Come On Down, The Weather Is Fine

If you’re staging your boat for the Baja Ha-Ha, you couldn’t pick a better time to be in Southern California. The weather is great. On the hook at Catalina’s Cherry Cove yesterday afternoon, it was a delicious 85 degrees. Last night it was warm and dry. At 7 a.m. this morning, it was 70 degrees and dry. A foreshadowing of Mexico. The next couple of days are expected to be similarly pleasant, with temperatures dipping a bit over the weekend. But today. . . marvelous!

While there have been quite a few Ha-Ha boats coming through Catalina, apparently the biggest single grouping is at the new Pier 32 Marina, just south of San Diego, where we’re told 28 Ha-Ha boats have already gathered. They still have some slips for smaller boats, so that’s an option to keep in mind.

Also, we should remind all Ha-Ha skippers that today, the San Diego Harbor Police will begin handing out Ha-Ha-only anchoring permits to registered participants, allowing them to anchor at a specially designated anchorage off Coronado, at Glorietta Bay. Talk to the Mooring Office staff at the Shelter Island Police docks, where slips are also available on a first come, first served basis. Call (619) 686-6227, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m any day for further info. They are doing their best to keep tabs on availability at all San Diego marinas.

Note also that longtime Ha-Ha sponsor West Marine will soon be running free shuttles around all over the San Diego area as a special courtesy to those who need to do errands, but want to save cab fare or car rental fees. Call the 1250 Rosecrans store at (619) 225-8844 for scheduling.

Lastly, a meaty subject: Restrictions on the importation of meat and poultry seem to change every year in Mexico. We’ve recently been informed that this year red meat — both cooked and uncooked — will be confiscated by health officials upon arrival at Cabo. However, there are no restrictions on poultry. So, before you’re tempted to buy a freezer-full of burgers and steaks at Costco, heed this warning. They’ve got plenty of good, inexpensive food in Mexico, so there’s really no need to overload your boat with U.S. merchandise. And besides, they’ve got Costcos in Mexico now anyway!