Series: Crossing the Pacific

An in-depth look on a 21 day crossing of the Pacific ocean.

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Te Vega – Pacific Crossing FINALE! (pt. 4)

I hope you’ve had fun watching this series. The wind has arrived! Heavy weather sailing, big waves, breaking boats… You’re not going want to be downstairs for this one! Dolphins, whales and seals usher us in as we call land HO!!

It was an awesome experience, the whole thing: the crossing, filming, editing, and producing. I’ve had a couple all-nighters to get these monster videos completed, but honestly it was a blast going through them. I’m laughing right along with you guys.

So, it’s with great pride that I present the finale in the ‘Te Vega’ video series. I really put my heart into these. I’m actually sad that it’s over…

This episode takes us from day 16-21, and arrival to Half Moon Bay. I do a tutorial on the Iridium Go. We figure out a workaround for a broken hydraulic boom vang line. The wind REALLY pipes up and starts breaking stuff. We spot land, and get escorted in my dolphins, whales, and even a pod of sea lions! No joke, that was pretty cool.

More awesomeness to come…

Much love!
James

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Te Vega – Pacific Crossing (pt. 3)

Here is the third part of the 4 part mini-series of my Pacific crossing aboard the 63′ Mason ketch Te Vega.

We’ve got a bit of everything in this one, fishing, maintenance, injuries, and, of course, a lot of sailing.

This part opens on half-way-day where we pop a bottle of champagne, give a little toast, and jump into the ocean 1000nm from ANYTHING! When I was in the Navy half-way-night was always a very special time, often we had boxes and boxes of frozen crab legs that the cooks would steam up and serve to all 165 of us. We always got extra time to eat on those nights, and the mood was pretty magical.

I hope you are all enjoying this series. It was fun to do, fun to film, and fun to edit (though since they are so long they take a bit longer than a normal episode.

If you’re wondering why I used the same song again… well… I hadn’t heard this recording until now, and it ended up pretty good, so why not. They ARE my videos, after all. 🙂 I promise that’s the last Kings of Leon cover for awhile. I would really like to record an album of covers, hopefully I’ll have a chance before I leave to go to the new boat!

Much love,
James

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Catch and Cook: Pacific Crossing on Te Vega (pt. 2)

Sailing and fishing for mahi mahi, Jake gets a hook in the leg (ouch!). Also we play with some really crazy looking glasses! Watch what happens next on this 3300nm adventure across the Pacific Ocean!

In this installment of Sailing Zingaro we go through another 5 days out to sea on Te Vega, the Mason 63′ as we cross from Hawaii-California.

We put a message in a bottle and get a big surprise! We lose the refrigerator and have to do some troubleshooting to get it back. There’s lots of diesel in the bilge. We work on the AIS to see exactly what is wrong with this thing. It gets super cold as we pass through 800nm north of Hawaii.

Hope you guys love it!

-James

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My Love Affair With a Million Dollar Mono (pt. 1)

Sailing across the Pacific ocean aboard a $1,000,000 monohull! Refit, sea trial, cast off, and starting a 3,300nm adventure that will take us from Hawaii to California! Come join the crew of Te Vega, a 1984 Mason 63′ ketch as we show you and in-depth glimpse of what offshore sailing is really like!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Te Vega… This girl is 70,000 lbs of sexy lines, comfortable births, and a whole lot of je ne sais quoi. She’s 1 1/4″ of solid, hand laid fiberglass from keel to toe rail, with enough teak to make any other boat blush. Her backside has the unmistakable allure of a crystal wine glass, with just enough overhang to make you look twice.

This 39 minute video documents the inspection and first 4 days underway on this not-so-short journey. This is part 1 of 4 episodes documenting the 20 day journey across the Pacific – from Hawai’i to San Francisco. I went through 260 GB of data just for this one episode, and I’m about 1/3 of the way through!

I really wanted to give everyone a good feel of what a crossing is really like. What happens daily. What breaks? What the hell are we actually doing out there?

I hope this gives you a good feel of what is required of a delivery captain, and the ups and downs of offshore sailing.

Hope you enjoy meeting the boat and crew. Let me know what you think. Much love!

-James

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Pacific Crossing – Sailing with the Ketch „Te Vega“

Real time update (June 25, 2020) | While Kim stucks in Germany, James is back on the water. He is sailing with the crew of s/v Te Vega, a 1984 Mason 63, from Hawaii to California. They’ll heading north towards Alaska before turning to the east to ride the northern trades into the mainland. Overall it should be around 3000nm and three weeks of sailing.
For more information please watch the upload of our livestream on YouTube or track Te Vega’s journey here…

Of course James is filming the entire adventure – all about what it takes to get a boat ready for the trip, and what it’s like out on that passage. Stay tuned!

Pacific crossing pt. 1 – 4 …