Plenty of Entries for the Baja Ha-Ha

Every year the Grand Poobah of the Baja Ha-Ha expects there to be a big drop-off in the number of entries.

“With more than 3,000 boats having done it in 25 years,” he says, “it would seem that at some point we’ll run out of sailors who haven’t done it or who have continued on to the South Pacific and never come back.”

Early indications are there will be no significant drop-off for this year’s Ha-Ha, as 73 paid entries were received in the first 48 hours. That’s one more than the average number of first-48-hour entries for the last three years. Those three years had final paid entries of 183, 154 and 168, respectively. It should be noted that each year about 15% of paid entries don’t show up. Boats don’t get ready in time, there are business or job issues, and worst of all, there can be health issues.

A couple of this year’s entries stand out. Number one, for example, is Myron and Marina Eisenzimmer’s Swan 44 Mykonos. This will be the couple’s 10th Baja Ha-Ha.

And we couldn’t help but notice entry #62, Rick Jakaus’ Cygnus Montanus. Not just because her homeport is Stockholm, Sweden, but because the nearly new beauty is 111 feet long! She’s the biggest entry in Ha-Ha history.

If you’ve been underwater for the last 25 years, the Baja Ha-Ha is the annual 750-mile cruisers’ rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, with R&R stops at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria. Over 10,000 sailors on more than 3,000 boats have done the event in the first 25 years.

This year’s dates are November 3-16. It’s a week later start than in previous years, and will feature one more day in Bahia Santa Maria — the response has been extremely positive about this — and one less day in Cabo San Lucas.

Notice of the Rally and entry information can be found at www.baja-haha.com. Please note that Ha-Ha discounts in the States and in Mexico can easily more than offset the entry fee. Indeed, in years past some folks signed up simply to get the discounts. We hope you sign up, but to do the event, not just to get the discounts.

The first 73 sign-ups (there are already more) were: