Nearly two weeks ago we departed San Diego with over one hundred boats participating in a cruising rally called the Baja Ha Ha. It is a well-run event sponsored by the popular sailing magazine Latitude 38. We thought this would be the perfect way to start our cruising life – a definite departure date, a group of like minded sailors, and a bit of hand holding for green horns. We made a good decision.

October 31,2000

The send off on that sunny morning was amazing. We had many friends on the dock who offered good wishes, the boats – Bahama Ma Ma, Sun Boss, Tovarish, and Pura Vida all sailed out into the harbor loaded with friends waving good bye to Limerence. My brother and sister-in-law, John and Sandi Athey from San Francisco came down to San Diego to help cut the docklines. The armada of Ha Ha boats was impressive – colored spinnaker sails flying and excited sailors from all over the country. There were nearly 20 kids on the participating boats. We soon learned that the Ha Ha is a wonderful g-rated family affair. As we sailed by the Coronado Islands our support group slowly turned back toward San Diego, and we were alone. My heart skipped a beat. We were really doing this thing. We had sold our condominium, two cars, furniture, and pets. We had made a major lifestyle commitment, and here the buck stops.

The wind steadily blew to 12 knots and we glided along toward our first destination – Turtle Bay about halfway down the Baja coast –360 miles. It would be three nights at sea. Doug and I decided to try three-hour watch shifts – one of us always manning the instruments and sails, while the other rested. We slept in the rear cabin in a narrow single berth with cushions from the couch to help wedge us into the space. The boat always rolls a bit when underway in a following sea, and it’s comfortable to either use a lee cloth (like a sling) or cushions to keep from rolling back and forth. As far as meals are concerned, our experienced friends advised making several meals ahead, and reheating in the microwave for those first days at sea. We also had plenty of snacks like granola, chips, chocolate, and pretzels to keep up our spirits.

We were so lucky to have steady winds, a starry sky, and a new moon to light the way. The waves rushing by the boat were phosphorescent, and two dolphins swam by at sunset to wish us luck. The air was cool and we bundled up with sweatpants and jackets. I find the night watches go by much faster with books on tape. I listened to a whole book every night. Doug busies himself with instrument checks, computer navigation maps, and the radio. We also have a rule that we wear life jackets and safety harnesses at night, and neither leaves the cockpit without waking the other. We also run jack lines down each side of the boat to clip our harness tethers on if we need to go forward. We were stunned to find that only six hours into our trip, all the other boats disappeared from sight, though we could see many on radar. After dark we could discern a twinkling light or two on the horizon, as the fleet spread quickly. We sailed out about sixty miles from shore to take advantage of the strong offshore winds.

November 1, 2000

The night passed quickly and we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise. I find at sea I mark the time by sunlight and darkness. . . twelve-hour intervals. One of our major concerns with only the two of us on board, was seasickness. We each took the drug Sturgeron for the first two days with no side affects, and it did the trick. Neither of us had a moment of queasiness and were able to function around the clock.

Each morning the Grand Pooh-Bah of the Baja Ha Ha conducted a 7:30 am check in radio call. First he asked for any medical emergencies, then mechanical difficulties, followed by calling the name of each boat, and asking for Lat/Long locations. The whole process took about an hour, and was a welcome start to our morning. I usually made breakfast while Doug did the radio gig. We ate in the cockpit while Limerence rolled along in the sunshine with the wind and waves carrying us downhill to Mexico. While monitoring the radio we heard the fleet marveling over the number of fish they were catching. We were intrigued and threw out our paltry little line and blue lure. The rod bent over, and we almost instantly had a hit. We thought the pull was “normal” and didn’t realize we had a fish for two hours. Getting bored, Doug started to retrieve the line and realized we’d caught something! When we finally pulled the 10-pound yellow fin tuna aboard, he was nearly dead. We had no trouble gaffing him and dropping him into a black trash bag and whacking off a nice fillet. Our lunch was delicious!

Hi, this is Doug with my version of the events to Turtle Bay. First I must say Judy’s food and presentation has been outstanding. We have joked that she is a gourmet cook, and she lived up to that reputation. On the technical front, we had a lot of comfort in being able to communicate instantly with many of the boats in the fleet. Our systems which are transparent to sight, worked perfectly. Radar, GPS, autopilot, wind generator, solar panels, and even our chart plotter through the PC worked flawlessly. We have sent e-mails using SSB radio and it worked fine. A special thanks goes to our good friend and craftsman extraordinaire John DeForest who installed many of these systems for us. We wouldn’t be on time with our cruise plans if it weren’t for John’s enthusiastic help. I also want to tell you, that I have been pulling a fishing line for years, and the tuna I caught was my fish real catch. The fleet congratulated us!

November 2, 2000

As we sailed toward Turtle Bay, the winds continued to build and we sailed wing on wing with the mainsail prevented (tied down to the toe rail) and the jib poled out. Before we poled out the jib, the boat was heeling over fairly far and it was difficult to move around below. After changing the sails to a wing on wing configuration, Limerence settled down and was more balanced in the rolling waves and 15-knot winds. We kept the sails like this for thirty hours, and had a great 24-hour day of 143 miles. The wind blew day and night, but the air was clear. We thought we could make it into Turtle Bay in the early evening, but we were still twenty-miles north at 11:00 PM. We slowed down as the wind finally ebbed, and sailed slowly toward our destination through the night. The dawn was spectacular with dark craggy mountains and red sunrise as we finally started the engine in the still morning, and motored for 18 minutes into the anchorage.

November 3, 2000

Doug was a good sport and got our dinghy ready to take ashore after a brief three-hour nap. The town of Turtle Bay is very poor with fishing the main support system for the people. Fifty or so kids jumped up and down on the beach, and waded into the water to greet us and help land our dinghy in the surf. It was surreal as we walked around the poor village and said “Buenos Dias” to those we met. We gave Halloween Candy to the kids, and hiked over to the church with shirts to donate to the people. After a fun lobster dinner with friends, and a beach party the next day, the group headed south again to Bahia Santa Maria.

November 5, 2000

We were amazed that the winds continued to howl as we set sail for the next major stop – 240 miles south to Bahia Santa Maria. By now we were acclimated to the wind and waves, though I had sweaty palms when the sun set. Everything is scarier and noisier at night. Captain Doug was confident and in control of Limerence, so I chilled out and enjoyed Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

November 6, 2000

We approached the headland of Bahia Santa Maria on Monday night, and at 10:00 I dropped anchor in the huge bay as we experienced our first squall. The winds roared and the sky showered me with warm rain as I dropped the anchor in 25 feet of water. Holy cow. I am surely a cruiser now.

November 7, 2000

The fleet only spent one night in the wild and beautiful Bahia Santa Maria, and after a brief beach party complete with band, beer, and lobster, we weighed anchor at 6:00am on Wednesday for our last leg – Cabo San Lucas.

November 8,2000

The wind didn’t abate as we moved south again. While Limerence had sporty winds of 20-25 knots, some in the fleet experienced dead zones and had to motor. Oh. . . for a little peace and quiet. However, the Captain assured me it’s much better to be screaming along, that in a dead calm. Okay, okay. We were relieved at sunrise to see the craggy headland of Cabo Falso, and know we would be safe in the harbor by the afternoon of Thursday, November 9.

November 9, 2000 We were lucky to get a slip in the Cabo Marina even though we are surrounded by crazed sport fishing boats. We are so tired that their 4:00 am departures don’t bother us much. We are happy to be here, with the fun and gaiety of this Mexican town and beautiful beach. Hotels, bars and discos surround the huge marina. We are mere steps away from Margaritaville, Carlos and Charlie’s, and The Nowhere Bar. Everyone is on vacation so the partying and laughing goes on every night ‘till midnight. We are certainly in the “happening” spot in Cabo.

To close the Baja Ha Ha event, the group sponsored an awards party on Saturday night, and we WON second place for our division because of our overall speed, and the fact we essentially did not motor for 800 miles. We are proud of our “Ma and Pa” operation. After all, most of the other boats had several crewmembers to help and the luxury of six hour breaks between watches. This has been a great learning experience for us, and we are happy we made the decision to join the Baja Ha Ha rally. After a few more days of rest and relaxation we will head over to the mainland to Puerto Vallarta, 290 miles southeast . . A piece of cake. The next installment in our saga will be from the “Gold Coast of Mexico”.

Smooth sailing to all of you. Please correspond with us on this website. We love to hear from you. Captain Doug and Faithful Siren Judy

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