Vivo O Sonho

We are committed to crewing with our dockmates, Scott and Joanne, on the Baja Ha-Ha and, come Hell or high-water, we are going to be sailing south on their gorgeous Bavaria Vision 46 for the first three weeks of November 2021. (Please, God, don’t take this as a challenge to mess with our plans. We really, really need this sea time!)

What, pray-tell, is the Baja Ha-Ha? (Doesn’t it just make you smile to say it?!) It’s not a race … it’s a cruiser’s rally that starts in San Diego, makes a couple of stops along the coast for rest and partying, and ends in Cabo San Lucas. There’s no trophy for being first to an anchorage or to finish. The goal is to safely traverse the Baja Coast in the company of others. Basically, the Ha-Ha is a 10-day slow journey south buddy-boating with about 150 other vessels. Power boats are welcome, but since there’s really only one stop for fuel, it’s generally about 99 percent sailboats. It’s a great segue for folks looking to spend a winter (or a few years) in Mexico, prepare for the big Pacific Ocean crossing to the Marquesa Islands or Hawaii, or perhaps continue south to Central or South America or go through the Panama Canal to reach the Caribbean. Just thinking about the possibilities makes me yearn for our turn to go.

After reaching Cabo, we’ll spend a week going north up the Sea of Cortez and finally land in La Paz to wing it home just in time to take Sonho to Angel Island for Thanksgiving. It is the Sailor’s Life for us anytime we can get it!

2021 is the 27th Baja Ha-Ha (there was not an official Ha-Ha in 2020 due to Covid) and almost 3,500 boats have participated over the years. This year 191 boats have registered with more expected to join the fleet before the November 1 start. Total mileage is around 750 miles and includes several over-nights at sea. There is no set course; each boat chooses their own course depending on their expertise and comfort with being close or farther from land.

I crewed on the 2005 Ha-Ha with friends Doug and Jo Leavitt aboard their Jeanneau 43 “Jenny.” It was an amazing experience that I have dreamed of doing on my own boat. But it’s not our time to go just yet … close but not this year. Crewing is the next best thing!

For the month of October, I’ll be posting about Ha-Ha preparations and will highlight two couples who are making their Dream a Reality. It’s a tale of two Joanne’s, one whom I’ve literally known since kindergarten at Otis Elementary School in Alameda, and one whom I became friends with less than a year ago. Both are not only incredible sailors, but really cool women and I am so proud to call them Sail-Sisters. Their guys (Randy and Scott) are awesome, too. The sailing world is still pretty chauvinistic, unfortunately, but my Joanne’s husbands are just like my husband … they consider us partners onboard, as we do them. No one is Captain (although the title “Admiral” has been bantered about). We bring our individual strengths and weaknesses to our duos and can’t wait to chart new courses for adventure with our partners.

There’s a good chance we’ll see “Compass Rose” and “Fundango” when we head south on “Sonho.” I’m not putting a date on it; it will happen when it’s meant to happen. But it WILL happen!