Just a Month to Go to the Start of the Baja Ha-Ha

With just a month to go to the start of the 22nd Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers’ Rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas — with stops at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria — there has been some confusion as to the location of the Kick-Off Party. The confusion stems from the fact that the West Marine Superstore at 1250 Rosecrans in San Diego, the site of the kick-off party for many years now, is undergoing a major refit. Indeed, Chris Hunt, who has done the Ha-Ha for almost every one of the last 10 years on the mothership Profligate, won’t be able to go this year because he’s the lead contractor on the store refit!

But there should be no confusion, as today both Josh Williford, who just took over as manager of the store, and Laura Barry of Marketing at West Marine headquarters in Watsonville, confirmed the party will again be in the West Marine parking lot. And next year, too! There might have to be some minor modifications to the layout, but it’s full steam ahead.

If you haven’t looked, this year’s paid Ha-Ha entries are up to 134, with a few more expected. This is a smaller fleet than in recent years, but it doesn’t bother the Grand Poobah. "It will be a little more intimate event, if you can call 134 boats intimate, and I think that’s a good thing," he said. "Bigger isn’t always better, and the morning roll calls won’t be so long."

Not everybody who signs up for the Ha-Ha actually starts the event, of course. David Addleman of the Monterey-based Santa Cruz 50 X, for example, signed up "as an incentive" to get his boat the rest of the way back to California from the Philippines. But he just wrote us to say that after 63 sailing days over the last year to cover 8,000 miles, almost all of them with the wind forward of the beam, he has too much work to do on the bottom, rudder and rig, and thus probably won’t make it.

The Poobah reminded Addleman that it’s almost all downwind from Monterey to Cabo San Lucas, a Santa Cruz 50’s favorite point of sail. And after that it’s less than 300 off-the-wind miles from Cabo to Banderas Bay, where there’s a fine boatyard at the Marina Riviera Nayarit that we use, and that it’s home to Peter Vargas’s Sea Tek, which built many of the sled rigs when the business was located in Southern California.

"Ding, ding, ding . . . best email of the week!" Addleman replied. "Doing the work in PV is a great idea. Thanks!"

By the way, this will be at least the third Ha-Ha for Addleman. No matter if it will be your first or your fifth, we can’t wait to see you at the West Marine Ha-Ha Kick-Off Party on October 25.