REGISTRATION FOR BAJA HA-HA XXIX BEGINS AT NOON ON MAY 9 TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!
Beautiful Lobster Stadium in Turtle Bay, home of the world's fastest-paced
Bazeball Game, with the Ha-Ha fleet in the background.
The Ha-Ha is the 750-mile cruisers' rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas with R&R stops at fun and funky Turtle Bay and spectacularly surreal Bahia Santa Maria. It is a cruisers' rally so the use of engines is allowed for safety and or comfort.
There are eight major social events, starting with a Halloween Costume Kick-Off Party, to the world-famous Turtle Bay Bazeball Game, to the surreal live band rock 'n roll party at remote Bahia Santa Maria, to the rolling-in-the-surf Here to Eternity Kissing Contest. The fun rarely stops.
Over 12,000 sailors have done the event and this could be your year to become part of Ha-Ha history. This year's honorary Entry #1 goes to Scott Stephens and his Catana 47 catamaran. Scott did the first of several Ha-Ha's as crew in 2009, and now, after producing 125 television episodes and several series and films, he's saying goodbye to Hollywood and hello to cruising.
The Beach Party site at the eastern end of Turtle Bay. A great place to kick back and make friends after the 360-mile first leg.
Second, what berths are available in Cabo San Lucas are assigned largely on the order in which boats have signed up. There is, of course, no guarantee of getting a berth in Cabo at all. If the U.S. economy is cranking, berths are very hard to come by. But you never can tell, as last year berths went begging.
Currently the Ha-Ha is in the process of setting up a system whereby boats can, for the first time, check into Mexico at Bahia Santa Maria. If you've worked with the Mexican government you can appreciate the fact we're still hammering out details. We'll keep everyone posted..
This year's Ha-Ha will depart San Diego on October 30, two days after the Hunter's Full Moon. It's nice to have a lot of light on the first leg, so we ordered that just for you.
The following is the third installment of 'Where Are they Now', where vets of the 2018 Ha-Ha report what they are up to now, five years later.
Allan and Rina are long time vets of the Ha-Ha, Mexico,
and the South Pacific. They've moved up to a
Lagoon 450S cat for this year's Ha-Ha.
Follow You, Hunter 466
San Diego
"We are looking forward to Ha-Ha XXIX on our new-to-us 2016 Lagoon 450S. After our 2018 Ha-Ha we bashed back from Puerto Vallarta in March 2020 as Covid looked like it was going to close down ports and prevent cruisers from moving around Mexico. We went back to work, got a great job as managing director of a consulting company, and lived aboard at Pier 32 in San Diego.
"As the market was hot for used boats, we decided to sell our boat in 2021 and started looking for a catamaran. We found Iliohale in San Francisco in late 2021, then put her in a charter fleet for a year while we planned a 2023 Ha-Ha. We had been looking for a slip for over a year in San Diego, and as luck would have it, we walked into Chula Vista Marina the very day a boat gave notice for their end tie. We were already #1 on the waiting list.
"Rina and I just double-handed Iliohale from San Francisco and have purchased a CruiseRO watermaker and a life raft. We are shopping for a downwind sail and are otherwise counting the days to sign up for the Ha-Ha. At some point in the future I'll retire, we'll sail to Mexico for a season or two, then cross the Pacific and join our Ha-Ha vet daughter in New Zealand. She sailed there years ago and has become a permanent resident and thus can sponsor us into the country."
Chris Killian
Derive, Lagoon 410 S2
Newport Beach
"I continued cruising with the hopes of making Australia, where I was going to sell my boat in 2022. We did the Puddle Jump in 2019, then hauled the cat out in August 2019 for cyclone season. The next steps in the plan didn't happen because of Covid. We had paid for a haul out in Tonga in 2020, and our 2021 goal had been Fiji, New Caledonia and Australia. But I didn't get to see my boat for 22 months.
"While extensions were being given to foreign boats in French Polynesia, I ended up on the first plane back into the country in 2021 and decided to sail up to Hawaii because all the other borders were still closed. I spent six months in Hawaii and sold the boat on 12/31/21 to close out the original plan.
"My wife had continued to work at home and was a fly-in cruising wife. But as this was always a five-year plan I was very lucky she let me live out my dream.
"The biggest suggestion I have for people doing the Ha-Ha is to make sure all the big stuff is in working order and don't sweat the small stuff. In addition, do shake-down cruises with crew members before taking them on long-term."
Eddie Harrison
Harizon, Dufour 310
Chicago
Both our 2017 and 2018 Ha-Ha's were great. We continued south after 2018, through Panama Canal, to Providencia, Roatan, Mexico again, Cuba, into Miami, and trucked the boat back to San Francisco. The Ha-Ha was fabulous and set it all up."
Steve Schafer
Shooting Star,
Hylas 42
Napa
"After the Ha-Ha I crossed over to Mazatlan and headed down to La Cruz for New Year's.
I departed the Puerto Vallarta area in March of 2019 and headed to La Paz for a month. Then we went up the eastern coast of Baja, finally crossing over to San Carlos where we left the boat for the summer.
In November 2019, we crossed back over the Sea of Cortez to Agua Verde, then worked our way down to Cabo. From Cabo we motored north to San Diego, passing the 2019 Ha-Ha fleet as it headed south. I was upgrading Shooting Star for the Pacific Puddle Jump when Covid hit and ended up selling the boat to a young couple. I now live in Prescott, Arizona. But I miss the ocean and Mexico."
David Hostvedt
Severance, Wauquiez 43
Seattle
"Although we planned to go further, we fell in love with the people, the food, the weather, the beaches, the culture, and the community of Mexico. We got as far as Barra de Navidad, Mexico, and decided to make it our home. We moved off the boat in 2021, rented for a while, then bought a house here on the water in 2022. Barra is our forever home.
"Many thanks to the Ha-Ha for helping us make it down here. We wouldn't have had the confidence to do it without you."
Marshall Peabody
Tenacity, Roughwater 33
Seattle
"I enjoyed the Ha-Ha very much. My boat has remained in Mexico — La Paz or Nuevo Vallarta — ever since. I spent a season doing the mainland coast to Zihua, another doing the Baja to Bahia Concepción, and spent the COVID year in Paradise Marina. In the meantime, I have loved exploring Mexico, taken many trips inland, found crewing opportunities that took me to Nicaragua, did the Bash on a boat returning to San Diego, and last season Puddle Jumped with another Ha-Ha boat, Aldabra, to the Marquesas and Tuamotos.
"The Ha-Ha launched me into the sailing lifestyle that I'd dreamed about for decades! Thanks for helping get me where I've always wanted to be!"
Roz and Donald of Ramble on Rose have slowly made
their way to Panama and will be heading to the Caribbean.
Ramble on Rose, Caliber 40
San Francisco
"We are still cruising. We spent the COVID years in Mexico, then left Chiapas in November this year. We've stopped at El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, and just arrived in Panama. We will most likely go through the Canal next year to begin exploring the Caribbean side.
"My advice to cruisers is to get Starlink, it's a game-changer. It makes so many things easier, even for those of us who don’t work. Good luck with the Ha-Ha 29."
Kent and Cathy Powley
Coquette,
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45,
Seattle
"We continued cruising all the way to Panama, then west to the Galapagos, French Polynesia and Tonga. We're now in Hawaii and will head to Alaska next.
"Cruising Mexico and Latin America is great. We particularly enjoyed Bahia del Sol in El Salvador. Learn at least a few words of Spanish and use them, as it goes a long way with the locals."
Derick and Barb Sindell
Stray Cat 2, Lagoon 380
Vancouver, BC
"We're still out cruising aboard Stray Cat. After three seasons in Mexico and a year off due to Covid, we decided to head for Panama. We left Puerto Penasco on October 22 and we just arrived in Vista Mar Marina in Panama a couple of days ago. We plan to transit the Canal in early May so we’ve got a few weeks to explore the islands and Panama City. We will leave the boat on the hard in Shelter Bay and go home to Vancouver for five months.
"Our advice for others thinking of doing the Ha-Ha is just do it! It was great to meet other boats heading to Mexico. We also felt there was a safety factor that was important to us."
Steven and Karen Kittle
Parrot Head, Beneteau Oceanis 35.1
Pt. Richmond
"We had a blast on the Ha-Ha!
"We are now in the process of selling our home and moving out of the Bay Area to San Diego. We plan to sail out of San Diego and explore south, and maybe even do another Ha-Ha."
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