SoCal Ta-Ta Rally Filling Fast

If you don’t sign up soon, fleet members of the recently announced SoCal cruisers’ rally will be waving ‘ta-ta’ without you. Dubbed the SoCal Ta-Ta, this first-ever Santa Barbara-to-Catalina rally is slated to take place September 9-16, with an itinerary that zig-zags between the SoCal coast and the Channel Islands.

As announced earlier, this year only 50 entries will be accepted, and as you can see below, the entry roster is almost half-full already. Why join? For starters, this 210-mile romp will certainly be loads of fun, and as we can see already, the mix of entrants will be as varied as the long-established Baja Ha-Ha rally (whose Rally Committee will run the Ta-Ta). With three short crossings to and from the Channel Islands, the course will give those new to cruising an easy introduction to the cruising life — especially if they’re planning to do the Ha-Ha in October. And for vastly experienced cruisers such as sign-up #1 Paul Martson, or La Paz-based Patsy Verhoeven, it will serve as the perfect excuse to see some parts of SoCal they might not know well, as well as make a boatload of new friends in the process. As with taking part in the Ha-Ha, it would be hard to imagine doing the Ta-Ta without making at least a few lasting friendships.

The fun starts Sunday, September 9, with a cruiser potluck in Santa Barbara Harbor, then the fleet will set sail for Santa Cruz Island the next morning. Check out all the details at the website. And if your gut tells you to "Do it!" we’d urge you not to procrastinate. After all, there’ll only be one first-ever SoCal Ta-Ta, and that’s one event T-shirt that you’ll surely want to cherish.

Entries to date:

Orange / Contour 34 / Paul Martson / Ventura
Toucan / Tanton 43 cat / Kevin Belcastro / San Francisco
Moira / Beneteau 351 / Scott Stephens / Ventura
Wayward Wind / Catalina 42 / William & Kathryn Gaffaney / Marina del Rey
Natiki / Catalina 320 / Nathaniel & Bonnie Antler / San Diego
Dariana Ruth / Custom 46-ft trawler / Michael Alfred / Channel Is Harbor
Talion / Gulfstar 50 / Patsy Verhoeven / La Paz, Mexico
Seagate / Hans Christian 38 / Charles Braffett / Chula Vista
Family Circus / Fountaine Pajot 38 cat / Chris Tzortzis / San Francisco
Boomerang / Corsair 31 tri / Chuck & Elaine VanderBoom / Lake Havasu, AZ
Dulcinea / Downeast 38 / John & Janice Barker / Long Beach
Ebenezer III / Catalina 36 / Richard Schaper / Sausalito
Tilligo / Union Polaris 36 / Andy Smith / Coyote Pt. Marina
Sea Monkey / Coronado 27 / Brandon & Devani Priest / Santa Barbara
Moontide / Lagoon 470 / Bill Lilly / Long Beach
AHA / Fountaine Pajot 35 cat / Bruce Beal / Dana Point
Thalassa / Beneteau 49 / Jim Anderson / Redondo Beach
Quiddity / Hunter 33 / Steve & Bobby Young / Santa Barbara
Irishseaman / Hunter 34 / Don McNeil / Channel Islands
Ojo Rojo / Columbia 36 / Keith & Terry Albrecht / Alamitos Bay
Big Sweetie / Hunter 450 / Carolyn & Charles Moyer / Channel Islands
Green Flash / Beneteau 323 / Stephen & Christina Barasch / Sausalito
Grace / Traveller 32 / Robert Walker / Alameda