So down here in amaing Puerto Vallarta, life has indeed been good. We rolled into town over the past month or so, with J/80s coming down the highway, and our trusty J120 making the annual cruise down the coast. The drive wasn’t bad (I pulled that duty), but the crew on J World, led by Capt. Eugenie, seemed to have a better time (duh!). But now we are all here… with a fleet of J/80s, a J/120, a J/130, and our showpiece 70′ custom catamaran. And the conditions couldn’t be better. Breeze. Sun. Warm water. Dolphins. Turtles… and the whales are on the way!

Opening day at the Vallarta Yacht Club included racing for the Juniors, and the annual blessing of the fleet by a local priest. With that send off, we have launched into our sailing season, and are looking forward to a spectacular winter. We have all sorts of things on tap…

… of course we offer all our courses (sailing, racing, and cruising), as well as skippered and bareboat charters. December 3-5 is the Banderas Bay Blast (fun rally/race to La Cruz, Punta Mita, and back). Every other weekend or so is the “dine-and-dash” race from Nuevo to La Cruz, lunch at Philo’s, then race back. February is the J/24 North Americans in Valle de Bravo, and of course in March is the Banderas Bay Clinic and Regatta…

Anyhow, that’s the latest from down south. We hope that everyone is having a mild Fall, and that when the winter blues grab hold, remember you can easily shake them off… sailling down here in only bathing suits and sunglasses, it’s hard to believe that we are hardly a three hour flight from San Francisco!

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the J World Team