Who’s Heading South in the Baja Ha-Ha? Part 3

But wait … there’s more … Just when you thought you’d learned about all the interesting people joining this year’s Baja Ha-Ha, we bring you another bunch.

Pendragon — Valiant 40
Scott and Jennifer Brigham
Ventura / Whitefish, MT

Scott, 60, is the retired vice president of sales for a food company. Jennifer is a retired dermatology medical assistant. Their crew will be Karl Freienmuth, 70, who is retired from the jet-leasing field; Merry Beth Freienmuth, a yoga and wellness studio owner; and Jennifer’s brother Walter Smith, 62, a commercial real estate VP.

There will be a lot of racing experience on Pendragon. Starting in Minneapolis, Scott and Jennifer have raced continually for over 20 years with a Mirage 24, J/22, J/24, and finally a Mumm 36. And Jennifer has participated in a women’s Rolex regatta. In addition, they have eight Chicago to Macs between them, have done a Caribbean 1500 Rally, and crossed the Atlantic as part of an Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. Oh yeah, Scott did the 2016 Pacific Cup on the class-winning Cal 40 Redhead, owned by Jennifer’s brother.

The crew doesn’t lack sailing experience either. Karl and Merry Beth, also from Minneapolis, own a Pearson 39.9 and sail her on Lake Superior. Karl is a pilot, a licensed Coast Guard captain, and an expert radio operator. Merry Beth has raced J/22s, J/24s and Mumm 36s, and has participated in a women’s Rolex regatta. Both Merry Beth and Karl have participated in an Atlantic Rally for Cruisers and the Caribbean 1500 aboard Pendragon. Walter Smith, from Fresno, is a lifelong sailor who has raced his Cal 40 Redhead in numerous major offshore races. He took the Navigator Award in the 2016 Pacific Cup when his Cal 40 took first in division and third overall.

Scott and Jennifer purchased Pendragon in Puerto Vallarta in 2004. They then “bashed” her up to San Diego and put her on a truck to Lake Superior for a refit and inland cruising. In 2011 they transited the Great Lakes to the Erie Canal to New York. They participated in the Caribbean 1500 Rally to Tortola and continued as far as St. Lucia before heading back to Tortola and Key West.

They shipped the boat home to Lake Superior from Tampa and trucked her to Ventura when Scott retired in January. Scott and Jennifer now live in Whitefish, Montana, and split their time between Montana and Ventura.

The couple’s plan is to stick close to Cabo, La Paz and the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez. Jennifer is going to practice her ever-more-fluent Spanish, and Scott is going to learn how to kiteboard at Los Barriles. They are hoping for at least one ski trip home to get some turns through the white stuff on Big Mountain!

“Our dream boat is our Valiant,” the couple say. “We’ve owned her for 20 years now, and know every screw, nut, and bolt on the girl. We’ve sailed her through some very serious weather on our trip to Tortola, and she took the waves with ease. Our kids believe Pendragon is their home, since we’ve owned her longer than any of the houses we’ve lived in.

“Scotty and Jeno are our nicknames, and we’re also known as Belts and Suspenders. If anybody needs a certain bolt, nut or wire, come by our boat, which is known as ‘The Chandlery.'”

Natasha — Hardin Sea Wolf 41 (W)
Zelix Slocum and Emma Williams
SF Bay Area

Zelix, 32, is a landscape contractor and stonemason. Emma, 30, is a veteran of a circumnavigation and has already visited remote Pitcairn Island, famous from Mutiny on the Bounty, twice.

“Emma started sailing as a child on San Francisco Bay. Zelix picked up sailing quickly with the purchase of our first boat, an Ericson 27, at the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine. In summer  2021, we purchased Natasha, a 1969 ketch, and we’ve spent the past two years refitting the boat and sailing her around the Bay. Natasha completed a four-year circumnavigation in the early ‘70s with the Bercaw family, and has participated in several previous Ha-Ha’s.

“Our trip down the coast to San Diego will be our longest passage with Natasha, our dream boat. We plan to explore the Sea of Cortez and continue farther south into Mexico after the Ha-Ha. Our dream destination is anchorage-hopping in the Mediterranean.

“Our new sailing hero is Kirsten Neuschäfer, who is the first woman to win the Golden Globe, completing the around-the-world race, minus modern electronics, in under 235 days.”

Emma’s favorite quote is Henry David Thoreau’s “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

Zelix’s favorite dessert is mango sticky rice. Since you are wondering, Zelix means unpredictable, adorable, and confident.

Circe — Islander Freeport 41
Dave and Kelly Kendall
Owl Harbor, Isleton (2009, 2013)

Dave, 57, will be the only underwater bridge inspector in this year’s fleet. Kelly is a retired registered nurse and health inspector. Friend Leslie Skarshaug, an accounting officer, as well as an adrenaline junkie and “adventure firstie,” will be their crew.

Dave has been in or under the water most of his life and isn’t happy if his fingers aren’t wrinkly. He has sailed extensively on San Francisco Bay and in the Delta. He’s also crewed on other people’s boats on two Ha-Ha’s, the Ha-Ha route at a different time of year, and one “adventurous” Tehuantepec crossing that involved jumping overboard to clean the waterline and swim with a turtle.

Kelly has sailed with Dave on San Francisco Bay and in the Delta, was with Dave on the Tehuantepec crossing to El Salvador, and has done the Ha-Ha route on a friend’s boat. But this will be her first Ha-Ha. Kelly’s nursing specialty was health-facility evaluator nurse with the State, a title that sent other nurses running to the break room with their “illegal” water bottles. “If you know, you know,” she says. Kelly doesn’t care about that anymore but will happily serve it up during sundowners. Please stop by! Kelly loves roller coasters, baking, reading, and naps.

Dave and Kelly have owned seven sailboats. “At one point we owned three boats at the same time,” remembers Kelly, “and I had to tell Dave I never again wanted to hear the words ‘boat’ and ‘investment’ in the same sentence.” They’ve owned Circe for five years. They particularly like that she has a drop-down swim ladder built into the transom.

The dream boat for both Dave and Kelly would be a Passport 40. Dave would like to take one to the dive paradise of Palau, while Kelly would prefer the San Blas Islands of Panama. Dave’s sailing hero is Tania Aebi, who did a 99% solo circumnavigation on a 26-footer. She started as an 18-year-old and finished three years later in 1987. Kelly’s hero is Holly Martin, the Wind Hippie Sailing blogger.

Dave’s favorite quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt: “You must do the thing you think you can’t do.” Kelly’s favorite is: “I’m always disappointed when liars’ pants don’t actually catch on fire.”

Dave goes for tiramisu, while Kelly is a crème brûlée girl. Circe, no relation to Cersei Lannister of Game of Thrones fame, was a minor Greek goddess and powerful female sorceress able to concoct powerful potions, and had the power to hide the sun and the moon as she willed. “While we won’t be calling on her powers anytime soon, we do hope she carries us safely on our explorations of the Sea of Cortez and beyond.”

You can learn more about the 29th Cruisers Rally to Mexico here.