PACIFIC CUP UPDATE: Day 7

So, we passed the halfway mark this morning. We are now closer to Hawaii than pretty much anywhere else. And we are farther from terra-firma (good ol’ dry land) than you are anywhere else on the planet. The weather is now nice and warm, and the water is an amazing shade of blue. Wow. In the trades… sailing almost due west. A significant bit lighter than we had hoped, but so it goes.

The breeze has been unstable, and we have been taking advantage of any right shifts to gybe to port in an effort to work south where we expect there to be a bit more breeze. Each morning at 9:00 am Pacific Time, every boat in the fleet has to check in with the race committee by reporting thier latitude and longitude. This ‘roll-call’ is a great time to check in with the fleet and see how we are doing, and how all our friends and competition seem to be faring. At this mornings check-in, we found that a reasonable number of our fleet have pushed south as well, and there is a good cluster of boats around us. In fact, we now have a couple of boats in sight (yet to be identified), so it feels a bit more like a yacht race again!

Our crew work has gotten smoother and smoother, and we are now sailing the boat really well. It’s clear that everyone is getting more comfortable with the J/120 and we expect our upward trend to continue!Anyhow, that’s the latest from out here, about as much the ‘middle of nowhere’ as anywhere in the world. A bit crowded at the moment (relative to the norm, at least), but the company is great!

More soon,
Wayne Zittel and the J World Team