Baja Ha-Ha XXVIII Will Launch on October 31!
You can’t get enough of a good thing. The Grand Poobah has announced that the Latitude 38-sponsored Baja Ha-Ha XXVIII (did the Roman Empire last that long?) will be run from October 31 to November 12, with entries opening on May 11. We run the rest of the announcement from the Baja Ha-Ha news page here:
“If you are new to sailing, 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 pristine Bahia Santa Maria.
“Boats must be 27 feet in length, and have been designed, built, and maintained for offshore sailing.”
“The weather forecast calls for light to moderate winds from aft, and by popular demand, during the course of the event the moon will be growing to a full Beaver Moon on November 8.
“Well over 10,000 sailors have done the Ha-Ha in the first 27 editions. Some participants have met their spouses on it, others have conceived children on it, so there are dangers. Most participants just make a lot of lifetime friends.
“In addition to the sailing, there are seven big social events, from the Last Cheeseburger in Paradise Costume Kickoff Party to the Awards Party, not forgetting the world-famous Cruisers Versus Turtle Bay Kids baseball game, the Cheated Death Again dance-off and popcorn throw at Squid Roe, and the Here to Eternity Kissing Contest in the surf at Cabo.”
“Prefer tranquility? While fun, all of the social events are optional.
“As has been the case for 24 years, the 63-ft cat Profligate will be the mothership. As has been the case for all Ha-Ha’s, it will be Richard Spindler’s privilege to serve as Grand Poobah. Patsy Verhoeven, vet of 15 Ha-Ha’s, will be the Assistant Poobah. Doña de Mallorca, vet of 25 Ha-Ha’s, will be Chief of Security — not that we’ve ever needed one.
“Entries will be accepted starting at noon on May 11. The Notice of Rally is current at www.baja-haha.com.”
“The La Paz welcome party for the Ha-Ha fleet will be on November 20. The Banderas Bay welcome party will be in the second week of December.
“We’re looking forward to sailing south with you, so don’t forget May 11.”
The 2021 Baja Ha-Ha was a huge success and, once again, Latitude 38 is welcoming event sponsors on board to support this festive annual migration south. If you would like to join the revered ranks of Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha sponsors you can email Nicki Bennett for information. Stay in touch with all our Mexico and cruising news on our Heading South page here.
Emily Zugnoni and Charlie McKee Receive US Sailing Awards
Bay Area sailor Emily Zugnoni and two-time Olympic medalist Charlie McKee are among 16 sailors who received a US Sailing’s Association Award in a special edition of US Sailing’s Starboard Portal — individuals and organizations in the areas of Adaptive Sailing, Community Sailing, Training and Education, and Coaching Excellence were honored for their contributions to the sport of sailing in the United States during 2021.
Emily Zugnoni is the program director at Alameda Community Sailing Center (ACSC). She grew up sailing on the Estuary and San Francisco Bay aboard her grandfather’s Tartan 30 Lelo Too, and at age 20 began her professional sailing career by attaining her Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential and becoming an instructor with ACSC. Emily is now the recipient of US Sailing’s Outstanding Program Director Award.
In announcing the awards yesterday, US Sailing described Emily as “a dedicated community member who has made a significant impact on the culture at the organization and on everyone who has the pleasure of walking through their gates.” In her role at ACSC, Emily has been instrumental in improving the organization’s programs by introducing courses and training such as safe powerboat handling, STEM education activities, and social-emotional learning techniques, along with numerous US Sailing courses. She has also created a popular sailing program for girls, which incorporates sailing instruction, STEM and leadership. “Emily Zugnoni’s stewardship of sail training in her community is impressive and admirable, she empowers staff to reach their greatest potential, provides a safe environment and demonstrates excellent leadership,” US Sailing wrote.
Charlie McKee is a professional sailor and coach, currently based in Hood, OR. Charlie’s first experience as an Olympic sailor was in 1984, and his first medal win (bronze) was at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. In 1992 he coached the US windsurfers for the Barcelona Olympics. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Charlie teamed up with his brother Jonathan to sail the (then) new 49ers, and the pair won bronze. US Sailing has honored Charlie with the National Coach of the Year Award. The award recognizes Charlie’s devotion to “introducing and fostering the new (to the Olympics) foiling Kite class to Olympic level campaigning.”
In his role as kite foiling coach for the US Sailing Team, Charlie has been instrumental in formulating the kite foil squad and preparing the team for its 2024 Olympic campaign. Charlie coached Californian Daniela Moroz, along with four other kite foilers, ahead of Moroz’s victory in the 2021 Formula Kite European Championships, held in Montpellier, France, and her win at the following World Championships in Sardinia, Italy. In the awards’ press release, US Sailing added, “Charlie’s attention to safety was also a key factor in the success. Managing high speeds, competitive juices, safe launching, coach boat support, and injury support are of the utmost importance in today’s new world of high performance.
You can read more about Emily Zugnoni, Charlie McKee and the other award winners at US Sailing.org.
Vallejo Marina: Gateway to the Bay, Delta, and Napa River
40′ to 45′ foot slips are now available at $9.97/ft. www.ci.vallejo.ca.us
He Sailed to Mexico with the Baja Ha-Ha and Never Left
On Monday evening, after docking Baja Fog, we quickly jumped aboard a water taxi panga for the very short, quick ride to Barra de Navidad. No special occasion, just a typical Monday night in paradise. The crew of Baja Fog had reservations for dinner at Barra Galería de Arte.
Robert Hansen is a talented photographer, and his wife, Rosy, is a talented chef. Robert’s from the East Bay area, and Rosy’s from right there in Barra de Navidad (she was actually born in one of the rooms that’s now part of the restaurant/art gallery). What’s any of that have to do with sailing? And what the heck is a Baja Ha-Ha burgee doing hanging in the restaurant’s tequila lounge?
Turns out that Robert sailed south as crew in the 2007 Baja Ha-Ha cruising rally. He made it as far as Barra de Navidad. There he met Rosy and fell in love. He’s still there.
Speaking of talent, Monday nights actually are special, for the music of Salvador, who entertains the diners with his singing and amazing virtuosity on the guitar (and all the other instruments on the backing tracks he prerecorded).
You see, you never know where you’ll find yourself when you say “Yes!” to adventure.
Cap’n Fatty Goodlander Survives by Looking at Jib Telltales
We always get a good laugh reading a story from renowned sea gypsy Cap’n Fatty Goodlander. We recently read one of his regular columns in the Caribbean boating publication All At Sea (page 22 of the February 2022 issue) describing how sailing helps him overcome discouragement at the state of the world.
Fatty wrote, “Every time I get discouraged by recent events — COVID’s new Omicron variant, global warming, the rise of racism, the sudden return of racism as a well-trodden path to political power, and the almost instantaneous waning of American international prestige — I go sailing. That’s right, I mess around in boats. I don’t have to sail far. I don’t have to sail aboard a fancy or expensive vessel. All I have to do is get on the water and trim my sails — Mother Ocean kindly does the rest.
“I don’t need to study Zen — I sail.
“Of course, I realize my going sailing doesn’t help the world. It only helps me. Still, helping me isn’t such a bad thing to do — especially if you are me. We all have to take care of ourselves in these turbulent times — or we’ll explode individually before we explode politically. And, I remember these words from my days as a protester during the 1960s: The first duty of a revolutionary is to survive.
“The way I currently survive is by looking at my jib telltales in the South China Sea — by meditating on them.”
Cap’n Fatty’s description of the relief found in sailing struck us as a lighthearted version of the opening page of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, which we quoted in a story on our new page ‘The Heeling Power of Sailing.’
Where Do You Pick Up Your Latitude 38?
The weekend is upon us, and we hope you all take the opportunity to color the Bay with beautifully billowing sails. But with the forecast being for light winds, you may not end up doing much billowing. This does, however, present the perfect conditions for just drifting about and relaxing, and for reading on deck. We suggest you grab your copy of February’s Latitude 38 and pull up a cushion or hammock and put your nose between the pages. Of course, please remember to pop out every so often for a check of your location and proximity to other boats.
To help you get a visual on where you can get your copy of the magazine, we asked our drivers to send us photos from their deliveries on February 1.
Our drivers go everywhere, so if you’re not seeing the magazine at a location near you, let us know where you’d like to see them and we’ll update our distribution list.
And when you next pick up your copy from your favorite distributor, send us a photo of you, the magazine and the sign of the outlet — maybe you can even get one of the crew to pose with you (bonus points if you do). Email your photo to [email protected].
We’ll select a photo at random and award the photographer a Latitude 38 T-shirt or hat.