Here’s a Peek at Who’s Already Signed Up for Baja Ha-Ha XXX
Two weeks after registrations for the 30th Baja Ha-Ha opened, 71 boats had signed up for the annual cruising rally to Mexico, a number that the Ha-Ha’s Poobah, Richard Spindler, says is typical for this time of year.
Sixty-one of these boats are sloops, the biggest being Zac and Karina Singer’s sleek La Cruz-based Andrews 56 Encore. Almost as long but bigger in volume is David and Allison Shuttleworth’s CT54 Epifania, which is an entirely different boat from Encore. Epifania is a Taiwan-built Bob Perry-designed classic cutter-rigged ketch.
The two smallest boats registered to date are from Oregon: Chris Fowler’s Ericson 32 Red Beard from Portland, and Mike Meloy’s Catalina 32 Even Keel from Corvallis.
As usual, the majority of the boats are in the mid-40-ft range. Lots of them are oldies but goodies. So far the oldest might be Chris Fearon’s Islander 36 Mambo from Canton, Ohio. The Poobah remembers selling Islander 36s, which are still good-looking, in the early ’70s.
Currently there are eight catamarans, not including Profligate, the 63-ft Hughes that will be the mothership for the 27th time. This is a typical catamaran-to-monohull ratio for the Ha-Ha.
As always, powerboats are welcome in the Ha-Ha, and two have signed up so far: Jeff Gerard’s DeFever 53 Eventide from Kensington, and Ed and Wendy Thomas’ San Diego-based Mikelson 43 Apogee.
Stand by! The paid entries have now surged to 74! And we have a new biggest boat: Phil Friedman’s Farr 85 Sapphire Knight.
You can stay up to date with all the entries here.
The Poobah and Doña de Mallorca are currently on our canal boat in Saint Florentin, France, after two weeks of gallivanting around France and Italy. I’m finally settled in a very quiet area and have got my Starlink cranking, so I’m about to begin one of my favorite tasks of the year — writing the bios for the Ha-Ha entries.
For those who have been sleeping far inland, the Ha-Ha is the 750-mile cruisers’ rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, with stops at fun and funky Turtle Bay — where fuel is once again being sold from the pier — and surreal Bahia Santa Maria. The event starts on November 4. The Notice of Rally and entry form can be found at www.baja-haha.com.
There are different ways to cruise south to Mexico, but we think being part of the Ha-Ha is the most fun — eight big social events — easiest and safest because of the numbers. Plus, by the time you get to Cabo, you’ll have made all kinds of new cruising friends.
We’ve missed only one of the 28 Ha-Ha’s to date, and can’t wait to do our 29th. We hope you’ll join us.
Note: Sapphire Knight was a Performance Division class winner in last month’s Newport to Ensenada Race.