The Memories Linger

As we write this, most fleet members of the Baja Ha-Ha XVIII cruising rally have left Cabo San Lucas in their wakes, as the event ended with a raucous awards ceremony Saturday night (generously hosted by Marina Cabo San Lucas). But the memories of the fun-filled 750-mile migration linger, as do the photos and videos.

We’ll be publishing a comprehensive recap of the rally in the December edition of Latitude 38 magazine, with boatloads of images. But in the meantime, here are some samples which will give you a feel for the event.

These days lots of participants shoot video along the way also. We’ve invited fleet members to share their favorite video moments with us — and you — on our YouTube channel. Below is a look at the famous Cabo dance bar Squid Roe last Thursday, when the Ha-Ha crews ‘owned’ the place. No matter how hard they resist, most who enter that realm find themselves gravitating towards the dance floor and perhaps even succumbing to the infectious choreography of the Village People’s obnoxiously successful mega-hit YMCA. (Shot on an iPhone by Suzi Todd.)

The ever-energetic Ronnie Simpson was the first to contribute. Below you’ll see his masthead view of the Turtle Bay anchorage and in a second clip you’ll get a firsthand look at what it’s like to be dragged behind a boat while the kite is up. (In this case the towboat is Tony Haworth’s Alameda-based Kaufman 47 Knot Tied Down.)

When Sausalito sailor Dean Woodman dropped by our offices a few years ago to showcase the tiny Go Pro camera that his son Nick had developed, we had no idea what a sensation it would become among all sorts of water sports enthusiasts, from surfers to sailors. With its super-wide angle view, it records moment-by-moment action with incredibel ease, as demonstrated by Ronnie’s videos. You just strap it to something solid — like a kiteboarding helment or a piece of railing, and it does the rest. If you have Ha-Ha XVIII videos you’d like to share email them as MP4 files.