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

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!

Recently updated Spot.

Cheers,

Barry

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

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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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

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