Ha-Ha Leg 3 Underway

At 7 a.m. today the Baja Ha-Ha rally’s starting horn rang out via VHF across the Bahia Santa Maria anchorage, announcing the start of Leg 3, a 180-miler to Cabo San Lucas. The early start was scheduled so the smaller boats in the 111-boat fleet would not have to spend two nights at sea before arriving at the Cape. Winds of 15-20 knots and choppy sea conditions are expected today, continuing tomorrow with possible squalls. The event’s Grand Poobah predicts this could be the fastest Leg 3 ever.

Since we checked in on Monday, fleet members spent two wonderful days in remote BSM, a vast crescent bay notched into the upper peninsula that defines Magdalena Bay. On Monday, aka Santa Maria Day, many sailors swam in the 80° water, walked the sandy beaches, or hiked the steep, shaley hillsides. Yesterday was the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Beach Party, sponsored by the local fisherfolk. If you followed our reports on previous Ha-Ha’s, you know that these annual fiestas are always surreal scenes set on a bluff overlooking the bay with dancing to a live band that makes the long trek up from La Paz — 100 miles up the highway, 40 miles over the desert, across a river, and 15 miles down the beach at low tide.

During Leg 2 from Bahia Tortugas to Bahia Santa Maria the fleet saw a full palette of sailing conditions: The wind clocked from northwest to northeast to southeast and ranged from 2 to 30 knots. Stay tuned for our Friday report, by which time all the boats should have arrived in Cabo San Lucas.