Just a Week to the Start of Baja Ha-Ha XX

So if you’re looking to get a berth on a boat, or find a crewmember, now is the time to get cracking. One of the ways you can do it is sign up in a Crew List book at Downwind Marine in San Diego. Among those who have put their names in the book looking to crew is Heather Wilson, 47.

"I did the Ha-Ha last year and had a great time," she told the Grand Poobah. "In fact, I want to do it every year until the day I die."

We like that kind of talk. While at Downwind’s Ha-Ha Kick-Off Party, Heather said she’s had a couple of offers so far, "But I don’t want to be the only other crew on a boat when I don’t know the skipper."  That’s not the worst policy in the world for single women.

We made some new friends at the Downwind party, but were gratified to also meet some Ha-Ha vets who will be doing the Ha-Ha for the third, fourth, fifth and even sixth time. It’s always nice to have folks do Ha-Ha’s multiple times, but in the case of Jeff and Debbie Hartjoy of the Baba 40 Sailors’ Run, it’s particularly gratifying because of what they’ve done between Ha-Ha’s. Between their first and second, they cruised the South Pacific for about seven years. And between their second and third, they circumnavigated South America, with Jeff singlehanding around Cape Horn. If such well-traveled cruisers keep coming back for more Ha-Ha’s, we like to think we’ve been doing something right.

Weather forecasts for seven days out are notoriously reliable, but right now Passage Weather is calling for 10 to 15 knots out of the northwest. Wouldn’t that be lovely? While the weather has been lovely during the day in San Diego, nighttime temps have been telling us it’s time to head for the tropics.