The "Baja Haha" is an annual cruise from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas (at the southern tip of Baja California), organized by Latitude 38. This year (the 14th) , a large turnout of over 160 boats participated. It is about 740 miles of southerly sailing.
Rather than participate in the Baja Haha itself, I arranged to crew on a sailboat ("J World") for a one-week post-Haha cruise from Cabo San Lucas to Puerto Vallarta.
Revised: December 12, 2007
"We must remember three things," he said to them. "I will tell them to you in the order of their importance. Number one and first in importance, we must have as much fun as we can with what we have. Number two, we must eat as well as we can, because if we don't we won't have the health and the strength to have as much fun as we might. And number three and third in importance, we must keep the house reasonably in order, wash the dishes, and such things. But we will not let the last interfere with the other two."
"What was the shape and size and color and tone of this little expedition? One thing impressed up deeply on this little voyage: The great world dropped away very quickly. Our pace had slowed greatly; the hundred thousand small reactions of our daily world were reduced to very few."
"It was a good trip."
[These are .AVI files which work well on Windows computers but require the proper plugin for Apple Quicktime.]
It had sensitive cable steering on the wheel and great acceleration in wind puffs. It was fun to sail.
Compatible people, combined with a knowledegable and helpful skipper and a good cook makes for a memorable and fun passage.
(As a CAL-34 "Impetuous" tradition, I brought Godiva chocolates for her. She was kind enough to share them with us guys, adding her own chocolate to the share.)
We give a special credit to Rita, Lisa's best friend who did the BajaHaha with them. We met her in Cabo San Lucas. (See photos) All the guys instantly fell in love with this "jeune fille" with her perfect conformation and personality. She trains horses in the Santa Barbara area.
Each of us had our own impression of the trip. My impressions are wrapped up in this memo.
We had a fine time with new friends. We motored more than we expected, but did get a bit of very fine 9+knot sailing.
We did three-hour watches on trip across (3 on, 6 off - single-person watches). This worked well, once your body got used to the rhythm.
The refridgeration failed and the ice melted, but we did well in spite of that, thanks to good attitudes and a creative cook.
We found that Charley's charts were helpful, though not really precise enough for close-in navigation. Many places are more than one mile off their charted position. The electronic charts were helpful for obstructions, but quite bad for the water/land interface; better to use radar for those situations.
We played several intellectual games. "Mad-Libs (adult version)" was a hit, though I did not participate, having OD'ed on it as a parent. Both Wayne and Steve came up with "mind-bender" math games, guaranteed to keep us awake all night. The solutions are 1) easy, once you sort out the wrong accounting, and 2) very difficult, off into the realm of statistical "reality" and your own Weltanschauung ("world-view").
There is a bit of a "time warp" in Puerto Vallarta, as the dividing line between Mountain and Central time runs between the airport and downtown. Most places in the area just use the airport time.
[More details in my "log" below.]
+++ A pleasant woman on board
+++ Compatible crew
+++ Knowledgable skipper
+++ J120 acceleration in puffs
+++ Meeting old friends in Cabo
+++ Sailing gloves for spin sheet and halliard
+++ Second pair of deck shoes
+++ Clean underwear every day
+++ Blue blanket - I also used it as a seat cushion
+++ Got to sleep on port settee cabin bunk - my favorite
+++ My paper chart
+++ Very short haircut
+++ No CD player - nice and quiet, not repetitive - new rule for "Impetuous" -
no CDs while sailing - only at dock
++ My hotel room in PV was at the end of the resort,
equidistant walking from the marina, the beach, the resort
and the mall - away from tourists
++ I had fun with my handheld GPS
++ Mall in PV
++ Hotel at both ends
++ AAA map of the Sea of Cortez
++ Email access
++ Dark blue "dress" sailing shorts
++ Cell phone connections
+ Well-equipped room in PV - fridge, freezer, microwave, toaster, blender,
pots and pans, glassware, iron/ironing board, washer/dryer, hair dryer -
blender made GREAT pina coladas / toaster made great toast (with
Bimbo "Integral" bread)
+ Change of clothes on airplane for return trip
+ Email filters worked perfectly
+ Having enough pencils
- Flashlight too bright
- Vitamin case keeps opening
- Gear bag in companionway
-- Bad ballpoint pens - Use pilot G2
-- Boat inverter not working - cannot recharge camera and shaver - no problem
-- Autopilot-to-GPS-to-binnacle discrepancy kept changing - a distraction
-- Shaving kits need better organization
-- Electric shaver turns itself on in shaving kit and runs down battery
-- No side hand rails on dodger
--- Refridgeration not working on boat
An interesting variation was that I volunteered to bring 15 copies of the recent Latitude 38 magazine for distribution. Kinda heavy, but it worked out just fine.
+ Having jammies was nice
+ ring binder of 3x5 cards
+ multiple GOOD ballpoint pens
+ Masking tape is useful
- EYC short-sleeved shirt / not used
- Having four pairs of sailing shorts was too much; just
take two: Light/working and dark/"dress"
- LED flashlight VERY bright. Pack in its own case as it turns on in luggage
- Only needed two baseball caps, not three
- Only needed one wool hat, not two
-- Electric shaver turns itself on in shaving kit - tape coin over switch
--- Very poorly packed shaving kits
- Too many medicines (e.g. 3 of albuterol)
- put shavers and electrical charges in a completely separate kit
- Bottles of vitamins are a real pain / leave at home or make
a small "daily" kit / having potassium was a good idea
Not used, so omit in future
- Cyalume
- Liquid soap - heavy, not good. Use bar soap instead or SMALL
travel size (x2)
Next time bring
- Both orange and green highlighters
- DEET
- Take non-prescription cortisone on plane
I got travel insurance, as the J-World fees is not refundable. Did not have to use it.
THU 8 NOV
Dinner with Bill Martorano in Los Altos - shared a steak sandwich
FRI 9 NOV
Limo to airport - he was on-time but it was a BOUNCY ride
Nice and empty at SFO at that hour - no lines for ticket agent -
got re-ticketing done very quickly - no hassle
Got snagged by security who checked my duffel bag, etc. for bomb
odor. Glad I had the extra time - done at 7:18A
Plane left gate 1 minute late, then sat and taxied to far
runway, taking off 25 minutes later. On-time arrival in Cabo
I sat next to a dermatologist who was reading a gruesome textbook
"Taxi Coordinator" wanted to sell me a time-share combo
"free taxi ride" if I attend a breakfast. He finally
understood "NO" and "I want a fast taxi to Cabo", which I got.
Off to the beach, just in time for the "kiss" pictures
Beach party and finish of Baja Haha
Met Scott Culver(Kialoa III) and his family
Met Alan Weaver
Took From Here to Eternity pix - Cherie
Many, many comments on my Wizard hat, even from the vendors
Met 8 EYC members
Met Lisa and Wayne, and Lisa's best friend Rita
Dinner at La Golondrina - quite a walk, hard to find.
Quiet at 6PM, but filled up starting at 7PM
In bed at 9PM
SAT 10 NOV
Delivered LAT 38 bundle to Marina - Andy was at Marina office
Met Jim Barbee ("Second Wind") at Marina office
Met Lisa and Rita on street
Bkfst at Hotel Mar de Cortez
Met Rob Wallace (Kialoa III) at Baja Cantina dockside bar
Met Ron and Peggy Kidd at Baja Cantina
Met Chris, just one minute after telling someone else
the Costa Rica / Wizard hat story
Met Alan (Marina Village harbormaster)
Lunch at Gardenia's
Casa Rafael bar - nobody there, so I went to Edith's
Baja-Haha awards ceremony - "J-World" got a first place,
as they sailed the whole way
SUN 11 NOV
Check out of hotel
9:30A Meet "J World" crew at harbormaster office
Provisioned boat - two trips to supermarket
To fuel dock for fuel and water
Dinner ashore
Multiple goodbyes with Rita
To bed at 9PM
MON 12 NOV
Cabo San Lucas -> Los Frailes - 40 MI
Lv 0925 - Ar 1753 - 8-1/2 hours - motored 3H 20 min
Had to navigate around a rock
TUE 13 NOV
Early 3AM start so we can arrive at destination in daylight
Bright planet to steer by - neat!
Motored much of the day. Tried sailing at 1530 but that
only lasted for two hours - motor back on at 1730
In evening, scattered clouds, warm - t-shirt weather
WED 14 NOV
12:30 AM motor off - so a nice night's sleep
Smaller white heron arrives and stays on boat (outside and
down below) for several hours, so we are on our best quiet behavior
Spinnaker practice
Arrive Isla Isabella late afternoon 4:00P
Good Happy Hour
THU 15 NOV
- Isla Isabella -> San Blas - 43 M
- Lisa shared her Godiva chocolates, adding Scharffenberger
- Replaced batteries in GPS - note how long they lasted
- Motored three hours in the morning and then got GREAT winds
22-24K, which meant we had great sailing. I got >9K 2x and one
short burst over 11K! plus a couple more >10K.
FRI 16 NOV
- San Blas -> Punta Mita - 55 MI
- Great restaurant - enjoyed the "Agavero" tequila
SAT 17 NOV
- Punta Mita -> Nueva Vallarta - 20 MI
- "J World" arrives Puerto Vallarta
- Met EYC yacht "No Worries"
- Dinner w/crew at "Nopalitos" - avocado stuffed with shrimp
- Stay hotel two nights
SUN 18 NOV
- I took taxi to Bucerias
Had lunch at beachfront restaurant "Andrionos" - great octopus
MON 19 NOV
- Walked on beach just after sunrise
- Breakfast at "Nopalitos" in mall (by myself)
- Checked email
- Final goodbyes to Wayne and Lisa
- VERY cursory bag inspection at PV airport - short line
- PV airport - Guy says to me "You look different without your hat."
- Mike back from Mexico - Ar 7:51P Alaska # 203
Marylyn picks me up at SFO
I tend to splurge on these trips, including hotel rooms at the beginning and at the end, and including high-priced taxi/limo fares as well.
- J World $2,790
- Travel insurance 163
- Air - PV -> SFO 211
- Air - SFO - SJD 378
- Limo to SFO airport 93
- Hotel - Cabo 253
- Hotel - Puerto Vallarta 270
- HPCU debit card 740
- HPCU credit card 175
- Cell phone ($1/minute) 15
- Cash
- Departed home with 415
- Returned home with 75
Cash used 340
TOTAL $5,428