BBS Hot Shots…

/in /by

Thanks to Ann for bringing to our attention a bunch of great photos from the 2008 Rolex Big Boat Series… Here’s a great one of Kevin on the bow and Paul at the mast ready for the hoist…


It’s a Peter Lyons shot, and he’s got a ton of great ones on his site. He really does a fantastic job… check out the sequence of the final run to the finish (including the luffing scenario I described in the last post) starting here. And do yourself a favor and hit his site at http://lyonsimaging.com/ for the full range of what he does. We are really fortunate to have him bouncing around the Bay with such regularity… not only does he have a great eye, but the guy seems to be EVERYWHERE, all the time! Thanks for the shots, Peter!

There is also a BBS video posted on You Tube…. a couple of shots (again, the J/120 run to final finish, and Chance winning the series by a sprit!)

2008 Rolex Big Boat Series

/in /by

Ok… the spray has settled and the wounds are healing. The muscles are not screaming anymore and the boats are rinsed off and back in their stables. Congratulations to all the winners – and all the competitors – in the 2008 Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco.

There were over 100 boats competing on the Bay last week, and J World was well represented. Congrats to Travis, who was aboard the winning boat in IRC Division C, Eugenie who was coaching the J/145 Raincloud to a fourth place overall in IRC Division B. Yours truly was skippering J World, our trusty J/120 to a third place in our class. I was lucky enough to have a great team that dragged me around the course and made things happen smoothly: from the left, Kevin, Ann, Rebeca, Taylor, Jeff, Chris, Andy, Paul, Adam, Patti, and Wayne… thank you for making this a great event.

And thank you to the local J/120 Fleet… I have said repeatedly what a fantastic group this is. There is an absolutely unparalleled amount of camaraderie, healthy competition, and mutual respect with this group of sailors that presents such a refreshing change from the scenes and fleets that can devolve into petty and trivial squabbles. For example, the morning of the first race, one of the top competitors in the J/120 fleet (and a favorite to win the event) realized that in the chaos of getting ready, they had left their big class kite at home, with no chance of getting it before the start of Race 1. Two phone calls later, that team had two replacement sails to use from their competitors. Pretty cool. The group is incredibly welcoming to new fleet members… so if you are interested in checking out the group as either a potential skipper or a crew, I HIGHLY recommend it!
And on the water, the racing is tight, and I mean *tight*! After something like four consecutive wins, Mr. Magoo was finally beaten by a great showing from Barry Lewis and his team on Chance. But it didn’t come easy. Almost didn’t come at all. It was decided on the last leg of the last race of the series, during one of the most fun days of sailing I have had in a long time… let me tell you a story…
So Magoo is winning the series, with Chance in second. To win, Chance would have to beat Magoo and put a boat between them in the last race. Well, for much of the race, we were that boat. Chance got out to an early lead, and we were able to sneak into second, but Magoo charged hard and pulled into third… and so it went with Chance holding us back, but not so far back that Magoo would get by, while Magoo slugged away at us.
When our backstay ram got an air bubble in it and we started the last beat with no rig on, we got passed by Magoo and Grace Dances… bad news for Chance. And so at the final half of the final beat, we had a four way tacking duel…. we would tack, Grace would tack on us, Magoo would tack to keep Grace back, and Chance would tack to squash Magoo (remember, they had to push Magoo to third while keeping the lead).
We managed to get by Grace, and we all rounded the final weather mark hot on each others heals, Chance, Magoo, J World, Grace…. kites went up, and Chance made the big move…. wind check! Up hard came four J120s, kites luffing, all boats overlapped… but Magoo worked a bit forward on us, and suddenly we had a lane down. We bore away sharply, Taylor and Chris whaled on the spin sheet so the kite filled in a snap, and we were off towards the finish. Chance saw us break for it, and spun down, with Magoo and Grace right behind. We drag-raced Chance all the way to the finish… in some photos, we look launched, and I think we had them for a bit, but they got a bit more current relief and a sweet puff to take us at the line by a couple of feet, winning the race, and winning the regatta…

Anyway, that was really fun stuff. And look at what a fine day for sailing it was. This place is phenomenal. Great sailing by all parties… and congratulations to Barry and the whole Chance team…

Students sharing photos…

/in /by

A recent graduate was good enough to post a bunch of pictues from his recent Learn-to-Sail class on San Francisco Bay… check them out here…. Thanks Roland!

Racing, and Cruising… and more Racing, more Cruising

/in /by

Well, no sooner has our trusty J/120 returned back from the 2008 Pacific Cup race to Hawaii and our offshore cruise back to California, than we are launching into another epic Race/Cruise combo! The mighty vessel J/World is in the yard right now getting all new standing rigging, and then she’s off to the races in the 2008 Rolex Big Boat Series.

Right after this grand-prix event wraps up, all the comfort items get loaded aboard again and she goes into ‘cruising mode’ for the J World Annual Cruise to Mexico! This series of coastal/offshore cruising courses begins in mid October, and is one of our very favorite things we do. Each of the legs is a truly special adventure, and we even join in the world famous cruiser’s rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas… that’s right, you too can join the 2008 Baja-Ha-Ha!

If you haven’t seen it, here is the report from last years’ cruise south. It was an absolute blast, and this year promises to be just as great. Click here for more info…

We’ll keep you posted on how the racing goes… we have a ton of work to get done before the event starts… we hadn’t planned on pulling the rig before the regatta, but the unfortumate timing of the broken intermediate shroud (see below) has forced our hand. In the fiercely competitive J/120 class, this gear failure has cut into any practice time we had hoped to have which will likely cost us down the line, but we have a fabulous team and I’m sure we’ll rise to the occasion! And a huge thank you goes out to my long time buddy Chris at Svendsen’s for working to get the boat back together quickly…

Eugenie, rested after the offshore trip from Oahu to SF, has been out practicing with the J/145 Raincloud in preparation for the Big Boat Series. Barry and Josh will both be aboard the IMX 38 Hawkeye, while Travis will be slugging it out aboard the J/122 TKO. Yours truly will be on our trusty J World, so we’ll try to post a lot of updates as we go along…

/in /by

2008 Pacific Cup Report
Well, the dust (or spray) has settled, and Team J World is safely back from the 2008 Pacific Cup Race. A crew of six sailors, with support from two of our J World coaches, departed San Francisco mid July for the island of Oahu. The race (like all good ocean races) has a little of everything… it was thrilling and boring, frightening and comforting, challenging and pedestrian…
My hat is off to the fabulous team who make the event a truly special race. or many, this was the first big offshore trip, and everyone rose to the occasion. A couple of problems early on set us back a b it, but then wile other teams were getting tired, we just got better and better, and gained a lot in the second half of the race.
Special thanks go out to all our team sponsors and preferred gear providers who set us up with the best equipment and services available anywhere:
Spinlock – Deckvest Safety Harnesses
Gill – Team clothing and Gear
Expedition – Routing and Navigation Software extraordinaire…
Cameron International – Boat prep and electronics
Hansen Rigging – Top-tier rigging
Interlux Paints – Making J World slippery in the water…
McLube – Making everything run smoooooth….
Click here to go to our blog to see all the race updates. And if this sounds like fun to you, we have limited spaces still available in the 2009 Transpac (Los Angeles to Hawaii)… click here for more info.
Shifting Gears… Cruising to Mexico!
Ok, it’s time to relax. And it’s time to start thinking about some fantastic sailing this Fall. Topping the list is one of our favorite events, out annual cruise to Mexico. Now in year four of this cruise, the ever-popular trip departs San Francisco on October 11 for points south. Each leg is a full-fledged, hands-on, cruising class about our J/120. Ports of Call include Santa Cruz, Monterrey, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, Baja, Cabo San Lucas, Isla Isabella… and many more!
Leg 1 – San Francisco to Santa Barbara
Leg 2 – Santa Barbara to San Diego
Leg 3 – San Diego, to Cabo San Lucas
Leg 4 – Cabo to Puerto Vallarta
Leg 3 includes participation in the famous Baja-Ha-Ha, the cruiser’s rally which kicks-off the winter season in Mexico (and beyond!). You don’t want to miss this one; they put on a fabulous event. Our J/120 made the cover shot last year:

Limited berths are available, so click here or call 800-910-1101 for more information!
Three Day Liveaboard Cruise – Starts Friday!
We still have space in a three day Liveaboard Cruise starting Friday at our Alameda office. Click here for more info…
Racing Weeks
Our next racing week in San Francisco Bay is September 1. These courses cover everything from sail trim and boat-handling to rules and tactics. Get faster, sail smarter, win races. Regardless of what type of boat you sail and where you sail it, this class will send you home ready to take on all comers Intro and Advanced
All the best,
Wayne Zittel & the J World Team

Day 10

/in /by

Wayne here: Late Wednesday night, an intermediate shroud broke on the starboard side. When the crew figured out what had happened, they gybed over to port tack relieving the pressure on the weakened side of the mast, then reduced sail area until the morning when they could better assess the situation.

It appears that the starboard shroud broke at the lower spreader. The rigging on the boat is solid stainless steel rod rigging, and the entire mast and rigging had been pulled and inspected in June, so the failure is surprising and the cause of it won’t be determined until the parts can be inspected ashore.

The team aboard did a great job in responding quickly; and we got some fabulous advice from Glenn Hansen at Hansen Rigging and Chris Tibbe at Svendsen’s, which was relayed to the boat. As a temporary fix, they have rigged a checkstay on the starboard side to support the mid-section of the mast and reduced sail area.

The bad news is that their surfing days and speed records are over. The good news is that the rig is stable and should be fine for the remainder of the trip.

2100 HST 40.17 x 137.03

Winds S at 10kts, sailing at 5kts with jib only. We couldn’t hail the fleet last nite, communication was rough, had a boat to relay, felt no love! All boats east of us have north winds. We are stuck between a low and the high, wishing we could just ounch thru to the NW, but with our reduced speed that probably won’t happen for a couple of days.

We are on a broad, beam reach on stb tack, the mast is showing little S curve, from the front looking up and back at it; it looks like the port intermediate shroud is pulling the mast that side, with no tension (obviously) on the stb where its missing. We’ll ease off some port intermediate tension, and that should straighten it. If it gets lighter tomorrow we’re going up the mast and gonna try to bend the end of the broken shroud, attach a line and running it down. it would be nice to be able to sail on stb tack especially coming in to SF…

Is there any way you can airlift a case of champagne? Uh…, sorry, fuel?

Thanks and cheers, Euge

Day 9

/in /by

Ok well, we are now heading straight for SF, heading 075M. It is hard at times, the seas big and winds have been top 20s for 48 hrs, hence the track north yesterday. All in all, Simon drives only when motor sailing in calm lake like conditions, so people generally tired from driving, but we are getting stronger. I am now in the mix of watches to give more relief… and it’s Annie’s birthday today!

At 1500 HST we are 39.53 x1 43.13. Seas are 12-15 winds 20+ from the S SE.

So yesterday failed attempt at retaping a tear in the mainsail; it took all 5 the effort, and great team work, but as soon as we re-raised the sail, the beautiful patch went flying away… the tear is along one of the cars at the top; how or why, I am still in awe. We are now waiting for calmness to redo, cuz i said failed attempt due to high seas, dampness, seas crashing, etc etc…

We have been surfing to speed records: Jenn holds firts at 15.3 kts; Nick 14.7 kts, and I 13 kts all with reefed main.

For gas- we’ve put in 2 jerry cans already since the fill-up in Hawaii, and will again when it calms down. Total 40 hrs of run, + 15.5hrs of idle for charging batts.

Other than that, ate the last of the mahi-mahi yesterday for dinner, and celebrating Jenn’s boat bday today. We will toss things to release bad past energies at Neptune and write letters of things to remember for her safe keeping!

We are ETAing 5-6 days… and people asking for champagne with welcoming commitee upon arrival. I perhaps a bottle of long-awaited sake!

Cheers, Euge

Day 8

/in /by

Wayne here, and I’d like to offer a bit of explanation: At the start of the trip, ebrone aboard is given a ‘boat birthday,’ and when this given day arrives, that particular individual is given special treatment… a break from the watches, choice of menu items, massages… the whole works! So when you see them referring to all the birthdays, that’s the scoop (no, it’s not a boat-load of Leos!)…

0600 HST 35.35N x 152.18W

Winds super light all night, out of SE @8kts. We sailed thru it though 070 maybe at 4, 4.5 kts; giving the engine a break after refueling (we lost one little black screwy top) and giving everybody a chance to start practicing sailing downwind. Right now motor sailing, Simon (autopilot) driving. Winds still SW- at 7kts or so. The throttle (or prop) clacks at certain RPMs… wierd, i’ll check it later, everything else in great working order and everybody in great mood.

We did not do the radio check-in last nite, as i wanted to keep battery topped off by not turning the SSB nor the chart plotter.

Today is Ann’s boat birthday, she wants curry, and bean burritos, a back massage and new yoga poses. We made a pinata and cards. (the cards I got for mine are super). She doesn’t have to stand watch, which makes her super happy.

Caught a 30 pounder yesterday: Mahi-Mahi. It was an awesome fight…. and delicious.

Thanks for the Angelina update Barry, more please…

Cheers,

Euge

Day 7

/in /by

34.33N x 155.45W

We are making more water, it is hot, there is 4kts of wind out of the E NE so we are motor sailing at 045… looksl like it is the beginning of the high. The water is still blue blue blue… it’s beautiful! I lost a lure yesterday, fish didn’t even give me the pleasure to eat him. I will succeed though.

Anyways, all is well, everybody happy as laundry was done and hair was washed.

Cheers from the J World crew!

Euge

Day 5

/in /by

33.10N x 156.57W

We are all in very good shape. Made guac, and mashed potatoes tonight, as some stuff was getting a bit ripe. We are still making good way up north, wind veered a little E and lightened up today, then back to normal. Generally lighter today, less squalls, horizon looks great for once.
We should make it to 35N by tomorrow, friday night, then probably will start heading a little east. Hula Girl is going east seems…

Cheers, and love from all of us here at J World.

PS Finally everybody’s got their sea legs now!