Contact us for details on the 2026 event.
Pacific Cup
J/World Offshore Racing Event
Every other year a fleet of boats heads out the spectacular Golden Gate Bridge with a destination a world away. After a little more the 2000 miles of open ocean sailing, we arrive in the stunning Kaneohe Bay on the northern shore of Oahu. This is the Pacific Cup, run in July of “even” years. It is a fantastic adventure that boasts some phenomenal sailing across one of the most fantastic stretches of open ocean on the planet. It truly is the adventure of a lifetime.
J/World Sailing offers sailors the opportunity to race in this world class event. Each running, we compete with a team comprised of six amateurs and three of our world-class, professional coaches. Each individual will be an active and equal member of the team, and everyone aboard gets to take turns at doing everything, including driving. The environment will be fun, positive, and conducive to learning… and we’ll of course work hard to get a great finish! In 2016 we were first in class, second overall in ORR, and set a new California to Hawaii record for the venerable Santa Cruz 50s!
We will be sailing over to the islands the legendary Santa Cruz 50, Hula Girl and the modern DK46 Cazan. Hula Girl was turboed under the supervision of Bruce Nelson. She sports an updated carbon rig, a modern bulb keel, and new rudder. She was most recently the personal boat of Paul Cayard, one of the most successful racers in yachting history, and completed an extensive refit in 2013. For more on this incredible boat, visit here. Cazan is a Mark Mills design that sports a large cockpit and towering, powerful rig (bigger than a SC52!).
Students may be of various ability levels, from experienced offshore racers who enjoy the notion of joining a ‘turn-key’ program, to sailors who are looking to expand their horizons and learn more about offshore racing. The program will include practice sessions prior to the race, all the onboard provisioning, team gear, entry fees, port fees, and delivery fees. Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements in Los Angeles and Hawaii.
“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
Prolific journalist Kimball Livingston writes of our program: You will be “taught how to get to Hawaii doing the fast thing. Win or lose you’ll come back different. Want to skipper, next time, with confidence? You never really know what you will get, California-Hawaii, but it is a benign passage by the standards of ocean passages, and halfway across you are farther from land than at any other point on the globe. At the end there’s Hawaii. Suck it up and cope.”
J World Offshore Racing – 2012 San Deigo to Puerto Vallarta Race
J World Offshore Racing – 2011 Transpac
About J World Offshore Programs
There are no other programs in the world like this. Period.
The offshore programs put together and managed by J/World are absolutely unique in the world of yachting. You are a truly active and integral member of an actual racing 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 We aren’t just taking you for a ride like so many 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.
For most programs, we limit enrollment to six clients. With three coaches aboard, that’s a 2:1 ratio which means everyone aboard gets a ton of personal attention from our extremely experienced staff.
These programs are fully turn-key, and managed by a team of sailors who are hand selected for both their extensive sailing background, and their ability to coach well and share their knowledge, expertise, and enthusiasm with others. The afloat staff is supported by our expert shore team, insuring that you have the time of your life.
The boat is owned by J/World. This is crucial… it is not some charterboat that we tap into for occasional use. It is our boat, campaigned regularly by our team. To you, this means that the equipment is on absolutely top condition, the boat is maintained to the highest competitive standards, and the safety equipment onboard is second to none.
The J World Offshore Programs are singular in the world of yachting. If you have heard of other pay to play programs or you have joined the ‘cattle boat’ programs that dominate the market, it’s time to rethink your experience. There is no other program in the world like J World Offshore. Don’t take our word for it. Just read below for a couple of the many, many unsolicited emails of appreciation we get…
2017 Transpac Crew - Derek D. (aka Easy-D)
I know that I had the chance to thank each of you personally while I was in Hawaii, but I wanted formally thank you as group for the amazing experience aboard Hula Girl on this year’s Transpac.
Although I definitely had the least offshore experience among the group on board, all three of you put me at ease before, during, and after the race. Other than the vertigo issue that I had on a couple of the cloudy/moonless nights when I was steering (thank you Patrick for bailing me out!), I felt relatively comfortable at the wheel (for fear of a wipe-out of epic proportions). I must say that Patrick’s demeanor as my Watch Captain helped me build that confidence over the duration of the 2225 nm.
Watching all three of you going about your business onboard was a treat and demonstrated that all three of you are real pros! Whether it was Patrick at the bow, Wayne at the wheel or nav station, or Paul at the wheel, all three of you made it look so easy! Knowing that the boat was well-prepared in advance of the start also showed a level of professionalism that I haven’t seen. I greatly enjoyed the consistent communication of expectations prior to the experience occurring which helped keep surprises to a minimum. In short, this was not your first rodeo (unlike me) which helped allay any fears.
Although the Team Philosophy wasn’t a “win at all costs” one, the fact that you were able to coalesce a disparate group with varying levels of sailing and offshore experience was truly remarkable. To me, one of the more satisfying things was that we earned a podium finish in an extremely competitive division of SC50s and SC52s. However, I’m still contemplating all the ways we could have done better to make up the 5 minutes of corrected time on Deception, or the several hours that Horizon finished ahead of us. Regardless, I know that my goals prior to the race were to sail safely, fast, and fun! Mission accomplished!
Again, I thank you for providing me with this tremendous opportunity of sailing in this year’s edition of Transpac! Don’t be surprised if I decide to do something else with J World again whether it’s around the buoys or another offshore opportunity. I’m still smiling about the overall experience that I had and it’s certainly among my top sailing highlights, let alone one of the overall highlights in my 52 years.
Take care for now! Please keep in touch.
2016 Pacific Cup Crew - Andreas K.
I just wanted to spend the time to thank you again for all the training I got from you guys during the Transpac. Wayne, you are one of the best skippers I ever sailed with, and Patrick you are probably the best coach I have met so far.
You kept encouraging me to take over the helm, over and over again, and really helped me overcome one of the biggest shortcomings I saw in my skill set. Everyone on the boat had his chance. You guys were there for everyone who wanted to rise to the next level… and once we hit the Molokai Channel ,I was able to handle the breeze and the swell, which surprised me as much as some of the other guys!
I just wanted to let you guys know how much I appreciate what I took with me from this trip. You guys rock…
Pacific Cup 2022 - Jim G.
Aloha! I know you are probably running boats back home, but I am going to send this now anyway before my vacation buzz wears off. 🙂
After spending a bit more time relaxing in Hawaii with my wife post-race, we got back yesterday. So I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the experience on Cazan during the 2022 PacCup. Somewhere in my top 10 life experiences, maybe even top 5! It was a privilege to be aboard with David, Collin and Austin — they are hands-down the best sailors I’ve ever sailed with and, just as important, simply great folks to hang out with. I would go sailing again with any of them any time for any reason!
Even if they hadn’t said a thing to me the entire trip, I would have learned a ton just by watching them handle the boat — particularly the downwind spinnaker reaching on the waves! Of course they were not silent, but instead were constantly teaching and helping us get better at trimming, steering and grinding . . . and more. And they handled all my questions — both the good ones and the sort of stupid ones — with clear answers and good natured patience.
All of them were natural communicators and their love of sailing was infectious. We amateurs all got noticeably better. Our speed and handling improved every day throughout the race and we pushed the performance to the point of covering over 300 miles in 24 hours! That may or may not be a record for CaZan, but it was certainly some fantastic racing!
In addition to the great J/World crew, I’d add that Cazan is an impressive boat. Sturdy as hell, fairly dry, reasonably comfortable (for a raceboat!) and yet still speedy. We used most of the sail inventory and got a lot of out of those kites! A great boat for the trip and a positive part of the package was learning about the sails and systems on a veteran ocean raceboat.
Finally, I am not a particularly nervous sailor, but I am generally cautious and try to be prepared for the conditions — so I had a few concerns about sailing the open ocean in places I had never sailed before. However, even when the wind and weather conditions got a bit more challenging (or “sporty”) sailing with the Cazan team, I never felt like we were unsafe or unready. Any of the worries I might have had about wandering 2000+ miles out over the Pacific simply disappeared as we worked together. I realized when we finished that your team gave me all of that the confidence by improving my sailing competence in rougher conditions — yet another benefit from the amazing trip.
At bottom, my Pac Cup experience was truly awesome and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate the care and preparation that you and your J/World colleagues put into making it that way. I would happily recommend you all to anybody looking to get offshore experience — feel free to use me as a reference or quote me on the website!
Take care and I’ll figure out how to sail with you all again down the road.
Transpac 2021 - Randy B.
I didn’t have a chance to talk with you at the end of the race so I wanted to send you a quick e-mail to say thank you! The Transpac was a very memorable experience for me and truly did check the bucket list box.. I believe I told you that my dad sailed it in 1951 and always talked about what a great race it was. Now I understand what he meant! As a dinghy boat sailor getting to sail downwind in those classic pacific Tradewinds surfing conditions was something I will never forget. Dave, Chris and Collin are exceptional sailors, great teachers and were professional the whole time with everyone onboard….probably the reason you selected them. I will also say that offshore skipper role Dave showed leadership skills well beyond his years. Oh yeah and Chris’ sense of humor had me laughing most of the time. I now see why your turnkey offshore program is so highly regarded and I’m glad I had a chance to participate in it. Thanks again!
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