The mind-numbing pace of modern urban living leaves many people wishing there were more hours in the day. That’s especially true when it comes to fitting out a boat for cruising south of the border. So every year, there’s a segment of would-be entrants in our annual Baja Ha-Ha rally who put off signing up until just before the September 15 deadline (midnight tomorrow) because they’re not sure they can get their boat and themselves ready in time for the San Diego start of Leg One — which falls on Halloween this year. 

In fact, since we sat down to write up this deadline reminder, three new entries have joined the fleet for the 750-mile San Diego-to-Cabo San Lucas rally. The first was Adios, a vintage Oregon-based Columbia 43 owned by Craig Shaw, who is a veteran of many previous Ha-Ha rallies. The second entry this morning is also Oregon-based: Laurin Dodd’s Tayana 37 Second Wind. This morning’s third entry is Alex Cartwright’s San Francisco-based Beneteau First 45 Fields of Gold. 

We’d bet that all three of these captains came to the same realization at some point: that is, that sailors never really get to the bottom of their To Do Lists. The fact is, at some point — even if you’re not completely ready — you’ll have to accept the compromise that you are ‘ready enough’, otherwise you might never throw off your docklines.

So what do you say? Is this your year to Ha-Ha? With 161 boats signed up — make that 164 — it promises to be a memorable cruise to the Cape. See the official website to sign up or see full details of this year’s rally.

Last week we published a shout-out to young sailors in an effort to learn about their sailing habits, how they got started, and how we can do a better job of entertaining them in the pages of Latitude 38. 

So far, we’ve received a boatload of insightful comments and sailing photos, but we’d love to hear from more of you. So below is our quickie survey again. We greatly appreciate your input.

If you are under 40 and enjoy sailing in West Coast waters, please take a minute to tell us about your sailing style:

• What sort of boat do you normally sail (brand and length)?
• Do you normally sail your own boat or crew for others?
• If you own your own boat, roughly how much did you pay for it? (__<$10,000; __$10k-$30k; __$31-$60k; __>$60k)
• What sort of sailing do you normally do (racing, daysailing, cruising)?
• What is your dream boat?
• How did you learn to sail (sailing school, parents, friends, self-taught)?
• What events or destinations are on your sailing bucket list?
• What aspects of sailing or the sailing lifestyle would you like to see us cover more in Latitude 38 and ‘Lectronic Latitude?

While you’re at it, we’d love to receive a few of your favorite photos of yourself and friends enjoying the sailing lifestyle. Many thanks. We’ll see you out there.