J World Sailing School, Charters, and Adventures

Props

2011-12-06T08:38:00.001-08:00

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....

2011-12-03T11:49:00.001-08:00

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...

2011-11-30T13:11:00.001-08:00

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...

2011-11-13T09:29:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-10T12:58:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-11-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-10-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-10-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-09-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

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....

2011-09-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

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....

2011-07-25T19:20:00.001-07:00

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...

2011-07-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-07-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-17T13:17:00.001-07:00

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...

2011-07-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-07-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

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.....

2011-07-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-07-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

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

Congrats to ReignMaker...

2011-06-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I have been slow getting posts up... but that what happens when there is seriously too much to report on!

First off, congrats to J World alum Geoff for winning their division in the Swiftsure race. Said Geoff: "Thanks to you and the J-World staff for the knowledge and skills gained at J-World." Good on 'ya Geoff... he's had many successes, and we expect many more.

ReignMaker on the way to a class win...

Meanwhile, I just got back from a couple of day cruise aboard our J/160. We sailed the impressive J/111 down in San Diego (one sweet and quick ride!). The AC cats have been tearing up San Francisco Bay... very impressive machines! Hula Girl is nearly readied for the upcoming Transpac Race to Hawaii. And our learn-to-sail and cruising courses are keeping us all busy now that the weather in the Bay Area has turned wonderful. So that's what we have been up to...

... and I'll be back soon with more fun stuff that you can get into!

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

105 Clinic '11

2011-05-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that we have our annual spring J/105 Racing Clinic in a couple of weeks. This year, due to a ridiculously full schedule, we were forced to move the clinic to Memorial Day Weekend, so we know lots of people will have other plans but it's a great opportunity to get out on the water and prep for the season. So bail on the boring ol' BBQ and get your jibe on....

This event is great for crews, prospective crews, and skippers. The focus of this particular clinic is on boat handling, sail trim, and on-board workflow, etc. etc... We rotate everyone through all the positions, so attendees leave with the ability to perform any job on the boat.... from main trim, to pit, to bow. If you want to be a more valuable and contributing member to the crew, this is a great way to do it!

If you own or race on a boat regularly, this clinic can help you define the responsibilities of each team member, streamline on-board communication, and polish sail trim, boathandling, and sail handling maneuvers.

Go here for more info... or give us a call.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Boatshow!

2011-04-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

The Strictly Sail Pacific Boatshow began yesterday at Jack London Square... and if you are into sailing or even the idea of sailing, this is the place to be! This weekend also marks the official grand opening of our new and expanded facility at Jack London Square...

Our new office at Jack London Square is conveniently located just seconds from the Oakland Ferry Terminal, close to BART, and numerous nearby restaurants. The beautiful Waterfront Hotel is right next door, perfect for our out-of-town guests. Not only do we have more classrooms and more boats, but we also have a new store, the Sailing Pro Shop at J/World, featuring gear from our partners Atlantis Weather Gear and Spinlock.

New Store Featuring Atlantis Weathergear, Harken, and Spinlock

More classrooms, more space, a new store, easy access
from land, and immediate access to great sailing... ..

So swing on by the boatshow and be sure to stop by our office... and all J World alumni are invited to pick up a free J World T Shirt while you are here.

Wayne Zittel & The J World Team

2011 Cabo Race Wrap Up

2011-04-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Wow what a blast. The 2011 Cabo Race delivered some great sailing, and some great times. I am very proud of the team we had aboard J World's Hula Girl: well done Eric, Drew, Mark, Beverley, Tom and Fred! It was a pleasure to meet and sail with each and every one of you. And many thanks to the coaches Chris and Josh for the fantastic work of overseeing a safe and fast voyage. Here's the team happy to be in Cabo:

Everyone aboard rose to the many challenges of the 2011 event, and it showed: Third place in our hotly contested class, and fifth overall out of 31 boats! Nicely done, team. Here's the awards ceremony on the beach in Mexico (and no, Josh didn't hurt his foot on the boat, it was during shore leave in Mexico... that's what happens to a sailor when the ground under his feet gets too stable!):

We'll post a picture of the trophy once we get it... nicely done gang! For those of you interested in some offshore adventure opportunities, we have one berth left in the 2011 Transpac!

Next up:

Race Week in Puerto Vallarta, starting April 11
Strictly Sail Boatshow in Oakland, April 14-17
J/105 Racing Clinic, May 28-29

Cheers,

Wayne Zittel & The J World Team

Land Ho!

2011-03-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

What have we missed?? What possible wind speed, sail combination, and/or wind angle have we NOT seen in the past 700 miles since leaving California four days ago in the 2011 Newport to Cabo Race? From upwind in ghostlike zephyrs, scarcely moving a ripple on the face of the Pacific, with every stitch of canvas we can set flying, to charging along on a reach in 20 knots, peeling to the A4 to keep the wheels on the wagon, so to speak.

As I write this we are just a tick over 60 miles from Cabo. Our fleet is pretty tight, with the SC50 Horizon leading our class, and overall. We've been hammering at the fleet since paying some dues early in the race and are slowly getting back into it. While we were happy to see the fourth place at roll call this morning, I was also surprised to see that Locomotion really found some wheels overnight and slipped in front of us (I had been optimistically hoping for a third).

But it ain't over yet. And with the tight grouping in our fleet and the unstable conditions we've been dealing with, anything remains possible! We are gambling a bit (going to have to to get past the extremely well sailed likes of Bad Pak and Loco), and it's all coming down to the next five hours... if our westerly shift comes in early enough, we can stand to make up some time, but if she's late coming to the dance, we'll be reaching hard to the finish...

Beyond that, life is great onboard Hula Girl. At the moment, nearly our whole crew is on deck. Drew is driving, mark is trimming, Bev is grinding. Eric was just good enough to do the dishes after a superb shift driving. Now it looks like nap time for him. We have 16-18 knots of breeze and are scooting along at 10-12 (with spikes over 14 in the puffs). Everyone is hanging tough, and the spectacular night sailing we have been having has blown away most of our crew. Maneuvers and sail changes are getting better, the driving smoother. And it shows. We are hanging pretty close to some teams who have been sailing together for many years, and thousands of open ocean miles. And we're pretty happy to be here... this race has been a challenge, and a hoot. I'm not sure which has been more fun, sailing a challenging event like this against some great teams, or sailing with a group of sailors and watching them become a great team.

Anyway, I have to get going... I'm going to go on deck and look for signs of that lefty we're banking on. For the moment, I'm tired, but happy, and I suspect that's a sentiment which runs thru our whole team. That's not to say a couple simple things like a shower and a Margarita won't make me happier, but for a stinky, sleep deprived, dehydrated, sun-blasted, wind-chapped, bruised and battered sailor, I'm surprisingly gratified. And that will stand, leftie or not...

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl Crew

2011 Newport to Cabo Race, Day 3

2011-03-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

Dia Diablos,

Ok, it was a devil of a day out here on the 2011 Newport to Cabo Race.
Early in the morning, the breeze died on us, as predicted. The
remainder of the morning and mid afternoon was spent trying to squeeze
every ounce of power out of every whiff of breeze. Sailing in this
light stuff can be a remarkable test of patience and finesse... and
our team did a great job persevering, and we'll see how it pays off.

The breeze stabilized in the late afternoon and started a gradual
build from the south east... not the direction we were expecting or
hoping for, but we have a couple plans on how we might turn this
development into an advantage and gain some on our fleet.
We now have about 7-8 knots of wind, and are trucking along pretty
much close-hauled at 7-8 knots. Nice. The Hula Girl is happy again.
And the whole crew is so relieved to have wind again, no one has even
complained that we aren't getting the classic spinnaker runs that this
leg of the race usually delivers.

The sun just set. Dinner has been wrapped up. We are slipping right
along, making good progress towards Cabo. And while we had plenty of
fun out here, I'm not too sorry to put this long day to bed...

Cheers all, and we'll give you a position report in the morning...

Wayne Zittel & the Hula Girl Team

Armchair quarterbacking...

2011-03-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hoping to get an update from on the boat, but in the meantime, we can guess a little bit...

It appears that contrary to one of the professional weather forecasts obtained by many participants at the start of the race, including us, the wind is better offshore. At least, it seems that once around Cedros Island, boats on the outside are making gains on boats to the inside.

Hula Girl, appears to be averaging +1 knot of boatspeed on Horizon for the last couple of hours... That's good! Similarly, Sarasvati appears to be in a band of good pressure, moving along at 8 knots and beginning to compress on the fleet.

Newport to Cabo Race, Day 2

2011-03-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

Subject: Newport to Cabo Race, Day 2
Dia Dos!

Life is good onboard the Hula Girl. We are charging south, trying to
outrun an approaching cold front, and things are looking reasonably
good... for now. After a gorgeous evening with a nearly full moon
lighting up the night sky, and schools of dolphin making a mockery of
our boatspeed, dawn broke and the wind had shifted to the North a bit
lifting us, so we peeled to the A2 spinnaker. When the wind went even
more north in the mid morning, we gybed onto the header and aimed
towards the shore. Our weather shows that the breeze is going to get
light in the north and west of this part of the ocean, so we are
making a big effort to keep in the breeze.

In the afternoon, we crossed tacks with the J/145 Bad Pak, just a couple of boatlengths between us!
Pretty cool for being 28 hours into the race!
We shortly gybed to run down the coast again, making sure to stay
offshore enough that we don't get caught in the light stuff over there
too. Yep, that's right... it's looking light offshore, and light
inshore, so we are doing our best to thread the needle... we know it
won't last, however, and we expect the breeze to start dying on us and
shifting to the south late tonight and into tomorrow.

We just had a nice pasta dinner, and reorganized the sail stack,
making sure that the sails we expect to be needing tonight are
accessible. It could be a bit of a hectic evening, but I think most
onboard are pretty well rested and looking forward to the challenge!
Everyone is doing an awesome job. Bev is even studying off-watch....
now that's commitment!

All right, that's about all I've got for now. In closing, Chris just
quoted Thor Heyerdahl (sp?) "We caught sharks with our bare hands and
generally had a fine time."

Wayne Zittel & the Hula Girl Crew

Back in Mexico....

2011-03-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2011 at 8:33 PM
Subject: Back in Mexico....

Hola from Hula....
Well all right now. This morning, the intrepid Team J World started
the 800 mile sprint down the West Coast from Newport Beach, CA to Cabo
San Lucas..... Land's end, Baja California! Our gang of nine started
about a half mile off the end of the Newport pier into a light
westerly. With the big #1 jib up, we were able to punch out at the
start and seemed to have great boatspeed. We climbed away from the
coast in an attempt to get to a bit more breeze offshore, and it
seemed to be working great.

Then there came a bit of a bluffing and waiting game... all the boats
around us knew that as the wind freshened, it would shift around
behind us, and it would be time to hoist the bigger sails, and the
"Code Zero" would be the call. We were poised and ready and wanted to
make the move with the first boat, but no earlier since we didn't want
to separate from the pack. Horizon, another SC50, was the first to
go... they got the sail most of the way up, then had a bit of a
problem, but sorted it out quickly. By that point, we were going up
with ours too, and suddenly we has almost the same problem they had...
except we weren't able to sort our out as easily. The top of the
sail came unfurled during the hoist, making the sail impossible to
unfurl all the way. We were forced to go back to the #1 jib and drop
the code zero to sort out the issue... as we watched all the boats we
had managed to get behind us sail right by... Before long, we got the
code zero up, dropped the jib, and set a genoa staysail. Five or 6
knots of breeeze, sailing at 7-8 knots. Nice.

The wind shifted farther behind us, and it was time again to change
sails... down with the code zero, up with the 2A spinnaker. We stuck
with that sail until about 5:30-, when the wind shifted back towards
the south a bit, and we changed to the 1A with a spinnaker staysail.
So that's where we are right now. True wind is about 12 knots. We
are doing 9 to 10 knots, and we just crossed the border into Mexico.
We are picking a lane to keep us outside the light coastal breezes,
but a bit inside out competition... it's tough to say no to the nice
header we are getting right now, and we need to make up some of the
time we lost with the sail snafu earlier.

And we need to push south quickly. There's a cold front moving into
the area tomorrow, brining with is some strong headwinds. We want to
be well down the Baja Coast before it gets here. Andele!
We have just finished a full rotation on the helm (everyone has had a
chance to drive). And the stew dinner wend down nicely, just as the
(nearly) full moon came up. Man, it is beautiful outside right now.
Seriously beautiful. The moon, the shimmering reflections on the
water, the distant coastal glow of San Diego, Tijuana, the Hula Girl
scooting along into the night.

Time to take a look at weather, then maybe go sit in the cockpit for a
while. I'll be in touch again soon...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel & the Hula Girl Crew
32° 27N 117° 33W

Timing is everything

2011-03-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Since we haven't heard from anyone ON the boat yet, I thought I would chime in with a quick post. Looks like today was the day to get away from Newport. Wind looks to lighten tomorrow by the start, according to the forecast, but today's starters should stay in fresh breeze in the low 20s tonight and into tomorrow, as high pressure gets pushed south. This is based on my very quick look at the weather!

Saturday starters face, according to NOAA:
MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW WILL WEAKEN INTO SAT...THEN BUILD FROM THE S THROUGH SUN NIGHT

At 5PM, Hula Girl was about 25 miles S of San Diego, some 3 miles behind Horizon. (and about 15 miles NW of Ensenada)

Most of the boats you see on the tracker - especially those in front - have done this race and races like it many times and often with the same, experienced crews. As our participants get used to sailing a turboed boat like Hula Girl, we can hope for them to close the gap and perhaps do even better than that!

Barry

Transpac Opportunity!

2011-03-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

So our program for the 2011 Transpac, the legendary race from LA to Hawaii every other year, has been sold out since last September... BUT we have just had a couple cancel, so we now have two berths available on the 50 foot turbo sled, Hula Girl.

The Transpac is arguably the world's most famous offshore yacht race. And one of the best. Two-thousand miles of (mostly) downwind surfing through crystal clear waters and the warm trades. There are already 65 entries signed up, including SIX Santa Cruz 50s... this is going to be an epic fleet in an epic race.

J/World's Hula Girl Reaching into Hawaii

Our Hula Girl programs set off with six crew and three of our world-class coaches. Everyone gets an opportunity to participate in everything aboard, including navigating, trimming, and driving. Our offshore racing programs have earned quite the reputation for being a ton of fun and tremendously beneficial... and if you miss out on this opportunity, the next chance to get aboard won't be until 2012.

For more about Hula Girl, visit here. For more about the Transpac with J/World, go here.

To learn about specifics or get a copy of the Team brief, contact us!

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

High-Rolling...

2011-03-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

Life is good down in Mexico... the weather is a wonderful shade of warm, the spring breezes have kicked in, and we get to go sailing all the time. Yes indeed. We are blessed with a fantastic venue, and this mariners from around the world know and seek this place. Check out this bad boy who rolled into town two days ago:

That's the 50 meter Exuma tied up right next to our J World dock. Plumb bow, fine entry with the knuckle just above the water, a long lean hull (165 feet long with a beam just over 30!)... hmmm.... to this sailor, she has lines far more appealing than your typical (hah!) mega yacht. And for good reason. This Perini Navi build (not even one year old yet), sprung from a collaboration with Phillipe Briand. You might know Briand from his mega-hits such as Mari-Cha IV, the turbo, canting-keel, schooner which crossed the Atlantic in a little over 6.5 days (average speed over 19 knots!), or his pop-sensations produced by the likes of Beneteau and Jeanneau. So this is one fine motor yacht with a sailing pedigree...

Briand is quoted on his website: "the primary function of a yacht is to be aesthetic. Her owner has to be proud of her." Well, I dare say he's done a fine job here. Follow this link if you have some time to burn and want to see more of this boat...

Anyhow, we here at J World Sailing are gearing up for the Banderas Bay Clinic and Regatta this coming week.... stay tuned for all the details!

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

WesMex!

2011-02-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

So we put the Strictly Sail Boatshow in Chicago to bed, and got out of town just before the weather turned really ugly. Hopped on a big ol' jet airliner and went from this (ice sculptures in the park outside Navy Pier, Chicago)

to this (sailing in shorts and flip-flops)

in about four hours! And the J World gang weren't the only boats out on the water, by a long shot. The annual WesMex Regatta was going on, and this is a sight to behold. WesMex is a youth event in Optimists and Lasers, and is the sole Mexican qualifier for young sailors from all over Mexico to advance to the North American and European Optimist Championships.

Hosted by the Vallarta Yacht Club and sponsored by Toyota, this event drew over 60 young sailors to the warm waters and fantastic sailing conditions in Banderas Bay. It's truly a great thing to see the growth of youth sailing here in Mexico, and all of the sponsors, supporters, and volunteers who make these events possible are to be commended. And a special thanks to Jay of Strange Bird Photography for sharing these great shots.

Lots of stuff going on down here for us old folks too. We have a racing week (intro and advanced) running next week (starting Feb 14), and of course Learn to Sail Classes and other courses running all the time. Our annual Banderas Bay Clinic and Regatta starting March 6 is almost sold out (only one space left).... and then our offshore team is taking off on the 2011 Newport to Cabo Race.

So if you are looking to get some sailing in sometime in February or March, you should contact us soon... we're getting pretty busy!

All the best,

Wayne Zittel
J World Performance Sailing School and Club

Chi-Town Bound...

2011-01-26T09:03:00.000-08:00

Well, yours truly is taking a break from the beautiful weather down here in Puerto Vallarta for a trip to the windy city for the Strictly Sail Chicago boatshow starting tomorrow and running through the weekend. If any of our friends or alumni are in the area, swing by our booth and say hi!

But it's business as usual for the rest of the J World team down on the sunny Banderas Bay. All our sailing classes are running regularly, or you might just opt for a day trip sailing charter. What's it like sailing in Puerto Vallarta? Well a couple of weeks ago we were invited aboard Profligate for an afternoon cruise from La Cruz to Paradise Village (the home of our J World Sailing base), and some of the shenanigans were caught on video...

So there you go. Don't just take my word for it. It's pretty nice this time of year in Mexico. So while I am stuck in for some sub-freezing temperatures for the next couple of days, you could be down here basking in the sun. Or swing by the show in Chicago... I'm hoping they have the heat cranked in Navy Pier...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Sol Sailing...

2011-01-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

Yep, another tough weekend down here in Mexico. Josh and Drew got released from the J World salt mines last weekend and went off to play in the local Capri 37 fleet... they've got a handful of them down here, and they hit the water monthly with highly competitive one-design racing. Josh issued this report today:

This weekend saw a fleet of five boats turn out for two days of racing. On the first day, the fleet saw conditions ranging from 8-10 knots for race number one, picking up to around 14 knots for the second race, then slowly dying for the third race of the day. These changes in pressure were also accompanied with some major shifts, keeping the fleet on their toes and constantly trying to find the favored side of the course for that extra edge.

Drew and I were on board with Team Azteca to help fill spots at the mast, mainsail and tactics. For the first race, we found ourselves in good position on the starting line with good speed and were able to hold on to the lead for a 1st place finish. For race two, we climbed back from a bad start to battle it out with Crew Dos and Dreadnought, and managed to pull off second. Race three saw the whole fleet getting a solid start. A left shift favored us and Crew Dos, and we managed to prevail over them after the run for another win.

On day two, the fleet saw slightly more breeze. Race four started in around 12 knots of breeze at around 230 degrees. Throughout the race the breeze clocked to around 240, favoring the right side of the course. At the end of the race Azteca finished first with a Dreadnought and Crew Dos in a heavy fight for second, in which Crew Dos was victorious. As race five started, the wind started to climb and the fleet found themselves in 20 knots of breeze and carnage started to appear on the course. Dreadnought pulled the bullet, Chivas second, and we wrapped the weekend with a third.

The weekend was full of close competition and challenging conditions making a great weekend of racing. A big thanks to the guys aboard Azteca for having a couple of J World gringos along for the race!

And thank you for the report, Josh! Lots of great sailing going on around here right now: Our Learn-to-Sail classes are running almost continually at our Puerto Vallarta Sailing Center, and there are lots of sailing charters to boot.

Our San Francisco Sailing School is starting to book springtime courses, so don't be left on the dock, give us a call now!

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Get Your Racing Kicks...

2011-01-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

So if the winter blues have got an icy grip on your racers heart, we have the cure. March in Mexico. Big boats or small boats, offshore or buoy racing... you choose:

#1 Big Boat Offshore Yacht Racing - Hula Girl is racing to Cabo! Three J/World coaches plus six lucky crew are going to be racing the legendary turboed Santa Cruz 50+ in the Newport to Cabo 2011 Yacht Race. This true West Coast classic is shaping up to be a fantastic event this go-around... just check out the list of entries so far! We have only two berths available...

#2 Small Keelboats Around the Buoys - The J/World annual Banderas Bay Clinic and Regatta in our 26 foot J/80s has only one space left! This is one of our most popular offerings at our Puerto Vallarta base, and for good reason. We start with a three day clinic aboard our J/80s, with an impressive 3:1 student to instructor ratio. Everyone gets lavished with personal attention, and rotates thru all the positions on the boat. Then Wed. is a lay-day (skipper's meeting, for anyone who wants to go), then Thurs-Sat we participate in the Banderas Bay Regatta with coaches aboard to insure that it is a positive and learning experience.

Ok, as I mentioned above, there are only a couple of berths available in these events. So if you are considering either one, I would highly suggest you get in touch with us soon. You see, we'll be at the Strictly Sail Boatshow in Chicago later this month...

I got a report that there was a high of something like 17° and snowing in Chicago over the weekend. Meanwhile it's 78° in Puerto Vallarta at our Puerto Vallarta Sailing Center. You think it's gonna be a tough sell in Chicago? Like I said, probably a good idea to get in touch with us now...

Ok, that's it for now...

Wayne Zittel
J World Performance Sailing School, Club, and Charters

2011-01-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

Ah, the stream of nearly perfect days down in Mexico keeps right on rollin', and it's easy for them all to blend together. After a very busy holiday season down here, we are just coming up for air and wanted to share the latest happenings with you all...

For those of you who don't frequent the lands south of the border, it is hard to describe the great diversity that you can stumble across in such a small area as Banderas Bay. This morning I read the account of a day in the life of cruising in Mexico by Latitude 38's Wanderer, and was struck with what a great job he did at characterizing the overall feel of the area and community that we are so fortunate to be a part of. Then last night our friend Rita (faithful followers will know her as one of the lovely ladies who graced our crew in the cover shot of our J/120 in the 2008 Baja-Ha-Ha) was getting ready to head back to the wintry north, and she showed us some of her beautiful photos snapped during her stay in Vallarta. She got a ton of fantastic shots, so I figured it would be fun to share some... this isn't as much about the sailing here (we report on that all the time), but just a bit of local color.

First up: Bucerias. This smaller town just to the north of PV hosts a fantastic mix of local flavor and tourist attractions...

Here's the beach in Bucerias in the afternoon...

... and here's your table! Then turn around and stroll up into the plaza...

...here you'll find all sorts of food, goods, people, etc...

And when you have explored a bit and worked up an appetite, there are all manners of restaurants in the area... from the most awesome tacos on the street, to sports bars blaring NFL and NHL, to fancy dining with fabulous wines...

Next we are off to Sayulita, the little beach town over the hill to the north. The highway from PV drops down to a two lane jungle road, and after a beautiful trip thru lush greenery, you stumble across a couple of gems. Sayulita is more popular than ever and has been bustling with travelers (and for good reason), while San Pancho / San Francisco just up the road a bit is still a lot sleepier, so you choose your flavor!

The stables at the San Pancho polo field.

Taking a break on the beach in Sayulita.

How about this? Looks like a throwback to another era.

But it's actually Jan 2, 2011.

Explore up the streets a bit in Sayulita, and you'll find some pretty sweet houses. Ever want to live in a jungle? Swiss Family Robinson done in style! Seriously, there are so many amazing homes and unique places that we start taking them for granted down here.

I lived in Sayulita for two years, and am still impressed by how many great places to eat there are. Even more so now than ever. There are stylish places like the one above facing the plaza. And there are simple local places, including my favorite street taco 'restaurant', which is still putting tables and chairs out on the cobblestone road each night, and you can get the tastiest carne asada quesadilla with grilled onions and all the fixings for $2. Seriously good. Or maybe you are ready for something a bit finer...

...we saved you a seat at the bar of the distinctive Los Afortunados in Sayulita...

say hi to our friend Greg and sit out on the beautiful patio for a memorable dinner and experience... don't miss it!

Banderas Bay is defined on the northern boundary by the beautiful Punta Mita. At the base of this point is the town of La Cruz and a new marina, complete with fuel dock and boatyard. And, like the rest of the area, the whole point has a huge amount to offer...

The surf out at Ancolote, the inside of Punta Mita. Small that day, but you can see the potential. And while the swell might not have shown up, neither did the neoprene. There are a lot of things right about surfing in trunks and bikinis during the first week of January!

Now that you've worked up an appetite, how about a fish tacos plate for $5 right on the beach... this shot was taken from the exact same place as the surfing one above. Beach lover's paradise indeed.

Or if you want to be more pampered, there are truly exceptional accommodations. This is in La Cruz, but the options abound, including a very popular Four Seasons Resort at Punt Mita.

Boat trip! Ok, I know it's not a sailboat, but our friend Gil runs a great charter boat on the Bay... here Rita has set her camera down for a moment to test the comfort factor. But it's not all lounging about... soon the whales are spotted, Rita springs into action, and check these out:

Hey Gil, do yourself a favor and keep a safe distance! Hopefully, this was with a pretty big zoom... but the whales are all over the Bay right now, and we are regularly forced to take evasive actions to keep well away from them. Maybe we're a bit gun shy, but who can blame us? Besides, the whales deserve to have a bit of peace and quiet...

... and here is why. Mother and calf.

Back ashore in La Cruz now...

The boardwalk along the marina in La Cruz.

Oh, and here's a travel tip: when the waiter tells you they serve Margititas as big as dogs, it's probably a good idea to get a bit more information. Cha-cha the chihuahua clearly found no humor in the situation.

Anyway, that the sailing-less report from down here in Puerto Vallarta last week... and many huge thanks to Rita for sharing her photos with us! And for those of you who have seen the reports of doom and gloom and violence down here as portrayed by the media, I just feel compelled to comment that it really just doesn't match up with the reality that we are living in down here. To be sure, there are lots of areas to avoid in Mexico, but that's the same in the US!

Coming soon, we'll get you caught up on the sailing down here at our Puerto Vallarta Sailing School and at our San Francisco Sailing School...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

AC34 in SF!!

2011-01-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, those of you waiting expectedly for news of the venue selection for the 34th America's Cup to be held in 2013 probably already know this, but for the rest of you: we are excited that San Francisco has been officially named as the host of the next America's Cup!

This is great news for sailing, and for San Francisco. Not only are the benefits to the sailing scene and community in general positive, but the lasting results are tremendous. I was living in San Diego during the years that it hosted the AC, and can vouch firsthand for what it did for businesses and sailors of all sorts... and the SD waterfront was forever positively changed... the cup campaigns invested a huge amount there, and left a lasting legacy.

I personally don't think that the AC has traditionally put the best face on the sport of sailboat racing to the general public. Rather than being indicative of the sport in general, it is better to look at it as a truly spectacular representation of a microcosm within our sport. Bleeding edge, and elite to be sure. But because of the awesome spectacle it presents on so many fronts, it opens a dialog and draws attention to sailing, and gives us (sailors of all types) the opportunity to introduce all facets of sailing, cruising, and racing to new audiences.

So this is what we have to look forward to... some of the fastest sailboats ever raced slicing thru the waters of arguably the finest sailing coliseum in the world. Oh, this is going to be fun!

Anyway, happy new year indeed.

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

J World Performance Sailing

The Performance Sailing School, Sailing Club, and Sailing Charters

Jr./World?

2010-12-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

So the second seasonal installment of the Vallarta Yacht Club's "Dine and Dash" happened last Saturday. This is a fun style reachy 'race' from Nuevo Vallarta to La Cruz and back (after a civilized lunch ashore, of course!).

That's J/World instructor Eugenie, who is coaching for the youth program at the yacht club, with a crew of her rockstar dinghy sailors. They hopped aboard a J/80 for the fun and had a fantastic sail.

Amazingly we are already into the holiday season, and we have a tremendous amount of things happening, including Learn-to-Sail courses at both our San Francscio Bay Sailing School and our Puerto Vallarta Sailing Center.

Check it all out at J World, the Performance Sailing School and Club website...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Christmas Wish List...

2010-12-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

I love the holiday season... you know what I would like for Christmas?

Ok, that's actually not my wish list... believe it or not, it's the current conditions and forecast down here in Puerto Vallarta. This was the view from my kitchen window yesterday afternoon:

Look closely, there are a couple of boats enjoying the breeze out there. Our sailing courses are in full swing... we have Learn to Sail classes running almost every week, with Racing Courses, Sailing Charters, and Cruising Classes to round things out.

If you are in California, remember that our San Francisco Sailing School is operational year-round.

Cheers,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Past the Blast...

2010-12-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

The tail end of last week saw the Banderas Bay Blast wrap up. Three days of some serious fun-in-the-sun sailing (racing??) culminating in the Pirates for Pupils Spinnaker Charity run from Punta Mita to the home of the J World Puerto Vallarta Sailing base, Paradise Village.

Yours truly was invited aboard the 65' cat Profligate with a great bunch of friends... and with a boat like this, there is plenty of room! Now that is a cockpit! We had great breeze for the first part of the run, and were putting up a good fight... we saw boatspeed up to 13 knots at one point... and all in great comfort!

But as it lightened up a bit, the beautiful J/160 Blue strutted her stuff, and snuck across in front of us (see pic above) and there she remained until the finish... J World's Josh was aboard Blue and gets bragging rights now...

Then on Saturday was the annual Chili cook off fundraiser for local underprivileged families. J World Sailing School and Club joined forces with Full Sail Canvas, and Camelia and Lisa brewed up an AWESOME batch of chili.

Anyway, that's the latest from down here in Puerto Vallarta... hard to believe we are into December already!

All the best,

Wayne Zittel & the J World Team

Pac Cup Redux Redux

2010-11-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yep, as promised, here's the 'gag reel' that Kevin put together. For our friends and family at home: this is to help you know what happens to fully grown men when they are deprived of sleep for long periods, exposed to the elements, and fed a steady diet of freeze dried spaghetti (or Beef Stroganoff?) and Cliff bars. Please understand that when we come home from an overnight race, we are a bit mental. And this is (or should be) a cry for help. And to the crew, all I have to say is that really, you should all be ashamed of yourselves...

Ok, actually that wasn't too bad... except for that thing about moving Tom's leg... really, what was that?? Even so, why do I suspect that sometime, somewhere, this will be entered into a courtroom as "Exhibit X..."

Oh well...

So for those of you NOT frightened off by all of this, we have the Newport to Cabo Race coming up in March. Still a couple of spots open aboard Hula Girl.

Cheers,

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl Team

Pacific Cup 2010 Redux...

2010-11-30T11:31:00.000-08:00

So J/World coach/watch captain/bow dude/officer-on-deck Kevin shot a bunch of video on the way over to Hawaii last summer aboard Hula Girl in the 2010 Pacific Cup. He got a bit busy moving across the country and all, so the cinematic project got put on the back burner for a while... but now, roll out the red carpet, get your popcorn and Jujubes (sorry, no 3-D glasses) and join us for a ride from SF to Hawaii...

Part One:

Part Two:

Many hearty thanks to Kevin for putting this together. And thanks to the other coaches Geoff and Barry, and the crew of Bob, Mark, Rick, Tom, and Vern. Well sailed, gang!

But you all are not off the hook yet... I'll be posting the 'gag reel' of out-takes in another day or two. And for the rest of you out there who thinks this looks like some sort of twisted fun, we are sorry to report that the 2011 Transpac is sold out, but we have a couple spaces left in the Newport to Cabo Race in March... and of course there is always the 2012 Pacific Cup...

Cheers, gotta run... sailing in the Banderas Bay Blast today, and wow it's pretty here in Mexico!

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

J World Performance Sailing School, Club, and Charters
San Francisco Bay Sailing Center

Puerto Vallarta Sailing Center

Blast!... of the Banderas Bay Variety...

2010-11-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

Yep, the 2010 Banderas Bay Blast kicks off today here in Puerto Vallarta. This is a low-key, informal 'regatta' (and we are using that term in the loosest way possible, since the 'winners' are chosen from a hat!) is made up of three days of point-to-point cruises.

Today is from wherever-you-are to La Cruz. Tomorrow is La Cruz to Punta Mita. And Friday is the Pirates for Pupils Spinnaker Run for Charity... 14 miles downwind from Punta Mita to Paradise Village and the Vallarta Yacht Club in Nuevo Vallarta. The conditions? Looks to be perfect 12-16 knot afternoon seabreeze, air temp at about 80 degrees, with water temperature at 78. Hmmm... December is looking good!

Anyone down in Vallarta should try to make it out for this good cause (and fun event)... and those of you not down here should seriously think about making the excuse to join us south of the border. J World Sailing has lots of sailing courses running at our Puerto Vallarta sailing base, and we offer skippered charters and bareboat charters to boot!

And for the racers.... our next sailboat racing course is the week of December 13. Then there is the Banderas Bay Regatta and Clinic in March, and don't forget the Newport to Cabo Offshore Yacht Race!

In the meantime, we'll post a report of the Blast in a couple of days...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

On the Road...

2010-11-21T20:22:00.000-08:00

... to Mandalay. Indeed. We here at J World Sailing School are excited to announce the latest addition to our fleet: the stunning J/160 Mandalay. I personally know this boat quite well... I have sailed her up and down the West Coast from San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta and back. Since then, she has done some serious miles... all the way to the South Pacific!

Mandalay

Mandalay is a stout, fast, offshore passagemaker with all the amenities you could ever dream of. Two staterooms with heads, a huge salon, spacious galley, state of the art nav center, central heating & AC with three climate zones, washer/drier, even a dive compressor!

Great lines. Big rig. Relaxed crew. What's not to like?

Mandalay is available for skippered charters, sailing and cruising instruction, special sailing events, and executive team-building at our San Francisco Bay sailing center.

Making fresh sushi off the coast of Baja is a breeze in the huge galley...

... let's have Frank finish off this post... here's the ol' Blue Eyes outro...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Really, I'm not...

2010-11-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm not trying to rub it in... as the winter starts to take hold up north, this is what was happening down south last weekend:

The J World Puerto Vallarta office was open for business... and the business at hand was, of course...

... another awesome day of sailing. Seriously. This place is amazing. With cruising season underway and new boats arriving everyday, and with Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, which will be immediately followed by the Banderas Bay Blast, you really need to get down here. Take a sailing course, charter a boat, whatever. You can't go wrong!

Wayne Zittel

The Girl gets Gussied Up....

2010-11-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hula Girl in San Diego getting a bottom job....

Wet-sanding the bottom to 1500 grit... it's a burnished bottom with a nearly polished finish to it by the time they get done.

Hanging in the slings to get under the pads and the bulb...

The Hula Girl is getting ready for the 2011 season.... she's fully booked for Transpac, but available for charter for other events...

Cheers,

Wayne Zittel

Up and Running South of the Border

2010-11-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Our Winter season in Mexico is off to a fantastic start. We have a Learn to Sail class and a Performance Cruising course running this week, and the conditions really couldn't get any better right now: the seabreezes have been 12-15 knots in the afternoons, with warm water and almost more sun than we can handle and dolphins and sea turtles all over the place!

The season is just getting going, so grab your sunscreen and flip flops and c'mon down. A little over three hours from San Francisco, with great deals on travel and accommodations, and some seriously great sailing....

Newport to Cabo Race

2010-10-14T10:42:00.001-07:00

Well, our offering in the 2011 Transpac has been met with so much interest and enthusiasm that it has already sold out... so we have decided to add another event to the calendar: the 2011 Newport to Cabo Race! This West Coast classic has the distinct advantage of being shorter in length (and time commitment) than the Hawaii races, so if you have dreamed of offshore downhill sailing on a great boat but can't afford that much time away from home/office, we've got an option for you. The race starts March 18, so visit here or contact us for more info...

But if nothing but a Hawaii Race will do, we are taking reservations for the 2012 Pacific Cup...

Life List...

2010-09-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is pretty cool...

Outside Magazine published their "Life List" in the September issue (on newsstands now...). In this version of the ultimate 'bucket list,' they run thru 51 "dream trips, daring quests, essential skills, and exalted states of body and mind..."

... and J/World Sailing made the cut! Become a bush pilot, trek the Himalayas, lasso a steer.... and:

#37 Sail Across an Ocean - Make it the Pacific. From May to September, it's downwind all the way from California to Hawaii. It'll get warmer every day, phosphorescent plankton will light up the rolling seas at night, and the hula music keeps getting louder on the radio. Before you cash in the house to buy your own boat, go with some pros. Joining a crew isn't easy - it's every sailor's dream trip - but J World Sailing School offers up to six spots a year for either the Transpac (L.A. - Hawaii) or the Pacific Cup (San Francisco - Hawaii) on a Santa Cruz 50, a boat designed for offshore racing. You won't sleep much over the eight to ten days, but isn't that the point?

While we are flattered, we are not entirely surprised... it truly is (in the words of one of our crew in the 2010 Pac Cup that we just wrapped up), "the adventure of a lifetime!" And I personally have done the trip a number of times, and can attest that the magic of the experience never goes away...

If you are wondering, the 2011 Transpac Team has only three berths left...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

2010 Pacific Cup Wrap Up

2010-08-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

I just want to take a minute to wrap-up our race to Hawaii. I'm a bit overdue in getting this together, but i got a bit busy bringing the boat back home too!

The 2010 Pacific Cup was a fantastic event. Our team of five sailors from around the country and four coaches aboard our new turboed Santa Cruz 50 Hula Girl was a perfect recipe for a memorable race. And what a race we had... with an elapsed time of 8 days and 19 hours, we were the 4th boat to sail into Kaneohe Bay, and corrected out to 3rd in class, and 6th overall (out of 50+ boats!). Not bad for our first outing, eh? Not only did we we end up with a great result, we ended up having a great time. Many thanks to the 2010 Hula Girl Team for making it a memorable event.

Here's some photos for y'all (more coming too):

The J World Team in front of The Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square, the title sponsor for Hula Girl

Organizing the sail stack...

Out the Gate... next stop, Hawaii!

Hmmm... looking kinda cold... must still be close to San Francisco

Rippin' along with the Blast Reacher and Genoa Staysail up

Barry getting comfortable in the nav station, playing Tetris. Just kidding. Actually working out our routing with Expedition, the most powerful navigation and flexible software package available for yacht racing... don't leave port without it. (Good little plug for our sponsor, eh?)

Working hard to give the Hula Girl what she needs... more speed!

... and we rush headlong into the night...

Yea! Spinnaker up!

Double yea! Blue Skies!

Now this is more like a Pacific Cup!

Hey! There will be none of that 'napping' going on... this is a serious race!

Look at our pet 'deck ape' go!

Whoa! Port tack... finally!

A little too comfortable trimming the kite (note to self: get bean bag!)

Our trusty navigator, hard at work, takes a bearing with the compass.... whoops, I mean trims his beard with his sunglasses... I think... not really sure what is going on here.

Soaked by early morning squalls, but happy to be in Hawaii

The reception in Kaneohe is always great!

Ooohhh! Sweet nectar of the gods!

After.

Many thanks to coaches Barry, Kevin, and Geoff, and crew Bob, Mark, Rick, Tom and Vern! Fantastic job, and it was a pleasure to sail with all of you!

We also want to thank the sponsors who help us run these great events: our primary sponsors of the Waterfront Hotel and Miss Pearl's Jam House have been wonderfully supportive. Stop by for a room with a view of the water (and Hula Girl) or for some Gumbo on the patio...

And additional thanks go out to our team suppliers: West Marine for the crew gear, Expedition for the navigation and routing software, Spinlock for the Deckvest Series life jackets and safety harnesses, and McLube for all things slippery. Gracias, amigos!

I'm happy to report that Hula Girl is back in SF and getting ready for her season in Mexico... the next race will be the 2011 Newport to Cabo race... any takers?

All the best,

Wayne Zittel

2010 Hawaii To San Francisco Cruise Wrap-Up

2010-08-22T09:32:00.001-07:00

In late July, Hula Girl departed Oahu for California with a crew of offshore cruising students and yours truly as skipper. With a strange year for the return weather, we ended up sailing almost all the way... we motored for something like six hours thru the very bottom corner of the Pacific High, but that was about it. We cranked off the miles, and got back to CA in about 13 days.

We had a truly fantastic group aboard the boat, and it was an absolute pleasure to get to sail with each and every one of them. Everyone did a great job, and made it easy on me... they sailed the boat over 2000 miles (I think the autopilot was on for only three hours when motoring!) and should be proud proud of what they accomplished.

The good times are too many to mention, but we expect an upcoming cinematic release to document the journey (right Jorge?)... I will take pause to mention this highlight: Jon and Madeline getting married as we sailed in under the Golden Gate bridge after 2000 miles at sea! Very cool....

Anyway, I'm not sure what else to add... I could literally write for days describing the nights at sea, the sensation of the Hula Girl cutting thru the ocean, the camaraderie of the crew, and so on.... but I'll spare you all my ramblings and share some photos:

Hula Girl in Hawaii

Leaving the Islands

Joe In Command

Double Rainbow Mid Pacific...

Madeline at the helm... and making a fashion statement!

Crew polishing off dinner, enjoying the last bit of another sunset...

Jorge making it look easy... hey, is that a squall out there??

A full rainbow! With a double! You don't get 'em like this at home...

Barry keeping watch.

The night shift.

Life on board, at an angle...

The Honeymoon Suite. The Ritz it ain't, but the the view is a solid ten stars.

Coming to the aid and transferring a battery to our friends on Deception, 1000 miles from the nearest speck of dry land.

Jon and Madeline... the happy couple.... awwwww....

A brief pause in the calm of the Pacific High... enjoying the view from aloft and swimming in 15,000 feet of clear, clear water...

The view from below

Sunrise

Hula Girl heads for the barn.

Many thanks to Joe, Barry, Jorge, Jon, and Madeline for a great trip...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel for the Hula Girl crew

Hula Girl's Notebook Computer R.I.P.

2010-08-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Barry here... Hula Girl's Notebook PC took a dive off the navigation table last night, so no more emails to/from the boat. Sorry.

The team will have to navigate to SF the old fashioned way: using one of the two GPS/Chartplotters. LOL!

(but they do have charts and a sextant aboard - and numerous handheld GPSs).

I spoke via sat phone to Wayne and at 14:22 PDT, they were at 38 57N by 131 07W, averaging a course of 82 deg at an avg speed over ground of 9.2 knots. They were 404 miles west of the San Francisco approach buoy, a.k.a. "the Lightship." They could be at our dock Sunday morning, but I suspect more likely between 2-4 PM.

They will broadcast more frequent position reports via their SPOT messaging device as they near they approach (thank you partner West Marine!)

We'll have a little dockside welcome party for them, logistics permitting! Let me know if you plan on meeting the Hula Girl and her crew at our dock or need additional information to do so.

(email bdemak at sailing-jworld.com)

Hang Loose, Hula Girl!

Barry

Livin' the High Life...

2010-08-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

Well, for a bit there, it looked like we would miss the whole Pacific High on our way to San Francisco from Hawaii. It looked like we were just going to scoot under it without ever getting to the calm waters typical of the center, but last night around 2am the high grew a bit, just enough to include us in it's personal party. Being night and all when the wind dropped, we fired up the motor and continued on our merry way. Thru the morning watches, we didn't see much more than about 4 knots of breeze. Very calm waters, and nice clear skies.

So there we were, motoring along when suddenly the engine quit. Just like that. Hmmm... not good, I am thinking. My first fear was that we had caught some trash, some scrap of a fishing net, that was drifting here in the high (we all know about all the trash out here... amazing/depressing how much we see in the middle of nowhere). I jumped down below and opened the engine compartment... I was relieved to find that I could spin the prop shaft by hand (meaning that it wasn't fouled), but then perplexed as to what the problem might be. Well, a quick look at the Racor fuel filter revealed a fair amount of gunk in the fuel. So off came the filter, replaced with a spare and away we go, right? Not so fast... the fuel system isn't priming... we can't get the fuel system bled. Finally, after pulling apart the lines to the tank and clearing them, we get the engine running again. And we were off. For 15 minutes.

Yep, motor died again. Looked at the Racor again. Filled with junk again. So we have basically had to write off our whole fuel tank as contaminated... too bad, since that's where about half of our fuel happens to be! But we have about 40 gallons in jerry cans, and we have rigged the engine to run from these, so we are good to go for the time being. And given the weather outlook, far more than we'll need to get the Hula Girl and her crew back to the barn.

Once we had the engine sorted, we took a bit of time to enjoy where we were. A couple of rides up the mast yielded some very cool pictures. And the swimming was phenomenal. Diving into a pool 16,321 feet deep (well, hat's what the chart says... we didn;t verify it) of crystal clear water (where you can see something like 5 miles down!) is a bit intimidating when you think about it... especially when you consider that anything 5 miles down can see you too!) So we didn;t think about it and just enjoyed the swim and showers. After our break, we were off again. We motored for another couple hours, but then started to stick our nose out the eastern side of the high (as expected), and we were off sailing again!

And so starts to final leg of our trip. It's forecast to be a light reach, then building into a windy reach. Then maybe getting light again as we near the coast. But we'll see. As we learned (again) toady, nothing is for certain.

A hearty dinner (build-your-own-burrito-bar) was had by all. Jorge and Madeline are on watch right now, and the rest of the crew are getting a bit of rack time and preparing for the cooler night watches up in this part of the ocean. Good times. And a beautiful day. The little issues were good challenges to overcome, and great learning experiences.

Now may turn to hit the rack. You all have a great evening, and we'll check in again soon.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl Crew

Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

Contrary to what everyone says....

2010-08-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what everyone says... we really are nice guys. A couple of days ago we got word that another Santa Cruz 50 heading home from Hawaii had a problem with their batteries and weren't able to start their engine... which meant no more power aboard. They had backup navigation systems and communication (a charged Sat phone and handheld VHF's) and were rolling along fine (even landing some good fish, I hear), so it wasn't an emergency by any stretch, but with a week still to go, it's nice to have power. There is an informal radio net on the way back to CA, and a number of boats (Green Buffalo, Jamani, Rhum Boggie, among others) were pretty close and offered help, but we were a bit closer and sailing on the same line (they left a day before us), so all they had to do was slow down and wait for us.

Well, after a couple of emails with the owner and a couple of calls with the crew, we arranged a rendezvous... literally 1000 miles from anywhere! We removed one of our house batteries, lashed it into a canvas bag we use for gear, and hung the package off the end of our boom. They sailed under main only on an upwind course and we maneuvered under power carefully, coming in to weather from behind, so that our boom would hang over their aft quarter. Jasper aboard Deception did a great job snagging the heavy battery, with the comment, "It was like trying to catch a cannonball!"

Well, 15 minutes later they were all powered up and on their way.

We are almost halfway home at this point, and getting pretty close to the Pacific High, but still carrying great breeze (more now than we had in the Trades!). Looks like we'll just graze the bottom of the high (instead of the typical route up and over or thru it), and have pretty good winds all the way in. In fact, there are a lot of boats out here with a lot of extra fuel this year. Such a surplus, in fact, that the good natured bidding started on the radio net at $1 per gallon, and seemed destined to fall from there! As early as tomorrow afternoon we'll actually tack over to port tack (after about 1100 miles on starboard!) and point our bow at the Golden Gate.

Jon and Madeline made a great pasta lunch, while our on board cinematographer-in-training Jorge continues to capture everything that moves (and many things that don't) on film. I think his production has already easily exceeded a feature, and in now somewhere in the realm of a Ken Burns epic...

We'll keep you all posted on progress!

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl Crew

Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

It's a keeper!

2010-07-30T02:42:00.001-07:00

So action this morning right after dawn...

The call came from the cockpit that a glass fishing ball float (the ones that were historically used by Japanese fishermen to keep their nets afloat) was spotted. The timing could have been better (we has a squall bearing down on us), but we soon had the trophy aboard... and it was a big one... beach-ball sized, made of hand-blown lightly tinted glass, and home to a couple mussels and crabs (sorry guys!). Who knows how many years and decades these things have been floating out here?

Anyway, our charge north continues. We are about 600 miles from Hawaii as I write this at about 2am on the last Friday of July. The going has been pretty mild... some boats have been complaining about too little wind (we have seen lots in the 10 knot range), but the Hula Girl loves this stuff, trucking along at 8 knots in 10 knots of breeze.

We had a problem with the Single Sideband Radio yesterday. In fact, it hasn't seemed to be as clear as it should be, and has acted erratically a couple of times. Two days ago, we couldn't check in with the net of boats sailing from Hawaii to CA. Then the unit just clicked off, and stayed off. Well, after digging around a lot, it seems the the culprit was a loose wire in the new distribution panel yours truly installed in CA. Whoops. A quick fix, and we were loud and clear, "5 by 5" at this evening's position report!

ANyway, that's about all the exciting news (and boring details) from out here in the middle of the night, in the middle of the Pacific. The Moon is up. It's quiet and aboard, with most sleeping. Barry is on watch with Madeline driving. 10 knots of wind from 080 and we are scooting across a glittery surface at 8.2 knots, heading 030... northward bound. I love this stuff.

Talk to you all soon... right now, I'm going to grab my iPod and park it in the cockpit for a while...

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl crew...

Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

Homeward Bound (... and I can get used to this)

2010-07-28T11:25:00.001-07:00

Ok,Ok... I know I still need to get to writing the post race skipper's wrap-up for the 2010 Pacific Cup... but it was a busy week. First off, there were all the great post race events in a wonderful tropical setting... a big distraction from the necessary projects of getting the boat cleaned up, and then ready for the return trip... yep, there is more sailing yet to be done!

On Monday, five students for our annual offshore cruise from Hawaii to San Francisco left Kaneohe a touch after first light. The going has been mild, but more or less as expected: we have bent tight reaching north and eastward, heading toward the Pacific High. It was a bit lumpy when we left the islands, but has really calmed down... almost too much so! Right now we have only about 8 to 9 knots breeze, but I am happy that we are in a good quick boat... we are clipping right along at 7 knots.

So this cruising thing... let me tell you, I can get used to this! Say goodbye to the freeze dried meals: dinner this evening was smoked ahi, with shitake mushrooms, filed tomatoes, red onion, and smoked ahi over pasta,with an apple/avocado salsa garnish. Seriously. Served in the cockpit right at sunset. And we were Still sitting around rubbing our bellies when this eerie glow on the horizon grabbed our attention... and we had the ensuing Moonrise Over The Pacific for desert. That racing stuff might be over-rated! but then we still have some 1800 miles to go, and we aren't hooking up any spinnakers in the foreseeable future...

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that we are still out here, with the Hula Girl bringing us home. We'll keep you all posted (it's also a bit of a interesting year for the return, as the Pacific High isn't doing what the Pacific High normally does). Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl, but I'm not 100% sure it's working out here. For anyone keeping score at home, right now (about 0300 Pacific Time the morning of August 28) we are at 24 49 N by 155 36 W, heading of 030M at about 7 knots.

Cheers all, have a nice slumber and we'll catch you in the morn...

Wayne Zittel and the Hula Girl crew.

Uh oh.

2010-07-16T17:21:00.001-07:00

Our plan was working...Until it wasn't. 165 miles to go... We'll know tomorrow how we did. Enjoying the ride for now on this fast, fun but sweaty, hot and stinky boat. (as opposed to the wet, cold stinky boat it was just a few days ago)

Doesn't appear that our lot is increasing during this port tack drag race to the finish. More headers than we'd like to see. Hoping to claw back the hour or so lead Deception gained yesterday, but expect it to be challenging. No matter the outcome tomorrow, this is an AMAZING charge to the finish.

If you don't like this, you don't like offshore sailing.

All good aboard "The Girl."

Apologies for a pretty lame blog. Nobody stepped up to take editorial responsibilities away from me. The coaches have been busy with regard to our watch schedule, driving, navigation and the more mundane shipboard duties of housekeeping, sail repair, kite packing, food prep, dishes, etc.

The J/World customer participants on our team have settled in and stepped up in all areas, from spinnaker peels, banding and packing, trimming and grinding, hanging on while the boat slides sideways after a sheet (the "Sully") gets fouled during a 30 knot "puff" from a squall, filling drink bottles with various color and flavoring substances, indulging in a endless potpourri of snack fud, determining the most appropriate hot sauce of the three for specific freeze dried meals, (Cholula on most, but definitely Tabasco on the Polynesian Chicken), crafting various nicknames for Kevin (a.k.a. Sully, Deck Ape, Looney Tunes, Bow Monkey, Monkey Boy, Curious George, Curious Jorge, Jorge Curioso, JC, and Boots, so far.) - even driving this great boat!

Wish us luck on our final 165!

Thanks to all who have supported us in this effort: J/World Partners, and the spouses and significant others of all aboard. We appreciate this great opportunity.

Aloha!

Barry, Wayne, Geoff, Kevin, Mark, Tom, Rick, Vern, Bob

Official race tracker is: http://www.ionearth.com/2010/pacific-cup/
Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

A Nice Day...

2010-07-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

Not too much to report from Day 7... 18:30 PDT.

A nice roll call of course, and a close dual for second shaping up. We're very pleased to be in the hunt for a top spot. Our Ti leaves are drying out, and need to get home asap! 610 NM to go.

(plus the level of slap happy and inappropriate humor is on an uptrend)

All of the "fresh" food was finally disposed of today. Any meat implying a need for refrigeration was discarded. Still, no shortage of food aboard!

Fresh squeezed lemonade was served out of Mt. Gay Rum cups this afternoon, refreshing for all, but disappointing to most!

(apologies to Mike Priest for inappropriate use of the sacred logo cups!)

Winds on the lower side - happy with our reachy course so far... 13-15 knots most of the day. Can't imagine it's better for those more south of us.

Only time will tell. Geesh - 2 minutes between us and Deception. Glad they've sorted out their water ingress issues at their rudder bearing, so we won't feel bad trying so hard to beat them!

To M.L. "Happy Cow!"

Cheers to all,

Barry and the Hula Girl Guys (this would be a very bad name for a band)

Official race tracker is: http://www.ionearth.com/2010/pacific-cup/
Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

Navigation

2010-07-13T23:21:00.001-07:00

2010 Pac Cup, Pro Forma Summary.

Start on Starboard, Tack to Port ASAP
Port board to Mile Rocks layline, Tack
Sail approximately 1220 nautical, Gybe onto Port
Sail to Finish

Truth be told, we put in two extra tacks before Pt. Bonita to stay in touch with our Division...
And, 823.6 miles out, who really knows what lies ahead. But, at present it looks like you could have sailed this Fun Race to Hawaii tacking twice and gybing once.

So, today's first big fun was...
SHOWERS!!!

All needed them, but not all took them. (ick)
We have a fresh water nozzle at the stern, so there are few acceptable excuses.
Stronger suggestion may be required tomorrow!

Next big fun was the gybe. Everyone was experiencing the strange phenomenon whereas it seems one leg is decisively shorter than the other, so we decided to gybe and start sailing towards Hawaii. The left leg will have a chance to rest, now.

We had a chafed sheet that needed to be changed, so Sully got to leave the boat for a bit of fun. Once we sorted out the choreography in the relatively tiny cockpit, it went pretty smoothly. But, after the gybe, we noticed a small tear in the kite. We did a pretty quick baldheaded drop, fix, band, bag and relaunch. So much for that freshly showered feeling. In the end, we figured this was better (and probably a whole lot less to botch) than two peels.

Chile Mac with Beans was a big hit for dinner. Hopefully no significant downside to that...

We've put a lot of faith in NOAA's 96 hr surface forcasts... Hoping our routing keeps us in fresh breeze, where others may stumble into some light stuff. Fingers crossed.

(and if anyone from Horizon is reading this, I may or may not be bluffing)

822 to go!

Official race tracker is: http://www.ionearth.com/2010/pacific-cup/
Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

Hula Girl is Dancing

2010-07-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

Aloha!

Kite up at 0900! 1.5 oz 3A to be exact. Hopefully tolerant of our course and 22-25 kt winds.
So, the Hula Girl is dancing, on her return to Hawaii!

Most of the gang still on deck, so I assume they're liking it!
Since the kite went up, we've been averaging 14.5 knots with the top speed recorded just over 20 knots.

920 down. 1150 to go!

Casualties of the dry ice meltdown have been discarded. Some on deck were not too pleased by the aroma as they jetisoned the nearly explosive bag salads.

Not sure we'll be able to tear down the course with the kite up at night, but expecting to sag down to rhumbline, and reach back up during the night. In the meantime, Wayne and Kevin fighting for wheel time - damn near have to pull Kevin off the wheel!

Best to all,

Barry and the crew of Hula Girl

Official race tracker is: http://www.ionearth.com/2010/pacific-cup/
Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

First tastes of the fun race today!

2010-07-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

A 245 mile day is a pretty good day, by any stretch. Though scored in 5th so far, our remaining 1315 miles could mix things up a bit. We're sailing the boat pretty conservatively, so unlikely that we'll be able to catch the experienced programs who are dialed-in for this sort of thing. (and unlikely that I'll be able to claim a bottle of Mt. Gay sitting at the KYC bar for the first to finish between Horizon and us.

Wind looks like it could go light, south of the rhumb line as the High ticks north and east and some influence by what seems to be a low energy low to the south of us.

Had a reef in the main for several hours today, as winds were consistently over 25. Pretty much held the same speed with the reefed main, gen staysail and blast reacher. 17 is the top speed recorded so far...

Spot should be updating as I send this. Hopefully the blog is, too. (as I had reports that it wasn't)

On a positive note, all aboard took part in tonight's main course: Lasagna with Meat Sauce. That's a good sign!

Spot should be updating as I write this.

Best to all!

Barry and the Hula Girl Boys

Official race tracker is: http://www.ionearth.com/2010/pacific-cup/
Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

First was short lived!

2010-07-11T03:54:00.002-07:00

It's always nice to be on the top of the leader board, but it doesn't really meaning anything on days one through three, as boats have cast their best interpretation of the pre-race weather analysis and the conditions they've been experiencing - all in an effort to minimize miles sailed and maximize boat speed in the right direction.

We've stuck to our original "Great Circle" strategy, with the hope and expectation that we'll be on the southern edge of good (enough) pressure from the High without sailing too far north. We see no reason to go south - unless they continue to get good pressure and a lift right to Island.

We've been sailing with our blast reacher and genoa staysail up most of today. On the edge of wind direction and velocity several times to put up a kite, but have stayed in this configuration to maintain this course and make the boat relatively easy to handle. Still doing good speed, but I'm sure our competition are able to push a little harder with full crews of seasoned veterans. We're doing 9-11 in wind of 17-20 from the north.

Though a couple of us have fought through various occasions of sea sickness, all are fine aboard the Hula Girl.

Sadly, our dry ice that was meant to last 4-6 days has given up on Day 3. Hopefully most of the fresh produce is good for a day or two. We might have to lose some of the non-cured lunch meats and eat softer cheese ;-)

I think we have enough Snickers bars alone to make it to Hawaii, though.

Dark and foggy night, and warmer because of it. Looking forward to the growing moon, shedding more layers and a boat shower!

Good Evening!

2010-07-11T03:54:00.001-07:00

Due to user error - Blog Posts were sent to the wrong address.
This was sent on night one:

Life is good aboard Hula Girl (HG from now on).

We left San Francisco is 14-16 from the West, #3 and full main... Went for a non-aggressive, STBD start, footed under Condor for clear air, and exited the Bay on port, until a fat layline towards Mile Rocks.

We talked back to the shipping lane to stay in touch with our division, and finally decided we'd had enough sailing AWAY from Hawaii. So, off to the Great Circle, direct route... well to windward of Condor and apparently more South than the others... Saw a few pods of Humbacks passing south of the Farallones. Nice for all to see the wildlife! I enjoyed the view from afar, too.

We changed up to our #1 jib for a while, and then our 3, and finally tucked a reef in our main as the wind has stayed up and gone right more, and earlier than forecast.

Trucking along doing 8.5, staying in touch with a great circle route.

A big thanks to all of the people and partners who helped us in our preparations for this race: The Waterfront Hotel, Miss Pearl's, Spinlok, Mclube, West Marine (and particularly Dan and the gang at the Alameda store), Expedition. The Dominos gang did great getting us pizzas at 0945. They were meant to be dinner, but were pretty well consumed by 1400. Sandwiches from Autobahn Cafe in Oakland made for great dinner! (hopefully all remains well in Oakland)

Off to check the weather forecast and get back on deck.

Cheers from HG,

Barry, Wayne, Geoff, Bob, Sully, Mark, Vern, Rick and Tom

Official race tracker is: http://www.ionearth.com/2010/pacific-cup/
Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

This will be the fun race, when we can sail downwind!

2010-07-11T03:54:00.000-07:00

Due to user error - Blog Posts were sent to the wrong address.
This was sent on night two:

Hello!

A bit bumpy this early evening, as it's still a largely upwind race to Hawaii, though perhaps we are seeing a persistent clocking, that bears hints of easing the sheets and shifting gears through our sail inventory: Blast reacher, Jib Top and spinnakers...

Getting ready to download weather, and then make the first batch of freeze dried dinner. Wanted to get a quick message out, though.

Hula Girl is trucking (and bucking) along in 12-16 knots from 300-310 and 2-3 ft seas from the north (hints of downwind in our future?)

Best to all!

Barry and the crew of J/World's Hula Girl

----------
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for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Good Evening!

2010-07-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Life is good aboard Hula Girl (HG from now on).

We changed up to our #1 jib for a while, and then our 3, and finally tucked a reef in our main as the wind has stayed up and gone right more, and earlier than forecast.

Trucking along doing 8.5, staying in touch with a great circle route.

Off to check the weather forecast and get back on deck.

Cheers from HG,

Barry, Wayne, Geoff, Bob, Sully, Mark, Vern, Rick and Tom

Official race tracker is: http://www.ionearth.com/2010/pacific-cup/
Our Spot tracker page is: http://tinyurl.com/hulagirl

Pacific Cup Coming Up!

2010-06-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

Space aboard the legendary Hula Girl still available!

There's a buzz around San Francisco Bay right now. At every marina in town, you'll notice select boats being given lots of attention. And out jetting around Alcatraz you might notice some boats from far and wide shaking down the systems, taking a look at the sails, and getting ready the "Fun Race to Hawaii!"

Yes, the Pacific Cup race from San Francisco to the north shore of Oahu starts in early July. World renowned for the great competition mixed with seriously good times, this race takes the fleet into some of the finest sailing conditions you'll ever find: miles and miles of downwind surfing on crystal blue swells in tropical conditions.

Team J/World will be racing over to the Islands on Hula Girl, a turboed Santa Cruz 50 built and optimized for offshore events just like the Pac Cup. This is a fully managed, turn-key program, overseen by three J World coaches. You just show up and race...

"I wanted to thank you for a wonderful trip and the experience of a lifetime. I was and remain extremely impressed with all the preparation and hard work that you put in to make this trip a success for the students. I took from this experience not only a great deal of knowledge on ocean sailing, but also increased confidence in my ability as a sailor." - MC, after the 2008 Pacific Cup

We meet as a team on July 5, and our start is on July 8. We expect the race to be from 9-11 days. Then of course everyone is invited to kick back in Hawaii and join us for the closing ceremonies at Kaneohe Yacht Club.

So if you are interested in the adventure of a lifetime on an exciting boat where everyone gets to be an active member of the team, this is the perfect opportunity. And if you are thinking you would like to enter your own boat in offshore events some day, our coaches will teach you all the tricks of the trade and help you hit the ground running (so to speak, of course!).

We are trying to finalize the team (and want to get you sized for the team gear!), so contact asap!

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Boatshow Preview....

2010-03-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

Strictly Sail Pacific

The Strictly Sail Pacific boatshow will be happening in Jack London Square in Oakland on April 15-18. This is a must-do for die-hard enthusiasts, and for anyone interested in getting involved in sailing.

J/World will be out on the docks again this year, and we'll have our BoatShare J/105 on display. If you have ever been interested in fractional sailing, swing by and take a look.... and of course we'll have info on all our classes and programs as well.

J/105 Racing Clinic

Our annual Spring J/105 Racing Clinic will be held on May 22-23 out of our Jack London Square facility. This event is open to both individuals and full teams. Sail trim, sail handling, boat handling, tuning and so on are all topics of discussion. Everyone gets to rotate thru all the jobs aboard, and will come out of the session able to tackle any job aboard the boat.

This is a fantastic way for crews to get up to speed for the coming season, for skippers to chip the rust off, and for sailors of all types to broaden their overall skills.

Boat owners who wish to attend with their own boats can do so for free! Space is limited, so make your plans early. For full information, please contact us or click here

Aloha Racers and Cruisers!

So whether you are into racing or cruising, our annual trip to Hawaii has something for you. In early July, the J/World team takes off on the 2010 Pacific Cup, racing our turboed Santa Cruz 50 with six sailors plus three coaches from San Francisco to Kaneohe Bay. The Pac Cup is a fantastic event, and the crossing to Hawaii is a truly memorable passage. We have only two berths available, so go here for more info.

And so if the racing trip isn't your cup of tea, maybe you'd like to join our annual offshore cruise from Hawaii back to California. This is a perfect way to click off some offshore miles and build your experience under the watchful instruction of our offshore coaches. We'll cover everything, and you'll do everything: standing watches, navigating, helming, weather routing, radio communications, and so on... everyone is an active and equal member of the team. Learn more here.

Also, tons of Learn to Sail courses happening on San Francisco Bay this Spring! What are you waiting for??

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

MEXORC! (Tales of Tsunamis and Dignitaries)

2010-03-03T18:42:00.001-08:00

MEXORC is six days of buoy and short distance racing in Banderas Bay. The event includes most of the boats that raced into town from California, some local teams, and a number of boats who come up from Acapulco. Run every two years, this event is always a huge production, and this year was no exception!

So the Tsunami...
The wave rolled through Banderas Bay on our practice day kicking up some pretty wild currents. There was a river running across the harbor doing an easy three knots which had the docks throwing up bow-waves! Then the water went up, then back down, a swing of about three feet in a 15 minute window... strange things 'round here.

And the Dignitaries...
They really pull out all the stops for this event, and this year they have outdone themselves: the regatta was kicked off by the President of Mexico! But not only was President Calderon present for the first day of racing, but on the final day he was watching racing from the committee boat, running down a long line of sailors and locals along the embarcadero shaking hands, and (of course) politicking away with speeches.

Yep... that's El Presidente, right after he ambled over, shook my hand, and congratulated us for a great pin-end start and nailing the first shift in the final race... Well, ok, that's only part true...

And the Parties...
Nightly parties with dinners and hosted drinks for all are just the norm around here. I can get used to this. The Tuesday night event, hosted at the private Las Caletas Beach (including water taxi rides home) was a truly special happening...

And Then They Were Off....
Oh yeah, the racing.... what can I say, it's nearly perfect. Kimball Livingston of Sail Magazine described it as follows:

Regata Copa México [MEXORC] opened on Sunday out of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, on Bahia de Banderas, which I will say for the umpteenth time is one of the best places in the world to sail.

Got that right. And this year was no exception. The first part of the week was classic MEXORC racing: clear skies, and hearty afternoon thermals stepping up every afternoon. Midweek the weather pattern shifted and we had some slightly more, shall we say 'variable' winds (ok, there might have been some more choice words uttered by some tacticians when the 80+ degree shifts rolled thru the course!). But overall, it was outstanding.

Josh and Eugenie were the coaches aboard Bob Musor's J/130 Sceptre. We also had four students aboard. Everyone on the team did a great job and are to be commended for tacking such a challenging event! People swapped positions and worked on whatever skills they were interested in polishing for their local racing.

Barry was racing onboard the brand-spanking-new 70 foot Pendragon VI (above). Competing in her very first regatta provided a bit of a shakedown-under-fire, but she showed some bursts of speed as they wound her up towards the end of the week.

I was the navigator aboard the Transpac 52 Flash (above), with Quantum's Jeff Thorpe calling shots and my good friend (and USCG insider) Kevin Sullivan on the pointy end). The crew were mostly San Franciscans, but many aboard hadn't sailed on that boat together before, but we still rallied to the cause. All things considered, the third place overall that we ended up with wasn't too bad.

So that's the MEXORC report. There's more on Kimball's blog. We'll do it again in two years.

Can't wait that long? How about this:

Banderas Bay Clinic & Regatta
Charter Boats Available!

The BANDERAS BAY CLINIC and REGATTA is our most popular event this time of year. Come join us for an three day clinic/workshop aboard our J/80s, then race in the Banderas Bay Regatta! This is a great way to sharpen your skills and have a really fun time doing it. Come as an individual or a group.

We also have boats available for charter for the Banderas Bay Regatta, including a J/80!! So come on down with your team and get ready for some fun...

Kimball Livingston of Sail Magazine says of Banderas Bay: "I will say for the umpteenth time [it] is one of the best places in the world to sail." Come check it out for yourself.

Click here for more info....

J/105 Racing Clinic

Our annual Spring J/105 Racing Clinic will be held on May 22-23 out of our Jack London Square facility. This event is open to both individuals and full teams. Boat owners who wish to attend with their own boats can do so for free! For full information, please contact us or click here.

Combo Course:
Performance Cruising + 3 Day Liveaboard

We are offering one of our combo course comprised of out Performance Cruising class coupled with a Three Day Liveaboard Cruising course in San Francisco on April 5-11. This is a tremendous value and a great way to take your skills to a whole new level. You will sail on boats from 26 to 40 feet, and cover everything from advanced sail trim to diesel engines... Contact us for more info.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

The Racers Have Come To Town...

2010-02-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

It's always an interesting time of year when the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Racers pull into town... a whole fleet of friends come thru town, and is always feels a bit strange to see the familiar faces in this context. It would be like having your whole weekend cycling club or soccer team showing up at your office building on some random Tuesday...

Congratulations to Peligroso, the Kernan designed 70 footer which has chalked up another win, this time under new Mexican ownership (Lorenzo Berho). They sailed a well-played race and even broke the previous record. Unfortunately for them, the RP 78 Akela led them to the finish, nabbing line honors and the record, but the corrected win overall went to Peligroso. By all reports, it was an epic year, with tales of wild surfing rides abounding.

Peligroso now sails under a Mexican flag...

So everyone rolled into town, and the crews drenched their thirsts and dried their gear... and now...

... and now we are into MEXORC, six days of buoy and short distance racing in Banderas Bay. The event includes most of the boats that raced into town from California, some local teams, and a number of boats who come up from Acapulco. Run every two years, this event is always a huge production. This year, the President of Mexico oversaw the opening of the event!

Four fleets are competing, and J World has entered a J/120 with a team of coaches and students. We also have staff members racing onboard the brand-spanking-new 70 foot Pendragon VI and yours truly is aboard the Transpac 52 Flash.

Anyway, more reports soon...

Wayne Zittel

Hola Hula Girl...

2010-02-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

Adios, Amiga....

Many of you already know about the loss of one of our most traveled boats, and the great responses of the instructors and crew aboard her at the time of the crisis. Many thanks to everyone for all the kind words and support offered up... it meant a lot to us!

For those of you who have not heard, we sadly report that in early November, approximately 200 miles south of San Diego, while participating in a large cruising rally off the coast of Baja, our J/120 was struck by whales and sank quickly. The US Coast Guard did a fantastic job getting all the crew to safety very quickly, and they have earned our eternal gratitude! I invite everyone to take a look at our blog for a full account of the incident. That's our cover-girl in the picture on the same rally in 2007. Truly amazing story.... I miss the ol' girl, and the whole thing still has me in shock...

Hola Hula Girl....

But, as they say, when a door closes, a door opens. We here at J/World couldn't sit idle and needed a boat to continue our renowned offshore and racing programs. And what a boat we have found.

J World is proud to announce the newest member to our fleet, Hula Girl, a turboed Santa Cruz 50 which needs no introduction to most West Coast racers. Formerly Gone With the Wind, and most recently the personal boat of Paul Cayard (one of the most accomplished yacht racers in the world), she has a fantastic race record and became the stuff of legend when - among many other accomplishments - she surfed to victory in Coastal Cup, hitting 27.5 knots!! For more about Hula Girl, visit here.
We are very excited to have Hula Girl in our stables. In race mode, she will be used for coached programs in Transpac, Pacific Cup, the Newport to Cabo Race, and the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race. She will also be available for charter in select events, including Big Boat Series, MEXORC, Long Beach Race Week, and Newport to Ensenada.
In cruising mode, she will be doing our annual West Coast Cruise from San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta, and our annual cruise from Hawaii to San Francisco.

Upcoming Events...

It's time to plan your winter training! We have racing weeks running monthly in Puerto Vallarta (next one starts Feb 15 and is shaping up to be a great one), and in March there are a couple of racing events, including MEXORC and our annual Clinic + Banderas Bay Regatta.

MEXORC is held every two years following the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race. The California based boats, local racers, and a large contingent from Acapulco converge on Banderas Bay for seven days of windward-leeward and distance races. The race organizers always put together a phenomenal social agenda to complement the on-the-water activities, and this year's host resort (the Marival) is offering deeply discounted accommodations, and we here at J World were able to put together an all-inclusive package. Our team of six clients and three coaches will be racing aboard a J/130... there is only one space left available, so click here for more info...

The BANDERAS BAY CLINIC and REGATTA is our most popular event each year. Come join us for an three day clinic/workshop aboard our J/80s, then race in the Banderas Bay Regatta! This is a great way to sharpen your skills and have a really fun time doing it. Come as an individual or a group... Click here for more info....

Snakes on a Boat??

2010-01-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

Ok. I've seen a lot of things around the docks, but this was new to me. One morning last week, instructors headed down to the boats to get the ready for the day... you know, the usual preparations: open the hatch-boards and let the boats air out. Setup the horseshoe rings. Dry the spinnakers. Check the lifejackets. Ice in the cooler. And coax the snakes out of the rigging...

Hold on, say what?

I was in the Bay Area when Josh and Eugenie relayed that apparently a critter had slithered it's way up to what it felt was a safe perch. I really thought they had been working in the sun far too long, but they sent me this photo:

Yep, that's a snake in the rigging of our J/80. Now this isn't your run-of-the-mill garden snake... we're talking boa here. So this critter managed to slide all the way down the dock, onto a boat, and up the rig?? Pretty tough snake. I'll be proud wearing his hide on my belt. Whoa! Back off, just kidding of course... our trusty faithful staff and the great folks at Paradise Village managed to get the reptile out of the standing rigging and made sure the snake was returned to it's natural habitat (the golf course). Easy, just kidding again... man, can't anybody take a joke these days?

Not sure what the snake was doing up there... Josh mounted some theory about the snake making the mistake that it was discontinuous rigging and was just going aloft to take a couple turns off the D2s... or some such nonsense (but it WAS light the next day... hmmm.....). But then again, maybe this whole thing was a practical joke.... does anybody know what Jeff was up to that night???

Ok, and if that wasn't crazy enough, our good friend Jim sent us these pictures of a waterspout taken from the deck of his Punta Mita condo the same week:

In all my years down here, I have never seen anything like that!

We had some strange days (weather wise) down here towards the latter part of last year, but wow, Mother Nature is making up for it. I seriously couldn't dream of better sailing conditions than we are having now!

Learn to Sail courses happening all the time.
Intermediate and Basic Cruising classes running regularly.
Race Week in January.
MEXORC Regatta in early March.
Banderas Bay Regatta and Clinic in mid-March.

Time for some seriously good sailing...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Playing For The Other Team

2010-01-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

So I met this guy the other night who claimed he saved a whale earlier in the day... hah! Oh how the stories fly after a cerveza or two at the bars in Mexico. Really, this guy - we'll call him 'Pete' - said that he alone, wielding a knife, cut one of the beasts free of a net in which it had become ensnared.

Right. And I walked on the moon, paddled into Waimea before anyone knew about it, and surfed my Westsail 32 at 20+ knots...

"No, really, it happened... it's on YouTube," that 'Pete' told me. So the next day, at an idle moment, curiosity got the best of me and click click click, and whadda' ya know... there in the great digital library, in the bastion of truth, was the proof that 'Pete' was a whale lover. I know there was something about that guy that I didn't like... I mean, really, sympathy for the boat-killers??? (for those of you who don't know, see here for the full story).

Ok, seriously, pretty cool. Whales abound in Puerto Vallarta, and it gets to the point where we don't think twice when we see them. But kudos to Pete and company. Not only did they notice that the whale wasn't moving, but they checked it out and saw that it was stuck in a net. And apparently the net was anchored and/or caught on the bottom, so the whale wasn't going anywhere, and seemed to be having a hard time just getting to the surface to get air.

So 'Pete' goes out there in this little blow up boat and floats right over the whale cutting it free. Pretty cool to see it swim away in the video, and must have felt good to the whole rescue team. I wish I could remember the boat name (that cerveza thing again), but it was something appropriate, like "Cutting Loose" or "Breaking Free" (apologies in advance to the skipper and crew, because I am sure I butchered the name, but it's 'Pete's' fault. I'm not sure why, but it is).

Cheers everyone,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

A Happy New Year Indeed....

2010-01-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone... we've been quite busy down here in our Puerto Vallarta sailing Paradise over the holiday season, and we hope it was equally enjoyable for all of you. I wanted to take a moment to touch base since we have a whole series of great events coming up...

In January and Februrary we have numerous Learn-to-Sail courses, Performance Cruising classes, and Cruising opportunities. If the winter blues have set in, the wonderfully sunny Banderas Bay - boasting spectacular wildlife, scenery, and (of course) sailing - provides a perfect getaway. Flights are short (a touch over three hours from San Francisco, for example), and there are great room rates this time of year.

The week of February 15 we have a solid racing week taking shape. Come down and sharpen your blade for the 2010 season while all your fleet members are getting rusty!

Saturday February 27th the biennial MEXORC kicks in. This week long racing event is popular amongst the US based boats which race down from California in February, the local boats in PV, and the strong racing fleet in Acapulco. Everyone converges on Banderas Bay for a mix of windward/leeward and distance races. J/World will be racing a J/130 in the event, with three coaches aboard. You can click here for more info if you are interested, but you had better act quickly since we only have one or two spaces left!

Then on March 14 our annual Racing Clinic / Banderas Bay Regatta begins. We host a three day clinic aboard our J/80s, then each boat races in the event with one of our coaches aboard. All the participants rotate thru all the positions aboard, and the 3:1 student to instructor ratio guarantees everyone a lot of personal attention. Click here for more info.

So that's most of the news for now... but stay tuned as we expect to be making a big announcement in the next week or two! There has been a lot happening at J World, the best Sailing School in America, about which we are truly excited...

So take a break and come get your sailing fix...

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Ahhhhhh.....

2009-12-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

So it's was a bit of a hectic start to our winter season in Mexico (see our earlier entries for details if you missed all the action), but things are settling down now, and we are easing into the wonderful winter south of the border.

Every year when we get down to our sailing base in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, I am amazed with how much is going on... and this year that is probably true more than ever before. I remember my first trip down here in the early 1980s, sailing into Banderas Bay on the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta race. The full coastline along the northern shore had not a single structure that I recall seeing.... it was all unspoiled beaches. Finding Marina Vallarta was always a bit of a challenge since it was lost in the foliage (now it's lost in the resorts!). We would pull into Marina Vallarta, an oasis of hotels and restaurants which was a good distance from downtown. I remember wondering why they built a marina so far away from the city...

Well, now that marina is not only buried in resorts/homes/shopping plazas, but it is one of three yacht harbors in the region. There are two boatyards, two fuel docks, a yacht club with great youth sailing program, and so on.... but the one thing that remains: These amazing days for sailing: great winds, the spectacular mountains lining the Bay to the south, the wildlife, the weather.

This is going to be a busy season: We have a great racing week taking shape in February, then a series of special events dominate the March calendar: First off, there is MEXORC, a series of races on Banderas Bay (we'll be entering a J/130 in the regatta, and still have a couple of spaces left). Then there is Copa Mexico, what is turning out to be a huge event for J/24s (some 60+ boats coming!) and kitesurfers to boot. Following this is the ever-popular Banderas Bay Regatta, including the three day J World clinic prior to the event. We still have boats and crew spaces available.

And for the cruisers, our Livaeaboard Cruising Courses continue to explore the wonders of Banderas Bay. Here's the mighty Tomatillo (our Jeanneau 43DS) strutting her stuff... her three cabin layout makes her a perfect boat for our cruising courses...

Anyway, that's it for now from our Puerto Vallarta sailing center... there is a lot going on here at J World, so we'll be posting reports with increasing frequency... and if you want all the latest info, don't hesitate to give us a call at 800-910-1101.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Loss Of The Sailing Vessel J/World - Part 4

2009-11-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

Part IV

Barry scrambled to get inside the liferaft so we helped push him in... and right into all the water inside it. He didn’t expect to be swimming inside the raft as well. I decided to get in, as I knew I was able to lift myself in. Slight moment of disorientation as you enter and go back underwater, but when my head popped up, I was good. It felt like the bottom was being pulled down (because of the weight of the water) so I asked everybody to check lines around and make sure we weren’t still attached to the boat. Barry said something like we needed to get the water out of the raft before anybody could come in and I said, no way, everybody comes in and then we bail. I told Judy to come in next and asked Mark to help push her in. I told her hold her breath, we are sitting in water. She came in and sat in the back. I saw a bottle of dish liquid soap float by so I asked Mark to grab it. I tossed it inside the raft. I asked again Mark and Ray to go around the liferaft and check to make sure nothing is pulling down but told them to not under any circumstances to let go of the raft. Mark came in first then Ray.

First was to get all the water out. Ray used his hat as I started bailing with my baseball hat. Barry emptied his bag and started using that. I made Judy make a mayday call. She was repeating the lat and lon and going from 16 to 69. I said to wait a bit for people to answer. Still Nothing! I heard the EPIRB beep, so Barry said to keep the antenna up and towards the opening, Judy grabbed it and did so as it was floating inside the raft. I took the piece of paper with lat and long for her to look at it, although I had made them memorize it in the cockpit when I came back up. (29’18.4N and 116’39.W) I explained to her what to say slowly articulate and wait before repeating or changing channels.

My hand was hurting but I kept on bailing, this time I took my shoe and used it as a cup. It seemed to work better. Barry did another VHF call from his radio. I said it would be best if we conserved the batteries and only do radio calls every ½ hr or so. I said that we were still far out and that eventually all the boats from the Baja Ha-Ha rally that had stopped at Sin Quintin would make it down and would be able to hear us. I took one of the paddles and turned the raft around as waves and wind were crashing inside. Barry and Ray were still bailing with the bag together. One had the bottom and one the top. The water was slowly coming down. I could now see part of the wall.

Now the wind was pushing the roof and the raft in the right direction. The waves were pushing us towards shore. Ray got tired, then Mark took over for Ray and Ray sat in the back and became silent. He said he had to remember to breathe. I kept trying to be uplifting and tell jokes and explain how things were going to be. I explained how the EPIRB worked, that the USCG was already on the phone with Wayne, and his parents were also on the contact list. I assured them that he would confirm our position, and that they were already probably on their way. I said that all the Ha-Ha boats were on their way down and that soon we’ll see some and/or have radio contact. I explained that the seas and the winds were in our favor and pushing towards land. I kept asking everyone one by one if they were ok. I told Judy that I would take care of her and bring her home; I told them I was the captain and I was going to take them all home safely. I was trying to keep the morale up. I told Judy to pray, to pray to god. She did another mayday call. I did one in Spanish again and in English and again on 69. I saw 2 things float by: my baby powder bottle, and my Sarachi hot sauce. Some waves were crashing on top of the raft and water was coming in thru the little fresh water collection drain tube. Barry and Ray got seasick.

After a good two hours of bailing water out, we were now sitting in little puddles. We could see what we had and I decided to inventory what we had and see what the next step was. The line from the sea anchor, the line from the EPIRB, the lines from the spare caps in the liferaft, the line that was used to pull the raft and inflate it, the line that’s attached to a doughnut that you throw over at someone and another white line were all tangled. Mark and I untangled the lines and put things away. Ray was quiet, but ok. I emptied the dish soap in the ocean and gave the bottle to Judy so she could continue bailing some water. I gave Ray my shoe so he could continue on his side. They would pass it to me and I would toss it over board. I had to pee, so I took my lifejacket and my top off. I took my foulies pants down, and while Barry and Mark were holding my legs I stuck my butt over board. I sat there very comfortably. I had to put everything back on. Wet and cold, we were all shivering.

I decided to inventory and check out what we had in the life raft’s emergency bag. There was a list of everything in it. I made Ray open it and pass me everything one by one. I would read it, and then I would explain what everything was. We put the water emergency rations in the waterproof bag. I put all the flares, repair kit etc in the original plastic bag. The raft felt really unstable and we tried not to move too much. I took the flares and showed everybody which kinds and how they worked. I took the ‘how to survive in a liferaft guide’ and started reading. I asked everybody to pay attention. It said a bunch of stuff, but basically, first pump out water, second set sea anchor, third pump floor etc. etc. It explained how we should not eat or drink for the first 24hrs. We had no food, but I told everyone that we now had to start to mentally prepare ourselves for a 3-day stay. I said we weren’t going to drink anything, expect right now everybody could get a cap full of water with a Dramamine; I didn’t want anybody else seasick. Barry and Ray vomited theirs back out. Barry turned on his GPS and according to the new longitude I reassured everyone saying we were heading towards shore and in the right direction. I took the blue pump from the bag and asked Mark to pump the floor up. I had seen the valve on the left corner, and I asked everyone to check around themselves to see if there was not another. It was the only one. He unscrewed the top and as no air was coming out and attached the fitting and started pumping. I heard Ray say, "I hear something." I heard this deep engine roar, like a big ship far away. I lifted my body out the opening and looked out; straight out west was a chopper.

I immediately recognized the US Coast Guard colors. It was orange with that white stripe. I yelled it’s the coast guard, it’s the US coat guard helicopter. They’re here for us. I don’t think they believed me because nobody said anything. I said flare, flare, lets send a flare. Judy didn’t want to waste one because it was daylight. They were abeam of us and if that flare didn’t go fast they would pass us. I grabbed it, Barry held me on to my waist and I unscrewed the bottom, held on the ridged part and pulled the string. It immediately shot out. I aimed it right at them, high up. It went straight up and as its making its way down it becomes red. The helicopter kept going, I couldn’t believe it. I then yelled radio, radio them. Barry got on and said something like helicopter or USCG this is JWorld. They immediately responded: "Vessel hailing USCG helicopter, come in." I can’t remember what Barry said but they asked for our position so Barry checked on his GPS, and while he did so I got on with my VHF and said we are not in a boat we are in a liferaft, I repeat we are in a liferaft and you just passed us, you just passed us, please turn around. I really think it slowed down and I saw it make a big u-turn. They said something and I saw them come right at us. I said you are heading right for us; you are heading right for us. I heard him say affirmative we have a visual, we see you. I looked down at everybody in the raft and said we are saved, they are here and they see us.

I got on the radio and said that we had 5 people onboard, all in lifejackets and that we were all well. They said to stand by and they would assess the situation. It came right next to us, and I told everyone we were going to ok. I kneeled down and breathed a sigh of relief. They said they were going to send a diver down and that he would give us direction on how he would take us one by one into the basket. I saw the diver sit on the opening with his flippers on and as they were lowering him down I told everybody one by one to have a look.

Wayne here... so that is Eugenie's account. At about that moment, USCG's Kevin Sullivan, the Command Duty Officer in the USCG District Eleven Command Center, called me and told me that the helicopter was lifting five people out of a liferaft. Everyone was ok.

Small world: here's a shot of our trusty blue boat in better days... this was in the 2008 Rolex Big Boat Series, on the way to a final position of third overall. See that guy up front, running the tack of the spinnaker out for a set? That is LT Kevin Sullivan up there.

Made the cover for a fine performance too:

Thank again, Kevin, and to the whole group at the USCG!

Anyhow, I'll be back in a couple of days to follow up with some general comments and observations... we can all learn a lot from the misfortunes that befell our team, and from the gear, the actions, and the help that contributed to their speedy and safe return home..

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Loss Of The Sailing Vessel J/World - Part 3

2009-11-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

Part III

I went down to make another mayday call for the fleet on 69 and on 16, in both Spanish and in English. I activated the distress button on the VHF. Barry came down and grabbed his bag and a few things. I took from the chart table the boat’s documents. Even though the water was now almost thigh high, Mark came down and grabbed his passport and money. I went up in the cockpit and Barry started sending tin cans, water bottles, bread, any food items he found up to the cockpit. I emptied one of my watertight bags (the one with the computer) and Judy told me I wouldn’t need it, so I threw it down into the cabin, and filled the bag with food. I put my papers and some the other items in my other water tight bag, sealed it and attached a fender to it. Barry came back up as the water was now mid-stair level. His floating pelican case with cell phone inside floated by, and he grabbed it.

I told everybody that I will take care of them, just to stay calm and wait to orders. I told everybody to grab onto a bag, and not to go overboard yet, we will all go into the liferaft together when its time. I explained the EPIRB had been activated and that the USCG was getting the signal as I spoke. I told them all that we were going to be OK. I took Ray forward to the liferaft in front of the dodger. I explained to him how it worked and what his job was going to be and how it was going to unfold. I made him read the instructions; there are little drawings on the top of the canister. He looked at me as if I was mad to make him read instructions in a time like this. So I just explained it. I took the line, made him check that it was attached to the frame to the boat. I told him we would pull this quite a ways for it to pop out and inflate on its own. His job was to hold on to the line so the liferaft wouldn’t fly away. I told him this wasn’t going to happen until I was certain the boat was going down because we had a much better chance of being spotted on the boat. I told him to stand-by and hold on to the railing. I went back to the cockpit to make sure everybody was ready and prepared. I don’t know how one can be ready, or how you know if you have everything, but when I saw the water now at the top of the stairs and the first wave rolling on the bow, I knew it was time.

I looked at Barry and said now is the time to deploy the liferaft. He agreed. I said come with me. The boat was now just bobbing on port tack, sails were mostly luffing water outside almost same level with water inside. I secretly hoped we could float like this for a while. Barry turned to me, said something like we’re going to make it fine and we are going to live this one out, so we shook hands saying let’s do this, this is it. Hug, kiss, and pat on the back. We pulled the line from the canister. I remembered the change in color from the line means you are almost there. When I saw the red part, I said wait, wait, let’s make sure this doesn’t get blown away. So I made a clove hitch on the railing. Ray was still holding to his end. I told him not to let go. The first real big wave came across the deck. I started pushing the canister down, so it would go overboard but it started to inflate on top of the boat with a part of the raft under the lifeline, inflating now on both sides. Moment of pure panic, now the lifeline is going to prevent it from inflating and the boat is going to take it down with it. I started pulling, and pushing from the other side; I told Barry and Ray to pull, to pull it hard so it would dislodge itself from under the lifeline. It was making really loud sounds, all different. It sounded like it was being popped more than inflated. I turned around and started to go towards the cockpit, I remembered the bolt cutters in the garage. The cockpit was under water, I was not going under water. I wanted to go to the end of the life line at stern pulpit to cut it off, but the next wave completely inundated the cockpit, crashing over us, now we are swimming. As the raft popped free of the lifeline, I heard a loud air suction out of the galley port hole, the last of the air trapped inside the boat. Then the whole deck was under water. Then I felt the backstay right behind me… as the boat sank, the backstay gets closer and closer up to the little triangle at top of the mast. I saw Ray almost under it, I shoved him away as I backed out the other side, and I saw the top of the mast, with the wind indicator arrow and Windex, disappear 20 cm from my face.

I looked around, and did a head count, asked if everybody was ok. We were all around the liferaft; we were all in the water. There was nothing else. It all seemed to so quiet, I felt really small and abandoned. We were alone. The boat was gone.

I'll try to get the final portion detailing the rescue up on Friday....

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team....

Loss Of The Sailing Vessel J/World - Part 2

2009-11-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

Part II

I immediately came up when Barry said he had lost steerage. I lifted the port aft lazarette hatch and saw the rudder post swaying back and forth; it was no longer attached at the top bearing. I could see the beautiful turquoise water next to it. It was tearing the fiberglass all around it as it was swaying in all directions. I immediately removed the two jerry cans from there hoping that with less weight it would lift the stern up and stop the water from coming in. The whole base was under water. I went to the starboard lazarette and grabbed the emergency tiller (while doing so, I saw that the auto pilot had been torn apart and was hanging). There were the Type III lifejackets that I threw into the cockpit. I tried to hold the rudder post straight up so to put the emergency tiller into it with my hands, but the opening on top was huge, there was no lever, and the force that kept taking the post back and forth was too much for me. That’s when my hand got crushed against the black cockpit drains pipes and the rudder post. I asked Barry to help, Ray was there. He said, let’s put a line around it to control it. I went into the garage and gave him 2 lines, and saw the water inside there already pooling. I grabbed the mainsail cover and gave it to them and said here stuff the hole with this. I gave them another sail bag I found. I reached down and grabbed the manual bilge pump. The handle was at the pump housing inside the locker, and I stepped into the garage to retrieve it. The amount of water was alarming.

Barry started pumping. Then later Mark pumped. They never stopped pumping. I went down below and went straight for the EPIRB. I took it out, and handed it to Judy. I did not activate it yet. I was hopeful. I told her this is the most important thing we have and not to loose it and to keep it with her at all times no matter what. I said if you go down, it goes down with you. Under no circumstance was she to let it go. She stuffed it in her jacket. The water was at the floor boards and started to lift them up. I went to the radio and made a mayday call on VHF 69, then on 16, then back for the ha-ha fleet on 69. The SSB would not turn on. Maybe the tuner back by the rudder had been smashed. I don’t know and didn’t have time to look.

I lifted the chart table and grabbed a piece of the J Notes waterproof paper and wrote down the latitude and longitude and stuffed it in my pocket. I grabbed my VHF, a knife and a Leatherman. I was wearing boots so I took them off - I didn’t want to sink if we went swimming. I saw one of my shoes float by (among other things), I grabbed it and found the other one stuck inside the bilge board upside down. I put my shoes on. I made another mayday call on 16 and on 69. I went into my cabin (the quarter berth) and threw two watertight bags I had into the cockpit. I saw Judy’s handbag under the stairs, threw that to her. I put on my lifejacket. I checked to make sure everybody else still had theirs on. I found my gloves and put them on.

I came back up, Mark was still pumping, Barry and Ray had paused to try to secure the rudder post. They admitted it was futile. I opened the garage and grabbed the ditch bag. It was very heavy because it was sitting in water and completely soaked, I thought they were supposed to float. I made Ray deploy the M.O.M. device which deployed into the water and blew away from the boat. I deployed the Lifesling. I made them toss the 2 diesel jerry cans over board. I told Judy and Ray to detach their tethers from the jack lines, telling them they wouldn’t want to be attached to the boat if we sank. I grabbed the EPIRB from Judy and switched it on. I unrolled the little yellow line from the back and attached a bowline to her lifejacket. She stuffed it back into her jacket. I told the crew I had some bad news. They all turned around to me. I said I will not sugar coat this one, so here it is: the boat is sinking; we cannot contain it, so we will probably have to abandon ship. Be prepared, we will not go into the liferaft until we have to.

Loss Of The Sailing Vessel J/World - Part 1

2009-11-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

As the spray settles on the events surrounding the sinking of our J/120 off the coast of Baja, we have had time to start sorting thru the details and piece together what led to the loss of the boat, the abandoning of the vessel, and the swift rescue of her crew. There have been a tremendous amount of rumors and speculation which range from insightful to nutty, and there has been some mis-information...

I am guilty of a bit of the latter in that I initially reported that the boat sank in about 7 minutes. This came from a phone conversation with the skipper who was at the USCG base in San Diego after their helicopter rice, and she was still pretty amped. Anyone who knows Eugenie knows that she can fire off sentences like a gatling gun, and when she said the boat sank in seven minutes, what she meant and clarified later was that from the time they determined that there was no chance that they could save the vessel and that the water ingress was not to be diminished (essentially EPIRB on) until the time she saw the Windex slide by a couple of feet from her face, it was 5-7 minutes. The entire ordeal was more in the neighborhood of 45 minutes. So I stand corrected...

But now I am going to let Eugenie tell the incredible story:

Part I

At 10am we spotted as pod of whales. At first they appeared as action on the surface, bubble feeding or mating or other atypical activity. There was a weird feeling about their presence. Barry was driving, he was about to get off his shift (we all drove for an hour at a time). Winds 15 to 20knots, gusting 25 to 30, white caps top of the waves breaking, some pretty big. We were sailing on a broad reach, with a reefed main and small 90% jib. Seas 15 to 20 feet, with large swells, and we were surfing down the waves fast, at about 9-10 knots. I think Ray first said whale, as he spotted the initial one about 200 feet to port. We could see one, then down in the trough, and not and on top of wave, we saw another on our starboard.

Barry suddenly saw another in front of him, so he tried to head up, but because of the conditions and speed, he rounded-up. He said, “I am hard over, I have no steerage,” with the sails luffing momentarily. He recovered the boat, bore away and accelerated on course again, and as he surfed down the next wave, we all saw two whales about fifty feet away, and coming towards us. They were crossing on the port bow, and they dove down. Barry screamed something and I heard a big BANG, felt the boat stop and shake, like the keel had run aground. Another BANG and the boat rose up out of the water and shook sideways. The next blow was at the stern, lifting it, but I heard a crack and a tearing sound of fiberglass coming apart.

The wheel turned completely under Barry’s hands and I saw the engine control panel face plate (mounted on the bulkhead behind the wheel at knee level, just in front of the rudder post) hanging inside the cockpit. The cockpit shower compartment (underneath the engine panel) had been blown out towards the wheel as well. I could see the rudder shaft moving back and forth. The plastic inspection port cover for access to the upper rudder bearing had been literally blown off, and hit Barry in the back. I could see all of this from where I was standing in the companionway. I saw the whale’s fin or tail behind Barry, and somebody said, “Oh no, there’s blood in the water.”

Part II will be posted soon...

All of you out there have a safe watch, will you?

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

Thank you all!

2009-11-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone... just a quick note to say thank you to all the friends, alumni, and even strangers who have expressed their support. The whole crew very much appreciated it! And I have been overwhelmed by what a great sailing community we have, and how we really do have each-others backs. Very comforting to know...

I am proud of our whole team... and especially of our lead instructor on the cruise. The US Coast Guard Investigating Officer reported: "As I said on Wednesday night, your safe arrival to shore was a direct result of the quality of your master, Ms. Eugenie, who is the real hero. She quickly determined that the vessel was in trouble, made sound decisions concerning your safety, and directed all aboard with life saving instructions. On top of that, Ms. Eugenie, before departing safe harbor on your journey, insured that the vessel's equipment was operating properly. In short, a calm and decisive master and good reliable equipment saved your lives."

Well the helicopter didn't hurt either, but we appreciate his comments!

Anyway, the crew is recovering from the ordeal quite well, and we'll start posting some of the accounts of the accident here in the next couple of days. There was some mis-information disseminated initially (and yes, I got some of the facts wrong too!) but we'll make up for it with some in-depth details. In the J World spirit, we hope that our misfortune can benefit others, and we feel that there are some real lessons to be learned from this.

So stay tuned... I'll start posting details this weekend...

Cheers,

Wayne Zittel & the J World Team

2009-10-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hey All -

So it was an eventful day yesterday. In a brief, our J/120 has sunk, but everyone is safe and sound.

The boat was heading south in the Baja-Ha-Ha with two instructors (Eugenie and Barry) and three students on our annual cruise south to our Puerto Vallarta location. They put into Ensenada briefly for some minor repairs (a loose wire in the wiring harness seems to have been the culprit), then headed back out Tuesday morning. You can see their posts below, and they seemed to be aclimating well to shipboard life. I got an email from them in the evening reporting that all was fine and they were making good time. They made the scheduled roll call in the morning at 9am, and all was fine...

Here is what I know from the brief conversations I have had with the crew: about 10am, they came across a pod of whales. Their behavior was described as 'erratic.' One or more of the whales struck the boat multiple times, and the boat began taking on water at a rapid pace. It sounds like, not surprisingly, most of the damage was around the rudder. They made an attempt to bail the boat and get a distress call out on SSB, but it was clear very quickly that the boat was a loss. They activated the EPIRB (emergency beacon), boarded the liferaft, and the boat was reportedly gone within 7 minutes of the strike.

I was in contact with the the USCG from the time the EPIRB went off. They did an absolutely stellar job. Within four hours of receiving the initial distress call, they reported that they had safely lifted all five sailors into the helicopter and were returning to San Diego. Eugenie has a bruised hand, but there were no other injuries. I personally am in shock... this is the stuff you read about but you think will never really happen. You can make all the preparations in the world, load boat with experienced sailors, and still have unexpected consequences. A bit humbling, to be sure. We all need to remember that when we go sailing, we really go to sea in every sense.

I know we will get a good debrief from the crew, and we'll be sure to post more info and some 'lessons learned,' but I am tremendously relieved that everyone is safe. All of us here at J World are in deep gratitude to the folks of the USCG. Man, they run a great operation. And my appreciation goes out to Eugenie and Barry for a job well done, and to the crew who ended up with a lot more than they bargained for...

Anyway, that's the latest report from here... the boat was a great boat. She was hull #9, the ex-Gannett, ex-Crosswave, now known simply as "J World." She had a very sucessfull racing career on both coasts, and we sailed her some 10,000+ open ocean miles per year - not to mention subjecting her to all the abuses that students can dish out - and she took it in stride.

Anyway, thanks again to all of you out there for the support...

All the best,

Wayne Zittel

Productive Day

2009-10-27T18:27:00.001-07:00

Lumpy here, so this will be short...
Turned back last nite for Ensenada. Couple of small problems that we thought would be easy to resolve there, harder later down the track. Loose wires in the alternator wiring harness and minor oil leaks. I discovered that the gooseneck pin was working itself out, too. Good to find that when we did!

Cooked a big breakfast: hashbrowns, eggs, sausage, etc, and were "back on the road" at 11:50, dest. Turtle Bay.

Big swell and building winds expected through the nite. We'll make up time. All aboard are well and adjusting to the conditions.

We were treated to a show by hundreds of dolphin 17 miles off of Punta La Cuesta Del Gato: jumping and spinning their way up the coast. Pass a few sunfish, too.

Top speed so far, 9 knots by Ray. (Reefed main and jib)

Best to all!

Barry and the crew of J/World.

At 10/28/2009 1:15 AM (utc) our position was 31°16.57'N 116°47.84'W
Our course(COG) was 153T, and our speed was 7.1.
Wind was 19.6.
Wind direction WSW

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Great beginning to the Ha Ha on J/World....

2009-10-26T15:53:00.001-07:00

At 10/26/2009 10:36 PM (utc) our position was 32°13.86'N 117°18.97'W
Our course(COG) was 191T, and our speed was 4.9.
Wind was 9.3.

Flying Fish, Catching Fish, Eating Fish....

All aboard are doing great... As I write, we are about 10 NM S of the Coronado Islands. After a light air start, we were kite reaching towards the islands. After enjoying a fresh salad, I hoisted a second kite - my yellow fish kite, not yet named. While flying about 60 ft off the stern, a real fish chomped on the the pink lure we were trailing. FISH ON! Eugenie pulled it aboard, said a bunch of nasty things to it. We sailed through the middle islands and she put the finishing touches on the filets. The wind picked up, we were able to turn south a bit, and time for some fresh Skip Jack sashimi. Judy prepared a wasabi inferno soy sauce!

Wind is lightening... a bit more swell...

Hopefully it will freshen a bit, but doesn't seem likely at the moment.

Hi to our family and friends from Judy, Mark, Ray, Eugenie and me - The J/World Baja Ha-Ha Crew.

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Ha Ha!

2009-10-25T20:53:00.001-07:00

Well, the Baja Ha Ha hasn't officially started, but the fun has.

Friday was boat projects: diagnosing the steaming light, deck light and stern lights that didn't survive the Nor Cal weather last week and troubleshooting a leaking water tank. We managed to get 2/3 of our provisions taken care of on Saturday. It seems like sooo much stuff, but it will begin to dissapear, and the extras will be a good start for the Cabo to PV leg. We put the battens in the main and loaded the sail and flaked it on the boom. Off to the skippers meeting and one last mini-marathon at Von's, and we have bread, eggs, fruit, veggies, cookies, crackers, etc. Rental car returned, and finally, the big send-off at West Marine this afternoon.

The boat parade starts at 10am and the gun goes off at 11am for the start of Baja Ha-Ha XVI. Next stop Turtle Bay. The weather forecast calls for a light first 24 hours, with building breeze into the night on Tuesday and significant overnight breeze. Time will tell.

It's a great group of people aboard "Crosswave," AKA "J/World." More on all of us in the next posts, but we're five: Judy, Mark, Ryan, Eugenie and me.

We'll try to stay in touch, but that will depend if anyone's up for typing! We'll at least post some lat/lon updates along the way. You can copy and paste these on Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, etc. and track us.

Barry

2009-08-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

The following is the latest report from J World, nearing the California coast... sounds like they have been at sea way too long!

We would like to introduce the new people onboard so you are familiar with them when we arrive... You already know Simon, the autopilot who has been lazier than ever, only drove about half a day. Since then we have added Eddy the wheel, and Ray the chart plotter (always reliable tells us where we are and where we are going, even how fast and how long). Now our applause goes out to Bill the bilge pump who always works and never complains.... Walter the water-maker has also been a great help in our water consumption, and last but not least Lucy the head... this is a funny one: the head toilet seat has been loose, and everytime we went to the bathroom we would wiggle around. A couple of days out, Polly, with her british accent asks, "Have you always had problems with the loose seat?" but we all heard, "Have you always had problems with Lucy?" so we all wondered if there was someone else onboard we didn't know about. Either way, we now go visit Lucy instead of going to the head. As for Rick, he keeps asking for Ruthie, and talks about Ruthie, Ruthie this and Ruthie that, she might as well be onboard.

So here's a toast to everyone on the boat, off the boat and around the world! It's a big ocean!

Capt. Eugenie and The J World crew...

California, here we come...

2009-08-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

J World has made solid progress towards CA in our annual offshore cruise back to the mainland from Hawaii. In the solid NW breeze, they have been icking off the miles at a good pace, and are due in sometime on Wed. Here is skipper Eugenie's report from over the weekend:

On friday we celebrated our last boat birthday... Polly's. After breakfast, Polly had set up a treasure hunt thru-out the boat. She had put little electrical tape designs all over, including a boat, a smilly face, a flower, and so on... and the first one to find them all got a little chocolate cake (one I had actually saved from the plane over.. believe it!). Then as weather turned a bit south, we couldnt perform all the sailing skills drills we had planned, but she got a bracelet from Capt Euge, a song from Joe, and after a yumy dinner, we played a guessing game, with little notes of papers we had written out. Good fun, and happy boat birthdays to all.

The crew of J World

Pacific Offshore Cruise - Hawaii to San Francisco

2009-07-31T09:26:00.001-07:00

Thursday Update from the Crew of J/World...

We are at 38.10N and 143.09W. Winds are out of the north at 8-12, and it’s overcast today, and colder - for the first time I have long pants on. We have arrived in these northern latitudes. We are heading NE, but on a port tack now! After 1,000 or so miles on starboard tack, we did a few readjustments, and off we go…

We'll be heading up this way for another day, and as I see on the gribs [weather charts], we will be getting a nice northerly around latitude 40, across the beam, and we should be off towards land and arrive in no time... sounds like a plan!

We are doing well. Lots of discussions and good communicating... as a great crew should!

Cheers, Capt. Eugenie and Team

Offshore Cruise Report - Hawaii to San Francisco

2009-07-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

The latest news from the middle of the Pacific Ocean are reported by Captian Eugenie, via the SSB Radio link…

July 28 –

Well, today was Joe's ‘boat birthday’... We started out dodging rain squalls: they come with weird winds from different directions, rain, and then calm nothingness and still grey... then after all that, everything returns to normal. It's actually pretty funny.

Either way, we have entered the 'high' and are heading north with, calm, flat seas, and no wind. It's been 8 days, 1194 miles and we just turned on the engine for the first time. Not bad. We are at the half way point.

So Joe (back to his boat b-day), had the morning off, and slept in... Polly, Rick and I decided to clean out the aft lazarttes. Some diesel had leaked from the jerry cans, and was driving me crazy. Now the boat is back on its ship shape cleanness, jerry cans tight and rearranged.

Joe's wish was that we all had to write or come up with a joke, or limerick, and write them down for everybody’s entertainment. And it certainly was entertaining!

Everybody is happy and a great team, still on the run to beat 16 days.

Cheers from the capt and crew who are now motor sailing on a lake with 2-5 kts wind, at 35.36N and 145.03W, heading north.

PS Had to sail backwards around 3am... fish net or something caught in rudder. All out now!!!

Monday am position

2009-07-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

From Holua:

J/World was at 32-34N 147-05W 12kts wind from 090*

Here

Hawaii to San Francisco Cruise - Sunday Report

2009-07-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

We got the another squall, with rain and winds this morning, perfect way to start Rick's "boat birthday" and for what we hoped to be a lazy sunday... hum, i had to wake up everybody at 7:30 am to help me reef, and lash down everything... Rain, and big wind gusts. Joe braved the rain and got soaked mumbling something about these working conditions that he had to talk to you about! We toughed it out with smiles, even two rail meat hiking again, soaked and happy at all times on the rail to stay on track! We are dedicated and motivated cruiser-racers. t

I made french toast, and took a nap. We just finished tea with cookies and took a british accent that Polly has been trying to teach us. All good. We are now sailing with 7-9 kts out of the east again, so NE is our heading and close hauled has been our point of sail since day 1 and wind wind wind wind...

We are at 31.36 by 147.53... So there, we're sailing up NE for a while more and we'll get what we get.

Cheers! Your very faithfull Capt, and great crew...

Eugenie

Short and to the point

2009-07-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

relaying from an email receive today. sent at 10:17 PDT:

all on board are in fine spirits and super well. we are eating well, trying to get used to this waking up all the time, all day and nite, but seem well enough rested. we heave to for lunch and diner for an hour because we have been pounding into the waves since we left , making it hard to cook. nobody has been seasick. we stopped to swim in the big blue ocean, and we havent used the motor yet- yippeee. as of friday am we are at 28.28.4 by 153.17.1 --roughly 540 miles north of hawaii. winds have been clocking to the east, now we are making a course of 030. there is a high above, we'll motor east then continue north after for a bit.

Eugneie, from onboard "J/World"

From our friends on Holua....

2009-07-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hi to all with loved ones and friends aboard J/World.

As of this morning, they were at:
28 28’N 153 17’W with 9-12 kts of wind from 090* and all is well, as of 0900 PDT Friday.

This was relayed from my friends Mike, Ted and Tom aboard Hulua, returning to Southern California. They are at: 34 10’ N 138 50’W.

They reported that they spoke with Eugenie this morning via the SSB radio (Single Sideband high frequency radio)

"we had weak connection, but the gal on J World was asking if we were “posting” positions anywhere, I said I’d fwd to you that JWorld was at 28*28’N 153*17’W with 9-12 kts of wind from 090* and all is well, as of 0900 PDT Friday. "

Also from Mike on Holua" "There is no formal network or schedule for the returning boats and we all have different data capabilities, so we try to share info and keep a loose log of daily reports for each other. As “lead dog” out of Waikiki, HOLUA has been the contact/list keeper. Now that we are charging east it is harder and harder to hear the boats just getting started. If someone were to find themselves in trouble we could figure out who, if anyone, was close enough to render assistance.?"

Euge sent a direct email from the boat... I'll post that soon.

Barry and the J/World Crew

Getting there as fast as possible, without a spinnaker...

2009-07-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

Bummed to pass this one along... But, people have friends and family meeting them on the island, flight schedules, jobs to return to, etc... Apparently, the decision to retire was a democratic vote and unanimous, with the objective to get to the island as directly and quickly as possible. -Barry

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J World
23 35
147 30

Transpac Race Committee:

Please be advised that the vessel 'J World' is formally withdrawing from the 2009 Transpac. Vessel and crew are fine, and there are no issues beyond significant damage to our downind sail inventory!

Due to a variety of commitments, the crew has elected to engage the motor and to motor-sail a portion of the remaining distance in order to arrive in Hawaii in a timely fashion.

Please advise when convenient as to instructions for our arrival in Hawaii (whether we should still radio upon our arrival, and who to check in with for berthage assignments).

On behalf of the entire J World team, I thank you tremendously for a fantastic event! We look forward to participating again in 2011.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel

Bad Ending...

2009-07-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Forwarding on excerpts from a "personal" email...

"fyi we blew up all our spins in the last 24 hours. Really squally and tough. Surprised the 1.5 oz went... not that windy, but they go thru a lot of abuse...

We tried to nurse the last one (a big .75) and I [Wayne] was driving when it went. Wind went from 15 to 25 real fast at 1am. Had some great rides for about 20 minutes, I thought we had it made, then no luff, no shock load, just pop. No chance of repairing any... so nothing to do but jib reach... 700 miles? ouch..."

Barry

This is why we do this...

2009-07-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's 2:30am. The light winds of this race have drawn out the first half to a painful 9 days. We've drifted for hours, prayed for wind, sacrificed anything we could think of to Mother Nature/King Neptune, and taken stock of the onboard food supplies.

[editor's note: I hope they didn't offer Josh's shoes!]

But that was then, and now it is a whole different race.

Two days ago we had a 198 mile day... oh, so close to that 200 mark. Undaunted, and newly challenged our team rose to the challenge to knock of 215 miles yesterday. I just crunched the numbers, and we are looking pretty good for today too. We are in the trades. They blow all day, all night. A bit off pace from normal, we are seeing steady 15, occasionally gusting to 20. The seas have gotten more organized, and the surf is indeed up. Top recorded speed so far, 15.3 knots. Nicely done, Jon.

Life on board has fallen into good routines. As a group, we have gotten to know the boat and to know each other. Our onboard communication and teamwork continues to progress, and I think it will show in the end. Most of the magazines have been burned thru, and all the bad jokes have come and gone... now we are all stuck with each other! But we have a fun bunch aboard; the interaction is great, except that I have a hard time falling asleep when I hear the hoots and laughter in the cockpit.

Good times indeed.

Way up north of us, the 100 foot maxi Alfa Romeo is blasting along, gunning for a new course record. They got to start after all the weather anomalies that we had to deal with had dispersed, so they get to sail a much more direct route, along with the fleet of 70+ foot boats. Down here to the south, we are slowly being overrun by the 50 footers. Saw one off on the distance in the late afternoon, and are thinking it was the Japanese Team in Tachyon III.

And tonight the moon came out. The night started off coal black, with the only the nights from the instruments and the eerie glow of phosphorescence. But early on, the moon came up, peeked out of the clouds, and wow, what an evening. Trucking along, 9, 10, 11 knots with regular bursts over 12, with a lunar-esque sea scape surrounding us. Yes, this is why we do what we do...

Wish us a good watch, and we'll catch you sometime tomorrow...

Wayne Zittel & the J World Team

Oh what a difference a day makes....

2009-07-06T03:45:00.000-07:00

Oh what a difference a day makes....

Tonight, as I sit here writing this, we have the spinnaker up for the first evening, and the sound of water sizzling past the boat again fills the cabin. The breeze finally stabilized and filled in, and we have been enjoying a nice NNW 9-11 knots all day, and now well into the night. The J/120 loves this stuff, and we have been scooting along at about 7 knots in very smooth seas. Good times are here again.

I give my commendation to a great team, who persevered in truly difficult conditions. And their efforts paid off. We came out of the 'uglies' in pretty good shape relative to our fleet. We are still sitting in second in our class. Unfortunately (for us, at least) the bigger boats who started three days behind us are missing the tough stuff we ran into earlier and enjoying markedly better conditions, and hence will be tough to beat overall.. but those are the breaks, are there is nothing we can do about the luck of the draw on starting times. We are focusing on our fleet, specifically seeing what we can do to reel in the ultralight Relentless, who sprung to an early lead in the light winds. Our team is jazzed to be back in the breeze, and ready to chase them down. We have been scraping off a couple of miles at each position report, so I am optimistic that we'll get to them!

We had the great fortune to come across a small pod of Orcas earlier today. They passed by relatively close on our starboard side, but then as quickly as the come in the scene, they were gone... leaving us alone again. Very impressive animals, and it's a humbling experience to see them out here in this vast space which is really theirs...

Anyhow, it's coming up on 4am right now, and I'm going to head back on deck and get ready for the watch change... Charles has been driving, Bill is stepping up to the helm, and Eric is here in the cabin earing up to trim for an hour before he starts driving. It's going to be a nice morning.

All the best and pleasant dreams of far off shores to all those back home,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

The Pacific lives up to its name.

2009-07-05T01:32:00.000-07:00

From the J World Radio News: The Pacific lives up to its name.

Yes indeed. Well, at least the part of the Pacific that is currently the venue for the 2009 Transpac race. There is a lot of activity many thousands of miles away, but that seems to have disrupted our little party way down here, much closer to the Equator. Team J World (and the rest of the fleet) have been working hard in some really trying conditions. Very, very light breezes have made going painfully slow. Every mile (in fact, every boatlength) seems to take a tremendous amount of focus and patience. There is encouraging news, though, as today we started moving along with a bit more breeze. And knowing that the weather patterns should be changing in the next 24 hours and that boats which made gains now should reap increasing rewards kept us working. It seems to be paying off. We have been holding a strong second place in our class, even taking over the lead for a day...

On board, there is a rumor sweeping the crew about a Sea Mall with an impressive food court. The EPIRB has been re-wired to become the "Emergency Pizza Indicating Radio Beacon," designed to expedite pizza pie delivery to the remote aquatic regions. And thru it all, Bill just sits on the transom, staring back towards the mainland, continually muttering (occasionally hollering) something about Blueberries...

We have been seeing tons of these small jelly fish, no bigger than a pack of cards, with their little sails up (luckily, none have actually succeeded in going faster than we are!). If you look closely, odds are you'll see some of the small white (albino??) crabs that scoot across the surface of the water. Not sure what they are doing out here, over 500 miles from the nearest patch of land, and in water some 60,000 feet deep! Occasionally, flying fish surprised by our presence (and probably our keel), take flight, arcing away from our bow, but other than that, it's pretty lonely out here...

Other happenings: The raspberry crumble served up at 3am last night seems to have been a hit. Nothing like some tasty treats to take make the graveyard shifts a little more pleasant. We made a sacrifice of Rum to the wind gods today; it wasn't much, but we are hoping to get credit for the fact that it was 100% of the rum aboard. Josh has been threatening to light all sorts of things on fire in honor of the holiday. Luckily his hurricane proof lighter seems to have run out of butane... can't image how that would have happened...

Anyway, late at night now and I am taking the chance to catch up the latest weather faxes, and we are all cheered at the fact that the big spinnaker went up this afternoon, and we are able to fly it from puff to puff... and although the holes out here are still big, it's looking like the worst is behind us. We are all looking forward to surfing in the tradewinds in the upcoming days...

More later, and happy Fourth of July from all of us out here at our quiet outpost at 20 25'N by 126 35'W...

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team

It was as if they were motoring!

2009-07-03T02:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I have certainly had easier sailboat races.

So not only is our destination halfway across the Pacific Ocean, and our route taking as far from dry land as you can get on mother earth, we are also being thrown some quite interesting weather. Usually by this time in the Transpac Race from LA to Hawaii, the spinnakers are coming out as the breezes freshen and get behind the boats, giving crews the thrilling surfing conditions in warm weather that contribute to making this event one of the all time classic yacht races.

Not so right now... After our last post, the breeze lightened up, and has been shifty and challenging for the past day. Last night, we were slatting away at about 1 knot for far too long. It was phenomenally frustrating to see the lights of a boat which had been about 5 miles astern all day, just take off like we were standing still (which we were), and they were motoring at full steam (which they can't of course, since it's a sailboat race). Demoralizing, to say the least. But much to our happiness at the morning position report, we learned that the mystery boat was in fact the Alaska Eagle, the escort boat and communications center for the fleet who reported that in the middle of the night they had, in fact, started motoring to keep on their schedule. Much relief aboard, followed by satisfaction when morning roll-call indicated that we had gained nicely on most of our fleet. One notable exception is the One-Design 35 in our class, Relentless, an ultralight which does not seem to be struggling as much as us heavier boats in the light winds... They are currently winning our class, with us in holding onto second.

So what to report of life onboard? The day was warm and mostly sunny. They layers of clothing are getting peeled back, but the nights are still a touch chilly, so the foulies haven't gone too deep in the sea bags yet. We pulled out the sextant for a bit today and practiced taking sights. It was a bit bouncy (trust me, it's surprisingly hard to get an accurate reading), and there's a bit of room for improvement... let's just say for now that if all our GPSs took a dive, we could probably see the islands before we sailed past them. Probably. Like I said, a bit of room for improvement, but that's what we are here for. We cracked into the freeze dried rations this evening, with a dinner of Lasagne and vegetable medley. Not too shabby... We were accompanied by dolphins earlier this evening (I seem to have slept thru it). The moon rises an bit before dark, and the early evenings are glorious. It's now late night (around 2:30am) and dark dark outside. Really puffy too, with breeze at 2 knots, then 12 knots... but at least we are still moving.

Yes, I have certainly had easier sailboat races. But not many more enjoyable.

All the best from Wayne and the J World team from out here in the wide blue Pacific. More later...

Day 3, already?

2009-07-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

So here we are, some 300 miles from our start off Point Fermin in LA, and really not that much has changed.

We started in a building breeze, working upwind in an effort to lay the West End of Catalina Island. We took a couple of hitches to make it around the point, changed down to the #2 jib, then cleared the island. The breeze softened to about 12 knots and we changed back to the #1 headsail, and headed off into the first night on a tight reach into some moderately confused seas.

And so it has been. The past two days we have seen 10 to 16 knots, all from pretty much the same westerly direction. That has put us on a tight starboard reach as we dive south. All the while, we are nervously watching the weather reports, which are predicting our first big speed-bump. There is an area of light and variable winds developing smack in our path. So most of our class is heading south to get around it as quickly as possible, but it will still take us a couple of days. And the big question is, how far south to go? The farther we go, the more wind, but the greater the distance... so we are all gambling a bit out here, watching the weather, trying to make our most informed choices... The good news is that we are currently sitting second in class, but the tough stuff is still to come.

As of a couple hours ago, we started to feel the softening breeze. Now we have about 6-8 knots of breeze, and clear skies over an incredibly blue ocean (I always seem to forget how blue it can be, and am so pleasantly surprised each time again). Back over our starboard aft quarter we can see one of our competitors. Based on our positions during our roll-call this morning, we are guessing that it is the One Design 35 Relentless. They are a quick boat and well sailed, so we need to keep some distance on them. The advantage is ours early in the race during this upwind work, but later, when the spinnakers come out and the surfing starts, they will start to take off on us... so good to keep them at bay for now...

So we just had lunch... Chef Josh treated us to his sandwich stylings. 'Fast' Lane Hill is driving, and we are poking along doing what we can to make time. Bill not seemingly content with the freeze dried raspberry crumble we promised him for desert tonight... keeps insisting on BLUEBERRY crumble... maybe the sun is getting to him already. Too bad. He seemed like a nice guy...

Anyway, that's about it from out here.

Wayne Zittel & Team J World, signing off...