Last Leg of the Baja Haha

I was up at 0600 for the morning radio net. We hear instructions and updates from the Poobah and he makes sure the fleet is ready to go. We have about 20 gallons of fuel left which will not get us to Cabo (about 180 miles away) unless we sail a good part of the way. We motor thru the morning and into the afternoon as the wind starts to build to 8-10 knots. We raise the spinnaker and she is a fine sight. We sail tru the evening untill the wind drops at 2200. Motor on. My watch begins at 0200. My last watch of the trip. I think about some of the highlights of my past 8 Haha"s. All the people I have met and all the fun times we have had. This is very cool way to get down the coast and I enjoy doing it. My watch ends and I head to a restful sleep. Up at 1030 and we are sailing again. The skipper thinks we are maybe not gone a make it to Cabo with the remaining fuel we have as the wind is dying. If we run out, we could be pushed by the wind onto the beach. Not good. I hail the other boats around us and ask for fuel. Sure enough Panther (the cat that I set the party up with) is nearby and have extra fuel. Within 15 minutes they are throwing over a line with a 5.3 gallon jug of diesel. This folks, is the true meaning of the Haha. Cruisers helping cruisers! We pour it into the tank and off we go for the final 8 miles to the harbor. We pull into the harbor for fuel, water and an inspection of our food. They take a few eggs, meat and produce that is not from Mexico. I jump off the boat and say my goodbyes. Thanks to Lisa and Byron for sharing this adventure with me. I had a blast and you guys were so sweet. I head to my hotel room but first have a margarita at the bar. After 8 Haha's I wonder if I will do another? I have been very lucky to hook up with some very cool folks by hitchhiking to Cabo on others boats. There was a beach party and an awards ceremony to attend once in Cabo. However, there was a big wind event coming and the leaders cancelled the events in an abundence of caution and to give everyone a chance to get up to La Paz or wherever before the storm hit. I met a bunch of cool folks from Santa Cruz and Monterey and hope to catch up with them again. And special thanks to Richard Spindler (that's him in the first pic with his 63' cat) for putting these rallies together for 30 years. We had a few snags on this voyage (immigration and weather) and it may be the final Haha as we know it. We will find out in the spring. Over and out!

2nd Leg Baja Haha

We departed about 0700 from Turtle Bay. The winds picked up about 1400 and we had a very nice spinnaker run. After a nice dinner, I hit the hay for some much needed rest. At 0200 I reported for my 4 hour watch. With no issues it was one of the best midnight watches ever. The big dipper was on its side at this latitude. No boats in our way and some great tunes on the stereo. With the coast clear I could reflect on my life and all the amazing things I have accomplished. On my watch I realized I have only one more night watch to go. In the morning we had a line break on the boom furler so we are motoring to Santa Maria. No big deal. We arrived at 7:30 and deployed the anchor with about 25 boats in the bay. I did the dishes and went off into a deep sleep. In the morning we need to get the dog to the beach. Byron took the dingy to look at the bar entrance and the beach beyond. A big wave swept over the dingy and Byron went in the water as the dingy turned upside down and swamped the motor. He and Lisa spent the afternoon getting it going again. In the mneantime, I asked two catamarans if they would be willing to raft up and host a boat party. They agreed and it turned out great. About 50 sailors showed up along with some kids. The only reason it worked was the space that cats afford. Meet some cool folks and had a great time. Back home about 2200 and went to bed. Today is the beach party and I am planning to DJ along with a band on the bluff. The locals prepare a fine meal and we dance the afternoon away. Our last leg is tomorrow and about a 24 hour run to Cabo San Lucas.

Boaters Worst Nightmare Comes True

First Leg of the Haha

My adventure started in early September with a Latitude 38 Crew Party in Sausalito. Those who need crew and those looking to crew gather to find a spot on the Haha. The problem is there are 50 sailors looking to crew and only 4-5 skippers looking for crew. I spoke with Byron and Lisa and told them I had done the Haha 7 times, I would provision the boat, cook all the meals and do all the dishes. Why would I do all this? Because I want to be on the Haha! They spoke with a few other newbies and then realized I would be an asset to their voyage and they asked me to join them. I of course said yes. I would meet them in San Diego and assist in all faucets of the trip. They need to get the boat from Alameda to San Diego. They had never been offshore before so I gave them a bunch of tips for their trip south. I arrived in San Diego a few days before departure and stayed in the hotel attached to the marina. It worked well and I could take a few steps and be at the boat. The highlight of the stay was the ZZ Top concert right at the marina. Byron and I attended and they were great. Monday morning was departure time for the 30th annual Baja Haha. 131 boats and 455 sailors. All the boats gather at the starting line and at 1100 we start the rally to Turtle Bay some 380 miles south. The winds are just under 10 and we raise the sails. We sail for about 6 hours and then motor thru the night. My watch is 2-6 am and pm. That gives me plenty of time to rest, eat and watch a movie. The next day we got the sails up again for about 8 hours. No wind on the third day so we motored on. We arrived in Turtle Bay at sunset and threw down the anchor in the midst of 20-30 boats that had arrived before us. I pulled out some French Champagne and we celebrated our boat’s first foreign anchorage. It was sweet. That night we get a radio message that a boat is 5 miles out and out of fuel and the wind has blown out their sails. A boat heading south was able to get them 9 gallons of fuel and they safely got into the bay. They anchored in the bay and went to bed. The wind was up to 20 and the anchor picked up and they drifted out of the bay and by the time they woke up, they were 5 miles out again. They had plenty of fuel and got back in safely. On Thursday we had a fun softball game at the local baseball field. Dinner at Maria’s with a dockmate Rob from my marina. Friday was the beach party and it was fun with lots of happy sailors. One of the guys had caught an 80 pound tuna and was serving everyone tacos that were delicious. Saw some old friends and made some new ones. This morning we are off for a 220 mile run to Santa Maria and another epic beach party. We have Starlink onboard so I will be able to update as we head south.

Boat in Trouble on the Haha

We are anchored safely at Turtle Bay 350 miles south of San Diego. We just received a radio message from a boat 5 miles out that is out of fuel and their sails have been blown out in big winds. I hope the Mexican Navy can assist them as we have some strong winds coming in tonight.

Bon Voyage!

Getting ready to depart for San Diego this week. The Baja Haha starts on Monday November 4. With 2 stops it will take 10 days to sail the 750 miles to Cabo San Lucas. I am sailing on a Morgan Catalina 44 that has made her way to San Diego and is ready to rock. I am joining the owners for their first big voyage. They intend to end up in the Caribbean sometime next year. Be on the lookout for the trip log in mid November.

The Big Boyz!

A fascinating contest for monohull line honours was staged at the 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race. Huang-Seng Lee’s Scallywag 100 (HKG) prevailed as the first yacht to complete the 606-nautical mile course following an epic duel with rival 100-ft Maxi Black Jack 100 (MON). Her elapsed time was two days, 21 hours, 33 minutes and 29 seconds. An international fleet of 112 yachts are contesting the 45th edition of the race which starts and finishes in Malta and comprises an anticlockwise circumnavigation of Sicily. The focus now switches to the race’s most significant prize, the Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy, awarded to the overall winner on handicap. Rolex has partnered both the race and its organizers, the Royal Malta Yacht Club, since 2002.

30 years ago big wave surfer Mark Foo drown at Mavericks