24th Annual Baja Ha-Ha Departs

The 750-mile Baja Ha-Ha cruising rally kicked off on Sunday, October 29, under sunny skies in the parking lot of the San Diego West Marine store located near the heart of Shelter Island. One hundred and fifty-four boats are signed up to push off today for the 10-day rally to Cabo San Lucas.

The fleet gathered for the morning skippers’ meeting with Grand Poobah Richard Spindler entertaining the fleet with the details and bureaucratic logistics needed to smoothly start a rally with hundreds of new best friends.

In attendance were a flotilla of sailors from all over the West Coast, with homeports ranging from Alaska to Southern California. Two couples already have circumnavigations under their belts. 

Being so close to Halloween, the Ha-Ha kick-off party is a fully costumed gala. There were plenty of pirates in attendance, as well as the recreated casts of Gilligan’s Island, Dodgeball and KC and the Sunshine Band. 

The two most common questions we heard: 1) Is the November issue out yet? 2) Are you sailing on the Ha-Ha? Both answers were a tragic no, but rest easy — the November issue will be out on Wednesday (and will be available in Cabo when the Ha-Ha arrives), and, well, somebody has to staff the office and pound the keyboard.

This morning — under a typically overcast sky — the Ha-Ha fleet began to congregate near the mouth of San Diego Bay. On board the Dolphin and organized by the Sport Fishing Association of California were the following organizations: the Port of San Diego, and the San Diego Port Tenants Association, both the Mexico Consulate General (Consulado General de México) and the Mexico Tourism Board, as well as representatives from the US Coast Guard and San Diego Harbor Police. 

Oh, and did we mention the mariachi band? Students from Sweetwater Union High School got to skip class this morning and play the fleet out, as police boats shot their fire hoses and sounded their sirens, while members of the various organizations on board the Dolphin sport fisher took turns firing of a historic America’s Cup starting gun.

For those of us attending our first Ha-Ha send-off parade, we were thoroughly impressed as the departing fleet clogged the horizon. "Wow, that’s a lot of boats," said Dukie Valderamma Chairman of the Board for the Port of San Diego. "This was really something." The event showcases the friendly relationship between West Coast cruisers and the people of Mexico. We saw good will and open arms and sailors and fishermen from both countries enjoying the freedom of the open seas.