late-breaking cancellation has made it possible to get out on the water to check out the Fleet Week fun aboard our stunning J/160.  This boat is a phenomenal sailing machine, and of course the show at Fleet Week in SF Bay is always world class.

Click here to learn more about the boat, or contact us to find out how you can get out on the water this weekend!

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Winter Events Redux...

Ok, we already spilled the beans on our MEXORC racing program in Puerto Vallarta this winter, so now it's time to share the details about our Annual Banderas Bay Racing Clinic and Regatta.  Every March, J World runs a special event in Puerto Vallarta aboard our fleet of J/80s.  We start off with a three day racing clinic, essentially and abridged version of our renowned week long racing course.  Boathandling, sail trim, spinnaker work, strategy, tactics...  we cover it all!  Then it's showtime!  You get to race in the Banderas Bay Regatta with one of our coaches aboard.  Everyone on the boat gets a great workout at all the positions, from helming to trimming to tactician.  If you want to advance your racing skills and have a truly memorable time doing it, this is perfect for you.

J/80s in action in the Banderas Bay Regatta

The Banderas Bay Clinic and Regatta has very limited space and sells out every year, so make your plans early to come join us!  More info is here, or call us at 800-910-1101.

See you soon,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Winter Events....

So as we start looking at our schedule of winter events that we are getting on the calendar, I was struck by how many fantastic things we have going on.  I figured I'd share these with everyone so you can make plans to get a sailing-fix when it gets cold up in the wintry north...

Well, we are full-up for the 2012 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race aboard our Hula Girl, BUT we have decided to enter the MEXORC regatta in Puerto Vallarta on March 10-17, 2012.  Most of the boats which have just raced down from California meet up with a whole fleet that comes up from Acapulco.  Add to the mix a full series of fantastic social events and great sailing conditions, and you've got the recipe for some seriously good times.

The last MEXORC was a classic (even the President of Mexico was in attendance!) and the upcoming one promises to be another high quality event.  Now you can come join a team of J World coaches for six days of racing, including three days of buoy racing and three days of point-to-point racing in the beautiful Banderas Bay.

For more info on joining our team, see here.  Or give us a call.  Spaces are limited, and we are already about 50% full, so don't wait on this one!

Details on more great winter events coming soon....

Best Regards,  Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Transpac Wrap Up....

So as the spray settles and I am on the eve of leaving Hawaii and the 2011 Transpac in my wake, I have a couple of final things to add...

First off, a huge congratulations to James McDowell and the whole crew of Grand Illusion for their first-in-class and first overall in the 2011 Transpac.  It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.  I met James years ago when he came to one of our J World Racing Weeks.  He's one of the nice guys in the sport, and clearly one of the fast guys.  The string of GI successes is long and strong, so the win in the 2011 is not terribly surprising.  And I have to say, not only is is great to see the success he has had in sailing, but it's also great to hear that he still has fond memories of his positive experiences with J/World...  thanks for the kind words, James, and a seriously huge congratulations to you and your crew!

The SC52 Prevail entering the Molokai Channel

As we prepare to take leave of Hawaii and sail Hula Girl back to California, I want to thank all the people who made this event so memorable.  The crew of Hula Girl were all (as I have mentioned numerous times already) fantastic.  Thanks to all the family and friends who sent notes of encouragement, and who let their loved ones skip out on their work and home responsibilities for the sake of adventure.  Of course there are the Transpac volunteers who work so tirelessly to run the event.  And the fabulous Waikiki Yacht Club who accommodated Hula Girl at their wonderful facility.

Of course, thank you to our sponsors:  title sponsors Waterfront Hotel in Jack London Square and Miss Pearl's Jam House...  when you come visit J World in San Francisco Bay, this is definitely the place to be!  West Marine, Atlantis Weather Gear, Spinlock, McLube, and Expedition Software.  These are the suppliers that help the best sailing teams in the world, and the most fun boat you'll sail this weekend (yours!).

A huge and special thank you goes out to our hosts in Hawaii, Joe and Christin Shacat.  When we came ashore late at night, they had a reception waiting that outdid anything I have ever seen before.  Let me paint the picture:  after nine+ days of offshore racing, of freeze-dried dinners and sleep deprivation, of showers-in-a-can and stinky clothes, we flake the sails, fire up the iron genoa, and follow our guide boat to the marina.  Much to our delight, Geoff's wife Debbie and the crew had a cooler of icy beers and tequila which they passed off to us to take the edge off the trip!  As you motor into the marina, the Hawaii Yacht Club announces your arrival over the PA system, and a cheer goes up from all the revelers waiting...  Aloha indeed!

When you tie up at the reception dock on the Waikiki side of the marina, there is a flurry of activity: paperwork gets checked, agricultural compliance verified, boat inspectors do their thing.... the boat gets lei'd, each crew gets lei'd, there are photos going off everywhere, and somehow a Mai Tai appears in every hand.  As if that isn't enough, you barely have a chance to peel your lifejacket off, and you are whisked away to the yacht club where the spread that Joe and Christin had arranged is waiting.  This was a serious spread.  We're talking platters of food, sushi, veggies, drinks, and every delicacy that we'd been dreaming of!  We were thrilled to see our good friend Jeff acting as BBQ master (this man cooks some seriously amazing things!), and all the friends and family of our team there to welcome us.  It was impressive.  We didn't get our gracious hosts out sailing on the Hula Girl during this visit since the quadrant issues consumed unexpected time, but they have a standing offer, and we sure hope they'll take us up on it...  they are a real pleasure, and we owe 'em!

And on a personal note, thanks to my lovely wife Lisa for putting up with my sailing habits, and my parents for the continual support my life aquatic...  but I know they 'get it' and they have more than a little salt water in their veins too!

Aloha!

Wayne Zittel
s/v Hula Girl, Honolulu, Hawaii

Transpac Photo Gallery...

J World's Hula Girl, heading for Hawaii...  Spinnakers went up early this year.  It was great.

Halfway there.  At this point, we are farther from land than you can get anywhere else on the planet.  All hands on deck for an evening toast to the powers that be. 

Man that's one big kite.  Over 2000 square feet of spinnaker alone.  Then toss in the spinnaker staysail and main, and we are talking about some real acreage for a boat that weighs in at just over 17,000 pounds.  The water color is something else too...

Uh oh...  the secret to J World's successful coaching programs gets exposed...  pay no attention to the coach on the tiller...  "You're doing a great job driving, Mark!  Keep up the good work!"   Actually we're just horsing around.  After the steering quadrant broke, we sailed the last 120 miles with reduced sail (double reefed main and #4 jib) and the emergency tiller.  Since we were still trucking along at 10+ knots, it was a bit of a handful.  Despite watching hopes of our podium finish evaporate as our competition reeled us in and passed us (being passed by Deception almost within sight of the finish line was painful), spirits remained high and we still ended up 4th in our class, and 22nd our of all 55 boats.  It was a testament to the great team we had aboard!

And here's the team at the awards ceremony last night at the Waikiki Shell.  L to R:  Mark, Jason, Tom ('Carbon'), David, Tom ('Sug'), Josh, Wayne.  Not shown are Geoff and Tom ('Chef').  Awesome job, Hulagins!  It was a real pleasure!!

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Sailing It Like it's Stolen...

Sail it like it's Stolen...

That became the motto amongst the crew yesterday when we realized that it was show-time. We had a fantastically close race going in the 2011 Transpac Race, and after 9 days of open ocean racing, it was all up for grabs.

We had a phenomenal night, blasting along an ocean alive with moonlight and swells. Some 18-22 knots of breeze had us getting many back-to-back prolonged surfs at 15, 16 , 17 knots. It's almost impossible to describe the sensation with any justice. Water searing by with a steady hiss. Spray sheeting off the bows as the helm grows light and the boat lunges down the wave. It's one of my favorite things in the world. It is a complete rush and requires full concentration. It's part science, part art. Park me in the back of a fast boat on a moonlit run anytime!

Dawn broke and were were all a bit tired, and we were faced with a need to gybe. That's where things started to go south. In short, we botched it and blew up our 2A spinnaker, yes, the one that so faithfully dragged us nearly all the way across the Eastern Pacific. We got that sorted, and were off with the 4A chute when we got the morning standings... we had dropped to fourth in class, but 2nd place was still right there, so we certainly weren't out of it.

Then the final straw: while blasting along on a great broad reach expecting to see Molokai at any moment and report in with our "100 mile to the finish" required check-in, the steering went out. The boat rounded up, and the crew did a fantastic job of rallying to get the spinnaker down in trying conditions. A quick look below revealed that a corner of the steering quadrant had broken off, allowing the steering cables to go slack and rendering them useless. So. After 2125 miles, we are now proceeding to the finish line with reduced sail area and our emergency tiller rigged.

What a roller coaster ride! As we reach toward the finish, after all the great surfs, and after all the trials and tribulations, the thing I am most thankful for is the great crew we have aboard Hula Girl. Coaches Josh and Geoff worked tirelessly to make sure things went smoothly, and to make sure all of our guests had an enjoyable and beneficial time. Thanks to Mark, Jason, David, Tom, Tom, and Tom. It truly was a pleasure sailing with each and every one of you!

Anyway, that's it for now. Going to go sit on deck in the sun, maybe take a nap, or watch Molokai slip by, or just let the whole experience soak in. I'll post some great pictures and a wrap-up in a couple of days.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

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Shuffle Play

Shuffle Play...

Ok, we knew the racing out here in the 2011 Transpac Race from LA to Hawaii was tight, but this is ridiculous. So we were a bit slow at the start and dropped to fifth place early, but immediately started coming on strong and reeling the fleet in. Then we got past Deception and into 4th, but the next day they rallied and managed to get back in front of us. A couple of good moves and hard sailing moved us into third behind Horizon and Allure the following day, then an incredibly close day yesterday saw us still in third, but now it's Deception in front of us, and Flaca in 4th with Allure dropping to fifth. So, did you follow that??

Cliff notes version: it's crazy close in the SC50 fleet right now. Basically after nearly 2000 miles of open ocean racing and a little over a week underway, one shift can make or break it all (and it's shifty out here!). With Horizon sitting in a solid lead, second thru fifth places in the six boat division are completely up for grabs. The team has been working hard non-stop. The resolve of the 'Hulagins' has been strengthened.

Lighter than hoped for breezes have slowed the pace a bit, but we are still working towards a finish sometime tomorrow, probably in the evening. How's this all going to play out? Anybody's guess at the moment... We'll keep you posted...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

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Wound Up...

Wound Up...

Well now, a lot has changed since my last posting from Hula Girl, out here in the mid-Pacific in the 2011 Transpac race from LA to Hawaii. After a string of days with light to moderate breezes, the real winds that make this race so famous have finally come out to play. We knew they were coming. We've been watching it for days now. So yesterday afternoon when the breeze slowly climbed from 10, to 14, to 17, to over 20 knots we shifted Hula Girl into high gear. All night was spent in 20-24 knots of breeze, tearing across a moon lit sea. And what a moon. It somehow seems bigger out here. Or maybe we feel so small. 'Carbon' was saying that at any given moment we can see about 600 square miles of ocean around us, and it's pretty rare that we see anything at all taking up space out here. Only the march of squalls, each one with its own personality. We try to line them up, to flirt with the beautiful increase in wind along the font edge but not get caught in the light breezes and the vacuum behind them. Like a woman, observed one of our crew. Ok, clearly we have been out here too long.

Anyhow, last night was a wild an lumpy ride. We'd take off on prolonged surfs of the north swells at 15, 16, 17 knots, then go bouncing across the remnants of a southerly swell. I hear our top speed was close to 20 (Josh), but didn't crack the barrier. I was below (but at 20 knots in this stuff, I can guarantee I wasn't sleeping). We have a real race on our hands, so we kept up the big A2 spinnaker and I'm quite relieved (and a bit surprised) to say that she made it thru the night in great shape. She's our MVP at the moment... the big White and Red and Blue chute that we hoisted last Sunday... yes, SUNDAY... and haven't taken down yet. She's done us right for some serious sea miles!

So the race: yep the Barn Door (fastest elapsed time) was claimed by Bella Mente early this morning, but most of us are still out here in quite the slugfest. In our class, we dropped a position that we had gained yesterday, but the whole fleet tightened up. While Horizon has maintained their best in fleet position and are proving extremely difficult to gain any more miles on, there are four boats in a very close race for places 2 through 5... at this point there is about 1.5 hours (corrected time) between all four boats! And that's after a full week of non-stop ocean racing! And no one is rolling over. Two nights ago, we saw Allure (one of our fleet) about 12 miles off, south and east of us. Two days later, they are still down there... albeit a bit farther off and out of view, but we know they are still close...

So that's where we are right now. This wraps up the week... our second Friday night at sea. And we all really need a weekend. Mark is lightly snoring atop a pile of sails here in cabin. Josh is dipping pretzel sticks in a spoonful of mustard (??). Tom K. is driving us at a steady 11 knots towards the west and hopefully a nice right shift to bring us to the islands sometime on Monday.

You all have a great weekend. We'll keep you posted from our here.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

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Ups and Downs...

Ok, we are approaching the halfway point on the 2011 Transpac Race. We are still in light-ish breezes (8-12 knots), as was the case thru last night. Our team did a fantastic job at working the boat hard all night long, and at the 6am position report we found out that ourselves and Allure posted the highest daily runs in our fleet of Santa Cruz 50s, tying at exactly 199 miles. That's good close racing! This made for a nice gain on everyone (except, of course, Allure). But about an hour later we got caught in what has subsequently become known as "the blackhole"... 2-3 knots of breeze from the east for two hours. Ouch. Still not sure what it was, maybe the back of a forming squall that we didn't see in the darkness? Regardless, we struggled thru it in the early morning hours. In the position reports we are getting just now (remember all the reports of our competitions positions are delayed six hours), it looks like we were singular in this experience, and it looks to have cost us some of those hard earned miles... so it goes...

Onboard life is good. We are all dried out now. Everything that got a dousing in the upwind days, from sails to sleeping bags, has found it's way on deck and the sun here makes quick work of it. Been a big lack of wildlife for us so far. Dolphins at the start, and then not much. One unfortunate squid on deck this morning. Hardly any flying fish at all so far... hmmm... where are our friends?

The upside of the blackhole experience is that we have seen what a difference the constant work can make, and we are eager to get back at 'em. This crew is fantastic... they are tireless, committed, and fun. We are really fortunate to have gotten such a great bunch together for this race, so win, lose, or draw, I think we are going to remember this one fondly.

Right around happy hour this evening we'll pass halfway mile marker. At this point, apparently we'll be farther from any patch of dry land than you can get anywhere else on the planet. We've got a little surprise for the team which I'm sure will make 'em all happy, and we'll offer up a couple of toasts to the grand Pacific for contributing a spectacular view, for the good fortune that got us all out here together, for the fine sailing vessel Hula Girl for taking good care of us and giving us a fantastic ride, and to all the friends, family, and loved ones back ashore.

But then it's back to the grinding pedestal and tending the spinnaker sheets. We have some unfinished business out here. Half-finished, if you want to be precise.

Cheers,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

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Hmmmm.....

Ok, now it's getting interesting. We here aboard J World's Hula Girl are about 850 miles into the 2225 mile race from LA to Hawaii, and last night things started changing. We knew it was coming. We knew when it was coming. But it still can be nerve wracking. The barometer has been rising, and the breeze finally went light, and shifted to the east. By light, we are talking 8-12 knots, so it's not boat-stopping, going-fishing light, but anytime the progress slows, we get nervous. The big questions is what's happening to the boats to the north of us? The weather forecasts we have been seeing are indicating that it should be lighter up there. That means that the majority of our fleet "up there" should be going slower and/or sailing higher to maintain speed.

But we just don't know, yet. We get position reports for the other boats, but it is delayed six hours (supposedly... the reports we have been getting have been more along the lines of eight hours old... not sure why this is). So the impacts of last night won't be seen on the relative positions and tracks of the other boats until well into the game today. We get one (near) real time report each day, and that comes a bit after 7am via email. We were encouraged to see that we traveled more distance than all but one of our fleet over the past 24 hours.

Even though the breeze has for the moment stabilized and freshened a bit (steady 12 knots at the moment), we expect that it's going to get more interesting over the next couple of days. Expedition, our high tech routing software, has been offering numerous suggestions as to the optimal route, varying with each new weather forecast, so if it is challenging the silicon chips, it's frying my little brain.

So shipboard nothing could be too much better. Mark is crashed out on tip of the #4 jib in the main salon (not sure why he didn't make it to a bunk?). Geoff and Jason are getting rack time in the aft bunks. Sug just 'freshened up' and is sporting clean clothes (I was going to say something...). Dave is driving with Carbo, T.K., and Josh on deck. Josh is getting reprimanded for forgetting what they had talked about yesterday: fruit in the morning, beef jerky in the afternoon/evening. Apparently he was busted gnawing on a big beefstick before finishing his Grape Nuts. Bad bowman! No boy! Bad bowman! Now get up there and bag that sail...

It was a bit gloomy and drizzly out early this morning, but is getting sunny now and we are moving along nicely at 9 knots-ish, and that's what's important.

Comment from Tom "Sug":
Hey guys...into the middle of it all! Its like camping in a car flying across the ocean. All crew on board keen and poised. Bye for now. Good luck "Lively" in the 300/Youngstown!!

Than's all for now... we hope all is well shoreside, and we'll be broadcasting from mid Pacific again soon...

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

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On the Way... Transpac 2011!

Ok, Ok... I've been lagging at getting a report out on our progress and the happenings in the 2011 Transpac. We have some catching up to do. So with no further ado, we bring you the Race Thus Far...

Our start was at 1pm on Friday off of Point Fermin in Los Angeles. The smaller boats had taken off four days earlier and struggled in light breeze before finally reaching the offshore flow and taking off. Our start had solid breeze and a pretty typical wind angle, making it a looooong starboard tack drag race out to Catalina Island. Since the powers that be (i.e. the race committee) had decided to start ALL the fleets together (for the sake of 'spectacle'.... hmmm, what could possibly go wrong?) and us Santa Cruz 50s were among the smallest boats to be starting, we were determined to start near the starboard end of the line (even if it meant taking a 'second row' start) so that every 70 footer in the race wouldn't be rolling over the top of us for the first 25 miles. So we picked a big boat as a blocker (and if you're going to go big, why not go all in...) and let Magnitude 80, the largest boat in the race, carve a nice big hole on the line which we then took advantage of. I think we lost sight of them before we could see Catalina Island!

And so we were off. Good boatspeed. Good positioning. Good breeze. We had the Heavy #1 jib up in a building breeze. About 3/4 the way over to Catalina we were impressively keeping pace with a lot of bigger boats but alas, we had our first mishap: the strapping at the top of the jib gave up the ghost and the halyard pulled out of the top of the #1. Hmmm.... didn't see that one coming. The crew rallied quickly, and the #3 was on deck and hoisted within minutes. The breeze was building and as we got close to the island the water was very flat, so the smaller sail didn't hurt us much beyond the distance lost to all the other boats during the sail change. In the calm water, josh went up the rig and retrieved the halyard, and Geoff made quick work of the repair to the sail. As we passed the West End on Catalina Island, the breeze was getting soft so we changed back to the newly repaired #1. Through the afternoon and into the evening the breeze built, and we cracked off ever so slightly in anticipation of some coming weather developments (more on that shortly), changing back to the #3 and carrying that through the night.

Saturday brought cloudy weather (marine layer conditions), but nice breeze. We changed to the Blast Reacher somewhere mid morning, and were posting good speeds throughout the day. Our 6am Saturday to 6am Sunday run was 244 miles. That works. And we continued to push south... now, about that: the Transpac is often a balancing act, with the shorter course being up north along the great circle route from Long Beach to Oahu, but the greater likelihood for good wind a bit farther south. So.... short distance, or faster sailing? A week ago, it looked like the whole course would have pretty reasonable breeze for us at this time, so I probably would have gone for the shortest route. But things change, and shortly before our start and thereafter the forecasts started to show an increasing ridge that would affect our racecourse as the Pacific High increased and expanded south and east. Right were we were heading. That's not a good thing for us folks sailing wind-powered boats, so we started to take efforts to avoid the ridge early on.... hence our southerly route. It looks like the big and fast guys and gals are going to get past the developing light spot, but we stand to get slowed significantly, so we are doing what we can to prevent that! IF we sail fast, and IF we sail smart, we just might be able to avoid the really ugly stuff. Looks like most of the other boats in our fleet are doing the same.

So back to the boat and Sunday morning: we were working south, the wind was veering slowly to the right (north)... that can only mean one thing in a Transpac.... Spinnaker Time! Yep, day 2 and the kites are up?? In a nice (partially) sunny morning with 16 knots and small swells, we set the A2 and were off. Just perfect for our team to get some helm time and practice in. Soon the 10 and 12 knots we had been seeing earlier were pedestrian. Now were are talking 15, 16. Good times indeed. As the afternoon progressed, the breeze built and hadn't veered as much as we expected so we down-shifted to the A3 to keep from going too far south. But by evening the breeze had softened again and we REALLY wanted to make up some time with a couple of other boats in our class, so we peeled back to the A2... and the team rose to the challenge. The driving for the first night with a spinnaker up (one of the toughest things we have to do) was solid.

And what a night. The moon was spectacular in the early evening, lighting up the water to the south of us, back lighting the main and spinnaker. It really is a whole different sensation of speed at night... a strange inversion where it almost feels like we on the boat are frozen in place, but with the water shimmering and rushing by you rather than the opposite. And as the visual distractions decrease, the audible take the center stage. The rushing hiss of water. The spray over the bows. The grunting and groaning of the sheets and rigging under the strains. Really, there is nothing like it in the world.

Now we are waiting for the daily position report and taking a look at updated weather. We are in 16 knots of breeze from almost due North, scooting along at 10-12 knots with A2 and spin staysail flying. Skies are partially cloudy, which is ok... we'll have plenty of sun soon enough. Most of the gang just had breakfast. Some wet gear from the lumpier upwind days is out drying. And we are getting into a routine. Everyone is working great together, and despite the fact the we have three Toms aboard, the confusion has been kept to a minimum. NIcknames helped on that front. Tom Wood got renamed "Carbo" (short for carbon) to bring him into the era of composite construction... Tom P. is now "Sug," short for sugar... a nickname not earned by his behavior on the boat, I might add, but by his professional calling!

So that's about it for now. My turn to go grab some breakfast. More soon, I promise...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel & the Hula Girl Team

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On Your Marks...

So.  Been hanging out down here in Long Beach for a bit as we are preparing for the 2011 Transpac Race.  Yep, 2225 miles from Los Angles in California (wanna be tropical) to the finish line off Diamond Head, Oahu in Hawaii (the truly tropical).  Here is J World's Hula Girl in the staging area as we prep for the race:

The smaller boats and cruising class took off yesterday (4th of July).  They get a four day head start on the rest of the fleet of larger, faster boats.  So the rest of us leave on Friday, and we'll do our best to catch the early starters, but they will have a pretty good jump on us so it won't be easy!  Hula Girl is racing in a fleet of 6 Santa Cruz 50s, with a team comprised of three J World coaches and six crew from all over the world (London, Hong Kong, Canada, and the good ol' USA).  If you keep tuned into this blog, you'll meet everyone (virtually) as we progress.  For now, we are deep into preparations, safety briefings, boat orientations, etc. etc...  but we did take a break last night to enjoy the show:

Ok, that's it for now.  More soon....

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Come Join Us: Hawaii to California Offshore Cruise

That's one big blue marble... and that's our Hula Girl just about in the middle of the eastern Pacific Ocean while sailing from Hawaii to San Francisco last summer.  This shot was taken as we cut thru the edge of the Pacific High (notice the lack of wind?) and paused to take a dip.  Over the entire distance exceeding 2000 miles, I think we only motored about 6 hours.  For most of the trip, we had excellent conditions and the girl Hula'd all the way to CA.

We still have a couple of berths open on this year's passage.  We'll be meeting in Hawaii on July 25 and shoving off shortly thereafter.  Yours truly will be the lead skipper/instructor aboard.  So if you want to broaden your horizons and want to learn what true offshore cruising is all about, there is no better opportunity.

For the tale of last year's trip, visit here.

To become a part of this year's journey, call us at 800-910-1101 or email info@sailing-jworld.com.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team