The awesome crew of the Seattle-based Hobie 33 TC—JJ Hoag, Jack Killalea, Taylor Joosten, and David Rogers—crossed the start line on Tuesday, July 7, to begin their Pac Cup adventure to Hawaii. They’re terrific sailors, and their updates are super fun. 

Editor’s note: Regular readers may recognize JJ and TC from our My Boat series, as well as a few race reports. They’re passing details of life aboard to a shoreside comms team, who is putting together delightful daily updates, like the one that follows, covering the day they started 

Hello again you beautiful people. Sorry this Day 1 update is late, we have heard little from the crew so far as they get into their groove.

We’ve all had vacation planning oversights. Most of us realize we forgot our toothbrush at the airport, buy an overpriced replacement at the terminal, and move on. Some people forget their anniversary, find a desperate bouquet of gas station carnations, and pray to stay on good terms.

TC Skipper JJ Hoag

But forgetting to buy plane tickets to Hawaii, and deciding the most logical workaround is to sail a 33-foot fiberglass toothpick across 2,000 miles of the Pacific Ocean with three other people? That seems less like problem solving and more like an overcommitment to the bit.

For our four friends aboard TC, rather than admit their mistake and move on, they have spent the last year training, packing, planning, bonding, and sending it to get ready for the world’s longest, wettest, double date.

AND THEY ARE OFF!

Yesterday was an emotional one. After a final day and morning, of loading gear, going through provisions, reducing some of the very generous packages their loved ones gave them for the half-way point, and vacuum sealing toilet paper to the point of flat (because every centimeter matters when people volunteer to live in maybe 60 feet of interior area together), it was time to leave.

For the crew, that came with some big emotions. John Hoag, JJ’s dad and legendary local oracle, had considered making the crossing with them but ultimately decided to not be a literal fifth wheel and let the quartet do their thing. Leaving him on the dock brought big emotions for JJ. Leaving a parent is hard, but sometimes, staying behind might be harder. John is experiencing extreme parental FOMO (and extreme proudness) so it remains to be seen which of the two will be more emotionally damaged when they reach Kaneohe.

Eventually, there was nothing to panic about, nothing to load, tie down, reconsider, or vacuum seal. It was time to go sailing and find out if they really do like each other.

TC finding a lane at the start. Photo courtesy of TC Comms.

THE RACE

And the start was a bit… spicy. The fleet came out aggressively, with boats working to cover and roll TC. Our beautiful double daters got pinned for a second before popping out to leeward and finding themselves in a great position. Then the freighter came through. Apparently a 2,000 mile ocean race wasn’t exciting enough. TC was forced to tack away and get going back alongside the Antrim 27C, io.

And then, as the sight of land began to drift away… Jack fell asleep on the rail. We are assured this was a tactical power nap, definitely not because he was feeling seasick and refused to put on his scopolamine patches. Definitely not.

Jack’s tactical nap. Definitely not mal de mar…

THE CONDITIONS

The plan was to spend the first few days on the high-top #2 jib before getting far enough south to pop a kite and let TC do what a Hobie 33 was put on this earth to do: go fast.

There was just one small, 25-30 knot issue. According to John’s shoreside assessment, they probably “got the shit beat out of them.” Tracker data suggests they slammed into this breeze, right forward of the beam.

For the non-sailors: bad.

For the sailors: also bad, but you understand why.

It means life is currently cold, wet, and loud on a small enclosure of humans, stench, and 16 water bricks strapped randomly to the inside of the boat.

“Hope those don’t hurt anybody.” -John Hoag

John later noted that some of the worst conditions he’s ever survived involved heading south around the corner of the bay into a massive ebb against a 30-knot northerly. “Not for the weak of heart,” he muttered. His daughter is currently out there right now. Parents are fascinating creatures.

Thanks to a new friend from the east coast, here’s what the forecast looks like for their time out there. Hopefully they will warm up soon.

Beneath the tracker watching, questionable decisions, water bricks, and growing concern over the contents of Jack’s stomach, John said something about this race that gets to the heart of why these four goobers are out there. It’s not entirely about winning. It’s about the adventure. Pushing hard. Making mistakes. Learning from them. Getting to Hawaii knowing you gave it everything you had. And still being friends when you arrive.

Which brings us back to the world’s longest double date. As of now, TC is moving south and west. The breeze is building. The crew is settling into life offshore. The solar panels work. The water bricks remain contained.

And somewhere in the Pacific, Jack is presumably asleep; again, not because of seasickness.

Keep sending your questions for the crew.

So far, fans have demanded answers to:

  • Who farted?
  • Are you drinking enough water?
  • Can you remember the first time you met each other, and did you ever think you would become this good of friends?
  • What is the absolute worst fashion phase you ever went through?

Hard-hitting journalism.

We’ll send them along when satellite communication, sailing conditions, and the crew’s willingness to entertain us allow.

Thanks for reading and we’ll let you know more when we know more.

Cheers,

TC Comms

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Hobie 33 Pac Cup TC