Tracking the Ha-Ha Fleet
The conditions couldn’t be any more perfect for the fleet of the Baja Ha-Ha 18, says the Grand Poobah. The crew of the mothership, Profligate, called in via sat phone this morning to let us know that — despite an anomaly in their Spot track that shows they sailed a couple miles inland on Cedros Island before gybing — they’re on their approach to Turtle Bay, the first stop of the 700-mile rally that started from San Diego Monday morning.
"We had overcast skies and no wind on Monday so we actually instituted a rolling start," said Assistant Poobah Andy Turpin. "That allowed participants to motor down the course until the wind filled in and the committee called the start." With conditions calm throughout the night, that didn’t happen until 7 a.m. yesterday morning. "The wind started to fill in just a little in the wee hours," said Turpin. "It remained light through the day and we had a very calm sea state. It was the perfect introduction to light air sailing for nervous newbies."
"The first day was the lightest day ever in Ha-Ha history," added the Grand Poobah. "But the second day and night were the best ever in terms of pleasant sailing conditions." The breeze built to 12-15 knots and the warm, arid conditions helped Ha-Ha’ers dry out after a damp start. Along with beautiful sailing, boats started catching fish as well, the biggest reportedly being a 40-lb tuna. Profligate even got in on the action, landing four yellowfin.
As for mechanical or medical issues, Dave Satterwhite and Stephanie Esposito on the San Francisco-based C&C Landfall 39 Camanoe reported having to return to port just after the start due to a broken prop shaft. Lars Hassler, who sailed from Japan to participate in the rally aboard his Sweden-based Beneteau Oceanis 500 Jennifer, also returned to San Diego after the start to take care of some electrical issues but has since restarted. Rich and Sheri Crowe aboard the Newport Beach-based Farr 44 Tabu have been under sail since the Coronados, and Tony Haworth’s Alameda-based Kaufman 47 Knot Tide Down has been sailing since the start, thanks to a cranky engine. "One boat reported this morning that they had a minor medical issue," noted Turpin. "They said their smiling muscles were sore from having such perfect conditions."
The bulk of the fleet should reach Turtle Bay by tomorrow, just in time for a party tomorrow night at the Vera Cruz Restaurant. The predicted 20-knot winds should push the stragglers in by Thursday, giving them plenty of time to get ashore for the legendary all-day beach party. Leg 2 will start on Saturday and take the fleet to Bahia Santa Maria by Halloween.
You can follow Profligate‘s Spot track at the link above. There is also a link to the track on the Baja Ha-Ha homepage, and if you’ve ‘liked’ us on Facebook, you’ll get daily (or so) notices in your newsfeed when they’ve checked in.