Bringing Sailing Down to Earth : A couple that recently completed a 8,500-mile trip will fill Adventure Series lecture audience in on the pitfalls of an ocean voyage.

Before setting sail for the South Pacific two years ago, John and Vikki Zinsmeyer took nearly every sailing course Orange Coast College had to offer. Now, the Zinsmeyers are back in school--this time as teachers.

The Zinsmeyers, who recently completed a 8,500-mile voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand, will be guest lecturers Jan. 24 in the college’s popular Sailing Adventure Series, which is being held throughout January. The series, now in its 17th year, has been drawing sellout audiences since it began.

As former members of that audience, the Zinsmeyers hope to share their newfound sailing knowledge with other Orange County boaters who may be dreaming of far horizons.

In fact, John Zinsmeyer, 41, says his advice to would-be voyagers is: “It (cruising) is not sitting out in the cockpit with a cocktail, watching a sunset. It’s doing maintenance in exotic locations.”

Sailing the ocean in a small boat is a lot of work, Zinsmeyer says. “Just getting fuel to the boat is difficult--filling jugs and carrying the fuel to the boat because there aren’t many (fuel) docks in paradise.”

Despite the hardships, which included a rough and rainy 1,000-mile passage from Tonga to New Zealand, the Zinsmeyers agree that the experience was worthwhile. “It’s a lot of anguish, but in the end the passages become memories and it’s worth all the work,” says Vikki Zinsmeyer, 31.

The Newport Beach couple enjoyed the trip so much that they are planning another one this summer in a new boat for which they will take delivery in Finland. From Finland, they’ll sail to England before heading back across the Atlantic to the United States. In preparation for the upcoming voyage, the Zinsmeyers just sold the Swan 46 that took them to the South Pacific. The boat, which the Zinsmeyers had shipped back to Orange County from New Zealand, was equipped with all the latest gear, including a ham radio, water-maker, generator, microwave oven, refrigerator and freezer. “It was sort of like living in a small apartment,” John says.

The new boat, a Swan 44, although 2 feet smaller than the old one, will have everything the old boat had and more--including a clothes washer and dryer. Having such creature comforts makes cruising more enjoyable, the Zinsmeyers agree. Otherwise living on a boat is too much like camping out, John says.

Even with such amenities, the Zinsmeyers don’t plan to stay at sea for more than a year at a time without returning to their home on Lido Isle for what Vikki calls a “civilization break.”

Both say that cruising has made them appreciate many of the everyday “civilization” things they took for granted, including the simple act of making a telephone call. “I didn’t realize how high-tech America was until we got out there,” John says. “We missed everything American.”

They also missed John’s three children by a former marriage and Tiffany the cat, who stayed behind with a pet-sitter. But now that the Zinsmeyers are back home, they find themselves longing for the camaraderie of the cruisers they met on their voyage. That’s one reason they’re getting ready to head out again.

“We realize we are fortunate,” Vikki says. “We have the time and the means to do it.”

The Zinsmeyers’ earn their living off of investments made after the sale of a family business. Most cruisers are not as affluent, Vikki is quick to admit; many are retired and living on fixed incomes. Others work their way around the world. “People come from all different countries,” she says. “We met a lot of great people.”

During most of their voyage, they cruised in company with two other boats they met along the way. Some of their fondest memories are of potluck dinners shared with fellow sailors. And some of their scariest memories are of the stormy passage from Tonga to New Zealand.

“It rained all but a half hour of the whole 9 1/2-day voyage,” John says.

But even though the passage was rough, both Vikki and John say they felt thoroughly prepared, thanks mainly to those Orange Coast College classes. “I think those classes were my reaction to the fear,” says Vikki, who had never sailed until after she got married 10 years ago.

“We were really overprepared,” says John, a longtime sailor who joined his wife for the navigation classes at the college. Both Vikki and John earned their ham radio licenses before setting sail, and Vikki even became an emergency medical technician.

Even with all the preparation, Vikki says, “I always found things to worry about.”

More Adventure. Joining the Zinsmeyers in the Sailing Adventure series will be Herb and Nancy Payson, who will kick off the series on Jan. 10.

Payson, known to thousands of sailors through his books and magazine articles, spent seven years cruising the Pacific.

Since 1987, the Paysons have explored the coast of Maine, the Bahamas, the islands of the Caribbean and the Amazon in Brazil.

On Jan. 17, guest speakers will be Vilfredo and Heloisa Schurmann from Brazil. They will talk about their eight years of cruising, which included a dismasting. Vilfredo, a journalist and photographer, is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers in Brazil.

The Zinsmeyers will appear on the program on Jan. 24 and will be followed on Jan. 31 by Julia Hazel, an Australian writer and photographer who at 26 built her own 28-foot cruising boat.

She then went on to complete a solo circumnavigation from 1982 to 1989.

All four programs will be held at 8 p.m. in the Robert B. Moore Theatre at Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Series tickets cost $29 in advance or $35 at the door. Single admission is $8.50 advance and $10 at the door.

Ticket information is available by calling (714) 432-5880.

More Sailing. Dawn Riley, the only woman in the current America’s Cup competition, and Linda Newland, who sailed single-handed from California to Japan, will be guest speakers at the third annual Women’s Sailing Convention Saturday, Feb. 1.

The daylong event, open to all women interested in sailing, will be held at the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in San Pedro and is being organized by Gail Hine of Tustin. The convention is being sponsored by the Southern California Yachting Assn. and will provide women from all over Southern California a chance to meet other female sailors, according to Hine.

Activities include on-the-water events such as a man-overboard drill. There will also be instruction in basic sailing, docking and boat handling. Admission is $35 and includes all the workshops, plus dinner.

For information write to the Women’s Sailing Convention, 1421 Lance Drive, Tustin, Calif. 92680, or call (714) 730-1797.