Skip to content

Making Friends and Connections at the Baja Ha-Ha Fall Crew List Party

People started showing up at 3 p.m. for last night’s Baja Ha-Ha Mexico Cruising Seminar and Latitude 38 Fall Crew List Party at Spaulding Marine Center in Sausalito, and the night couldn’t have been better. The traditional, cool Sausalito fog had backed off, leaving bright blue skies and comfortable temperatures, making the indoor/outdoor boatyard venue an ideal setting for this annual fall gathering of sailors. Close to 300 sailors, cruisers, boat owners and crew came to connect to sail the Bay or over the horizon to Mexico and beyond.

Spaulding Marine Center Crew
Pete, Curtis and Ocean from Spaulding Marine Center got us all started by turning a boatyard into an event site.
© 2022 Latitude 38 Media LLC / John

The 4-5:30 seminar covered lots of ground, including all the tips on TIPS and Mexico cruising do’s and don’ts as cruisers took notes for their sail south this year, though some were preparing for next year. Hands were raised on communications, with people split on Iridium GO! and inReach, and Patsy Verhoeven admitting to now being a big fan of Starlink. Some said they’re planning to mail postcards home.

Baja Ha-Ha seminar
Fifteen-time Baja Ha-Ha vet Patsy Verhoeven of the Gulfstar 50 Talion and Rafa Alcantara of Marina Riviera Nayarit helped prep southbound cruisers during the packed Baja Ha-Ha seminar.
© 2022 Latitude 38 Media LLC / John

It was a full house at the classic boatyard, with many walking in saying, “Wow, I love this place!” Spaulding Marine Center is a piece of Bay Area waterfront history that serves as a foundation for teaching skills to apprentice craftsmen looking for future employment in the marine industry. In the off hours Latitude 38 was happy to return so folks on our Crew List have a chance to meet in person, swap tales, swap contact information, and find that ride or crew for the next race or cruise. Also on hand were volunteers from the Island Yacht Club, Sailing Science Center, Douglas Samp from the US Coast Guard and Baja Ha-Ha sponsors Downwind Marine and Marina Riviera Nayarit.

Island Yacht Club
Island Yacht Club commodore Ros de Vries was busy letting folks know about their now sold-out Women’s Sailing Seminar.
© 2022 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris
Jan Pehrson
Photographer Jan Pehrson has been focused on getting the right exposure since she appeared in the very first issue of Latitude 38. She just listed her Pt. Richmond-based Islander 36 for sale in our Classy Classifieds.
© 2022 Latitude 38 Media LLC / JOhn
Charlie
Also Islander 36 owners, Charlie Diest and wife Emma, showed up with some homegrown crew. They also just added a classic Folkboat to their fleet.
© 2022 John
Sausalito Fall Crew Party
A summer evening Crew Party in shirtsleeves in Sausalito is a great time to connect with friends old and new.
© 2022 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Nicki
Shelly Patsy
Shelly Rickman and Patsy Verhoeven were on hand to help inspire and educate future Ha-Ha cruisers headed to Mexico.
© 2022 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Nicki
Ban Shaw
Out The Gate podcaster Ben Shaw and his wife Lauren Keene, who own the Hallberg-Rassy 352 Dovka, were on hand with friend Patrick Ayscue on the left.
© 2022 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Nicki
Spaulding Fall Crew party 2022
It was a full house under the rafters and spilling out into the boatyard of the Spaulding Marine Center.
© 2022 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

Latitude 38‘s Crew List Party has a tradition of connecting thousands of sailors for thousands of miles of sailing for over 45 years. It’s been more difficult to hold a party this past couple of years, but the online crew list now has over 1,000 entries of captains and crews looking to connect for sailing. The Crew Liat Party has usually served as a “First Date” of this online sailing crew service, which started in print in the magazine and went all digital in the early 2000s. If you didn’t make the party you can still have a good time sailing by signing up for the crew list here. We’ll hope the world allows us to resurrect our Spring Crew List Party in 2023.

Great to see everyone last night, and we look forward to seeing you on the Bay or in Mexico and hearing your new sailing adventures.

2 Comments

  1. Ben Shaw 2 years ago

    Another fun crew list party. Thanks all!

  2. Memo Gidley 2 years ago

    Spaulding Center is such a jem we have in the bay area!! They do so many fantastic things for all of us sailors to enjoy…thanks Spaulding!! The Friday night movie nights were so awesome…can’t wait until those start up again!

Leave a Comment