And Then There Were 92

Perhaps thanks to the new online sign-up for the Baja Ha-Ha, the entries for this fall’s 15th running of the 750-mile cruisers’ rally from San Diego to Cabo are running well ahead of last year. As of today, there are already 92 fully paid entries!

If you’re thinking about signing up, the way to do it is by visiting www.baja-haha.com. First, you should get all the details by hitting buttons labeled ‘Schedule’, ‘Notice of Rally’, ‘About the Ha-Ha’, ‘Southbound Berthing’, and ‘Latitude‘s First-Timer’s Guide to Cruising in Mexico’. If you’re satisfied that you qualify and want to do the event, then hit the ‘How to Register’ button. You can even pay by credit card. If you’re computer illiterate, you can get all the same information the old-fashioned way by sending $20 to Baja Ha-Ha, c/o Latitude 38, 15 Locust, Mill Valley, CA 94941. Once you receive your entry packet by mail, you can simply mail it back and you’ll be entered.

The Grand Poobah is chuffed to see that quite a few veterans of previous Ha-Ha’s — and other cruising adventures — have already signed up. Among them are good friends Barritt Neal and Renee Blaul of the San Diego-based Kelly-Peterson 44 Serendipity, who are entry #83.

Barritt cruised his beloved sloop for a number of years in the South Pacific, then with Renee for about six years in Mexico and six years in the Caribbean. They say that they like the latter two places so equally that the only solution would be to have a boat in both places — which is what inspired us to put a charter cat in the yacht management program at BVI Yacht Charters in Tortola.

If you’re new to cruising and think it might be a good idea to start out in loose company with wonderful folks such as Barritt and Renee, put some serious thought into doing a light-hearted Ha-Ha.

Latest entries to date (the full entry list can be found here):

79    Seeker, Caliber LRC40, Kevin McCabe, San Diego
80    Wanderer, Jeanneau 43DS, Patrick Stewart, Ventura
81    Sisiutl, Gulfstar 44, Bob Bechler, Portland
82    Faith, Morgan 41, Sandy Smith, Portland
83    Serendipity, Kelly Peterson 44, Barritt Neal, San Diego
84    Providence, Valiant 39, Jill Geary, San Diego
85    About Time, Downeast 38, Jeff Smith, Huntington Beach
86    Gaia, Liberty 458, Robert McLeod, Lake Oswego, OR
87    Babeeze, Hunter 45, Rene Amyot, Edmonton, AB
88    Eva, Nor’Sea 31, Michael Traum, Cape Mendocino
89    Patience, Tayana 42, Dennis Mahar, Houston, TX
90    Rocinante, Islander 36, Dan Martone, Point Richmond
91    Kalewa, 50-ft catamaran, Kevin Millett, Nawiliwili, Kau’ai
92    Carinthia, Lagoon 440 catamaran, Dietmar Petutschnig, Las Vegas