Our New Ride!!

Ok, we are pretty excited about this.  J/World has just added another boat to our offshore training fleet!

For some twenty plus years now, we have been taking sailors from all over the world on offshore races and passages.  Our flagship, the venerable Hula Girl, is known far and wide for the experiences she has delivered to her numerous crews.  Add to the mix our fantastic coaches, and we have programs which frequently sell out a year (or more) in advance.  Well, we have had enough of having to send sailors away due to lack of capacity, so we are excited to be adding a wonderful Mark Mills designed DK46 to the fleet.

This modern design is a veteran of two Transpacs already, and the boat is a delight to sail.  With a big, open cockpit and a functional interior, CaZan is ready to go on new adventures.  Next up will be the California Offshore Race Week, and then Transpac!  She is available for charter, or individual sailors can sign up to join the race with J/World coaches.

More details will be coming soon, but it you are interested in either a charter or individual participation, definitely contact us now!   Here are some pictures of CaZan and her sisterships (only 12 of these were built) to whet your appetite:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017 Banderas Bay Cinic and Regatta

So we have finished the ‘clinic’ portion of the 2017 Banderas Bay Clinic and Regatta here at J/World in Puerto Vallarta.  Conditions have been stellar.  We have been sailing all day in shorts and tee shirts, with the breeze building to around 18 into the afternoons.  We have already had lectures covering all manners of topics, including sail trim, boathandling, strategy, tactics, starting, etc. etc…  and we are only halfway through!  Our three J/80s have been practicing and sparring for three days, and today the regatta starts.  We’ll file a report at the conclusion, so standby for results!

2016 Baja-Ha-Ha Wrap Up

Upcoming Cruising Classes!

Baja Ha-Ha is Off!

Tropical Sailing Season Starts!

Offshore Racing Seminar Wrap Up

Well, we just finished our annual Offshore Yacht Racing Seminar.  We spent two days shoreside in San Francisco going over everything from offshore safety equipment and sail inventories to provisioning and details regarding life at sea.

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Thursday morning we headed out under the Golden Gate and turned south along the coast.  The light breezes built to moderate, and by the evening we were in a consistent over 20 knots mode.  The night got a little, shall we say, sporty, and we ended up throttling back, waiting for daylight to get some more productive practice in.

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About halfway down the coast, our breeze backed off to a drifter (as predicted), but it filled again and we got another fantastic spinnaker run down by Catalina Island.

Next offshore racing event is the Newport to Cabo Race in March, and we still have a couple of spaces open on that one.

I’d be remiss not to mention the Baja-Ha-Ha rally from San Diego to Cabo starting at the end of the month.  Not a true race, but over 180 boats are signed up for this famous two week trip down the Baja Coast.  Multiple stops in some stunning anchorages make this one adventure you do not want to miss!

 

Offshore Racing Seminar

Hula Girl Rocks…. and Jade Rocks!

Hey everyone,

Thanks tons to all our supporters who have been sending congratulations to our team!  We really appreciate it.  So the awards ceremony was last night here at Kaneohe Yacht Club, and the Hula Girl did pretty well.  We won first in class, second in ORR, and the Bill Lee perpetual award.  Not too shabby for a bunch of Hulagains that really hadn’t sailed together a couple of weeks ago!

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So all the bling and hardware is pretty cool, but I have to say I think there was an even better reward for us in Hawaii.  Unfortunately the fast race over meant that we beat some friends and family coming to Oahu to meet us, so Jade didn’t get to display the banner she and her mom made for father Chris racing with us upon arrival, but she brought it down to the boat last night  and we were proud to display it there!  Thanks Jade!  And sorry I cut you out of the picture, Chris.  She’s just way cuter.  You rock, Jade!

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And finally a thanks to all the Pacific Cup organizers and volunteers….  from Richmond to Kaneohe, it really takes a cast of thousands to pull off an event like this, and they did it again in great style…

Ok, that’s it for now.  Chris, Brendan, Mike, Andreas, Michael, Steven, Paul and Sean, job well done and Mahalo!

Wayne Zittel and the Hulagains

 

 

 

J/World Wins Division in Pacific Cup, Second Overall in ORR!!

Ok, I have to apologize for not getting a final report off to you all on the final day of the 2016 Pac Cup.  I usually like to write an event summary on the way to the finish line, but we were a bit busy this time.  The title of the post says it all.  Our J/World Team aboard Hula Girl was able to secure a first place in our class and second place overall in the ORR division (only being beaten by the Andrews 70 Pyewacket.  Not only that, but as far as we can tell, we think we set a new SC50 record to Hawaii…  I *believe* Horizon set the bar in the 2010 Pac Cup with 8 days, 11 hours, 46 minutes.  Our time this year:  7 days, 20 hours, 3 minutes.  Could it be that we are the only SC50 to ever have made the trip in less than 8 days??  I’ll defer to the SC50 historians for ratification, but it seems so.

1J World’s Hula Girl on record setting run to the finish of the 2016 Pacific Cup

So what a year.  We had solid breeze all the way from California to Hawaii.  We had a fast, well prepared boat.  But most importantly we had a fantastic team aboard Hula Girl.  Everyone worked hard in some challenging conditions.  The first couple days were rad on beating/reaching in big breeze and lumpy seas.  Then the heavy air run with some fairly dark nights and a confused wave pattern from the systems to the south.  And it never let up, there was never a break or any down time.  Through it all, our whole team gave it their all, and it paid off.

2Morning arrival in Hawaii…  under 8 days from California, and class winners!

Not only did everyone perform well, but everyone was a true pleasure to sail with!  The team dynamic aboard was fantastic, and it was a real pleasure to sail with each and every one of the Hulagains:  Andreas, Brendan, Mike, Michael, Steven, and Chris.  A big thank you goes out to  watch-captains and J/World coaches Sean and Paul.

So that’s what I have in terms of a wrap up.   Nothing more to say for the moment.  A huge thank  you to all our supporters and fans who have been sending messages and congrats…  we really appreciate all the support!  Now I’m just going to decompress, clean up the boat, and it looks like we have a couple extra days in Hawaii this time, we got here pretty early.  Maybe I’ll actually have time to sit on a beach somewhere and look out at the Pacific with a Mai Tai in hand.  I think we earned it.

For those of you who want to join the adventures, we have our annual Offshore Racing Seminar (San Francisco to San Diego) in early October, then the Newport to Cabo Race next March.

All the best,

Wayne Zittel and the Hulagains