It Was a Sushi Slide South With the 30th Annual Baja Ha-Ha

It’s a wrap. The 30th annual Baja Ha-Ha started on a brilliant, sunny Monday and pretty much took that weather all the way south to Cabo. The breeze was light; the sailing, fishing, surfing and harbor gatherings were all good. There were challenges such as overland travel from the remote Bahia Santa Maria to get all 360 passports stamped, but it miraculously worked out.

There’s much more to tell, but we thought we’d share a glimpse, starting with the menu from the always-excellent fishing. There was fine dining from the bounty of the sea all the way to Cabo.

Beyond the fishing, the sailing, sunrises and sunsets were spectacular, while the night watches benefited from clear skies and a waxing moon. (It’s a supermoon tonight, with King Tides this morning and throughout this weekend.)

There was some gear failure, a broken wrist, and some awesome dancing on the bluff at Bahia Santa Maria. As the image below shows, the wind offshore was light, putting a premium on big, downwind sails, patient sail handling, and/or the iron genny. As the three fishing photos show, the seas were often flat, but there was enough breeze to keep spinnakers drawing and boats moving.

Talented Latitude 38 sales manager Nicki Bennett also put together some episodes of Latitude 38 Live, where we followed the Baja Ha-Ha fleet south with Chuck Skewes of Ullman Sails aboard the Grand Poobah’s Surfin’ 63 Profligate. You can see the final episode below and all prior episodes on our YouTube channel here.

As expected, upon arrival in Cabo there were no slips available for anyone, and all had to anchor outside the marinas. With “peak congestion” in and around the harbor, it was decided to forego the closing ceremonies and let boats continue on to more welcoming cruising grounds. From the fleet-tracker image below you can see boats quickly moved to Puerto Los Cabos or on to La Paz for the La Paz Beach Party, happening on November 24.

If you’re thinking of heading south you can order your own First Timer’s Guide to Mexico here.

The sailing and stories continue. We’ll have more on the 30th annual Baja Ha-Ha in the upcoming December issue, which will hit the streets on Tuesday, December 2.