The Concept and Ethos of the Ha-Ha

With the Ha-Ha start just three days away, and the weather having been resolutely cold and gloomy in Southern California for a long time, we can’t wait to get out of town and head south. Three-day forecasts can be unreliable, but at this point the weather conditions look as though they might be mild for the 360-mile first leg to Turtle Bay. We’re excited at the prospect of sailing down to and in sunny, tropical conditions, as are all the other Ha-Ha folks we’ve talked to in the last few days.

With the start so close, we want to clear up a wrong impression that a few people seem to get each year, which is that Ha-Ha entrants will be shepherded from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, and therefore all participants will be assured that nothing unpleasant will happen to them. Or that the Ha-Ha offers Sea-Tow or similar rescue services. No, no, no! Such views couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Ha-Ha is a gathering of adventurous, self-reliant sailors who — and this can’t be emphasized enough — are prepared to sail to Cabo on their own if the Ha-Ha didn’t exist. The Ha-Ha is meant to be a sailor’s celebration, not a crutch, let alone an offshore babysitting service. For what should be obvious reasons to any participant, none of the Mexican Races, the Hawaii races, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, the Caribbean 1500, nor any other offshore event we can think of has rescue boat(s) or repair boat(s), as such. The same holds true for the Ha-Ha. If you’re not prepared to go it alone, or take the lead in dealing with any problems you might have, you are not ready or qualified to do the Ha-Ha.

This is not to say that the mothership, Profligate, and the participating boats won’t respond to emergency situations, because we and they have in the past. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s also what is required by law. The important point is that in non-emergency situations the onus is on the crew of each boat to take care of themselves. No Ha-Ha entrant should be under the mistaken impression that there is some kind of ‘cavalry’ waiting to rescue them if, for example, the wind dies and there is something wrong with their engine. If someone finds themselves in that situation, their reaction should be, "We’ll just enjoy being on the ocean until the wind returns and we can sail to the next stop." After all, you do have a sailboat and, almost certainly, the next stop will be downwind. A similar sense of self-sufficiency should kick in if you get your rudder snagged in kelp, the alternator craps out, or your autopilot wants to steer your boat in circles.

The truth of the matter is that it’s likely there will be someone nearby in the fleet who will try to come to your assistance, even in non-emergency situations. Indeed, we’ve had Ha-Ha boats that have gone 40+ miles out of their way to help others who weren’t in non life-threatening situations, and they were delighted to do it. That’s great, but such assistance should not be assumed. Again, it’s the obligation of every Ha-Ha entrant to be as prepared and self-reliant as possible. And it’s a good thing, for it’s only through overcoming adversity and challenges that we grow.

We’ll give you a good example. A number of years ago, one 36-footer lost her engine early in the first leg. At first, her crew was a little bummed out by having to wait out all the lulls and maybe get to a couple of the social gatherings late, if at all. But by the time they got to Cabo, the crew was very proud of they had inadvertently accomplished, which was being ‘soul sailors’ who sailed all the way to Cabo. Even more importantly, they told us the experience had left them feeling more confident and relaxed at sea.

When the fleet arrives at the first stop of Turtle Bay, invariably some boats have problems with things like radios, windlasses, alternators, sails, engines, autopilots, and so forth. Over the years, the ethos of the Ha-Ha has been for people — even if they are marine professionals — to help other Ha-Ha folks who need help with such problems. And at no cost. Nobody is obligated to offer this help, of course, but to date that ethos has evolved and become part of the fun of the Ha-Ha. And it must be understood that sometimes the expert’s advice will be along the lines of, "You can’t get that problem solved here in Turtle Bay or Bahia Santa Maria, you’ll just have to make your way down to Cabo." Countless Ha-Ha boats have done that in the past.

But in port as well as offshore, the burden of dealing with these situations is on the crew of each boat. If you’re at all resourceful, it shouldn’t be too hard to find or arrange for solutions in Turtle Bay. But it might take a little time. As such, it’s the norm for several boats to stay an extra day in Turtle Bay or Bahia Santa Maria to take care of business. If that would present a problem or hardship for anyone, they aren’t really ready to do a the Ha-Ha. If anybody finds themselves with a serious situation in either Turtle Bay or Bahia Santa Maria, we’ll naturally do our best to help make arrangements for whatever solution is necessary, but once again, it’s primarily your responsibility.

Unfortunately, every couple of years there is someone who doesn’t quite understand the concept of people helping other people. For example, one year the crew of a boat was nice enough to announce that they had a sewing machine aboard and could repair torn sails. Unclear on the concept, the crew of one boat, on their way to shore and some cold beers, tossed a badly torn spinnaker on the deck of the boat with the sewing machine and expected to pick up a repaired sail the next morning. Needless to say, that sail didn’t get repaired. The proper thing would have been for them to swing by the boat, explain the problem with the sail, ask if it wouldn’t be too much trouble to try to repair it, and explain that you and your crew were ready and willing to do whatever you could to help. And naturally, you’d find some way to leave a nice bottle of wine or a dinner entree behind.
   
In summary, the ethos of the Ha-Ha is for every participant to take pride in being as self-sufficient as possible, and to arrive in Cabo a more competent and confident sailor. By the same token, the idea is also for every participant to be quick to help those who really need it. These ideas might sound contradictory, but they are not.

It’s somewhat embarrassing for the Grand Poobah to have to even give this little sermon, as we know that 99% of you are already clear on the concept. It’s just for the other 1%.

Anyway, enough of that stuff! Almost everyone will be in town by tomorrow, the West Marine Kick-Off Party is on Sunday, and the Port-sponsored parade of boats and beginning of Ha-Ha 18 — the ‘Barely Legal’ edition — is on Monday. We can’t wait to meet you all.