ha-ha profiles, pt. II

BAJA HA-HA LUCKY 13 PREVIEW, PT II

"The person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years, but the one with the richest experiences." — Jean Jacques Rousseau

Apparently our philosophy jibes with that of old Jean Jacques. After all, what's the use of living to be 105 if you never get outside your comfort zone and test your personal limits. For most participants, the annual Baja Ha-Ha rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas allows them to do just that. Furthermore, as we mentioned last month in our first installment of Ha-Ha profiles, this moderately challenging twoweek getaway provides the catalyst that inspires many of its 600+ participants to reinvent themselves. After a few days of offshore sailing, free from the monotony of the workaday world, mild-mannered office drones soon morph into swashbuckling adventurers with sun-tanned cheeks and wind-tousled hair. After standing a few night watches under brilliant, star-splattered skies, chronic worriers often transform into carefree vagabonds — later to be seen dancing on the tables of Cabo's notorious watering holes. Before those transitions take place, however, we'll introduce you to them as they are in 'normal' life. The event begins Monday, October 30 off San Diego's Coronado Rodes. (Look for a third and final installment in November and a complete post-rally report in December.)

Saeta — Sceptre 41 Richard & Andrea Black, Santa Cruz In any given year the range of vocations represented by Ha-Ha entrants is always wildly diverse. But we don't recall ever seeing Richard and Andrea's professions on an entry form. She is a flamenco dancer and he is her guitar accompanist. (He also works as both a civil and yacht designer.) Fittingly, they list Spain as their long-range cruising target. "I've been waiting for this trip for about 30 years," says Richard, "and here it is!" He's been sailing since 1969, and we'd bet it was he who introduced Andrea to the sport a decade ago. Don't expect this roomy 41-footer to be at the front of the pack, as she's carrying spares and provisions for extended cruising, in addition to a P.A. system, costumes, and — would you believe — a collapsible dance floor!

Apollo II — Fountaine Pajot 45 cat

Vic & Roberta Kelley, Sonora "After 28 years in prison, my plan of escape is finally becoming a reality," admits Vic. "San Quentin is surrounded by water on three sides, and I have been drawn to it for years." Fear not, Vic was a counselor there, not an inmate. He took up sailing 20 years ago on Sierra lakes as a pressure reliever from the job, and rigors of life in general. Vic and his wife of 10 years, Roberta, bought this comfy boat a year and a half ago with plans to spend six months a year cruising Mexican waters. Crewing on the Ha-Ha will be Vic's son Shane and daughter-in-law Shana, as well as friend Bob Harrison, an avid singlehander and former prison guard. (Be nice to him.)

Romany Star — Ohlson 38 Paul & Erin Moore, Seattle "Go slow," advises Paul. "Even if it means living on $400 a month. Enjoy it to the fullest, because it's so hard to go back." He ought to know. During the '90s, he did a five-year Central America and South Pacific circuit, including the Galapagos and southeast Alaska. After Erin came into the picture, the couple began an exhaustive five-year refit, incorporating interior features such as a full-size piano keyboard for Erin. Remarkably, they're still together. Last year they quit their jobs — he was a computer programmer and she was a flight attendant — and symbolically burnt their working attire in a local park, which earned them a scolding from local officials. Now, it's on to open-ended adventures anywhere between 25°N and 25°S.

Paul and Erin of 'Romany Star' plan to travel cheaply in order to travel far.

Kiskedee — F&C 44 Peter and Aaron Behman, Morro Bay Owning a fine-quality boat had been a lifelong dream for Peter. And when "the stars finally lined up," as he puts it, allowing him to buy one, he made an excellent choice. Designed by German Frers, F&Cs are little known on the West Coast, but are beautiful, fine-sailing yachts nonetheless. Although born in London, Peter grew up in Southern California, idolizing the sailing life since he was "a pup." As a teenager, he wanted to own his own boat so bad that he built a Sabot in his high school wood shop. Years later, a last-minute invitation to crew on a Beer Can race "changed his life," as he began racing actively. Peter's 31-year-old son Aaron will share in the dream cruise to Cabo, as will friends Greg Barker and Gerald Luhr. Palapa — Catalina 350 Roger & Tobé Hayward, Long Beach "We've found that we like each other better when sailing," say Roger and Tobé, explaining, "It must be the lack of clothing!" With that discovery, they've decided to "maximize our time on the boat before we're too old." The couple, both of whom are engineers, had a great time doing the Ha-Ha last year, and the fun continued afterward as they sailed down the Central American coast, with intermittent trips

REINVENT YOURSELF

For the Cullen family, doing the Ha-Ha is becoming a family tradition.

Ha-Ha," says Tom, "is becoming a family tradition, with sister following brother, and cousins following cousins!" After the rally, the Cullens will saunter on down the coast to Puerto Vallarta where they plan to live for two years, putting their kids in a Mexican school there, "and doing lots of surfing and cruising." Camaraderie II — Beneteau 423 TB

Stuart & Bernadette Strachan Redondo Beach Having been happily married for 27 years, Stuart decided to test his relationship with his "good-natured wife" Bernadette by buying "yet another boat" and throwing loads of money at it in preparation for a long-term cruise. Happily Bernadette accepted her shanghaiing with grace and is now equally excited about sailing in the Ha-Ha and beyond. They hope to eventually work their way into the Caribbean. The one thing that puzzles us, however, is how a smart guy like Stuart, a retired mutual fund lawyer, could let himself be talked into leaving his sons, 25 and 23, in charge of the family home. What was he thinking? Who knows, perhaps they're more saintly than the average twentysomething kid. In any case, we wish them success in both their voyages under sail and their home care strategy. Talerra — Cape George 38 David & Melanie Boots Anacortes, WA "Our cruising dreams started 29 years ago," recalls Melanie, "with a letter of proposal." David had recently completed a seven-year circumnavigation with his parents and was moving to Washington state. He invited Melanie to come along, with the idea that they'd quickly throw together a cruising kitty, buy a boat and take off. Typically, 'life' intervened to slow the plan, but they never gave up on their cruising dreams. In '86 they began building Talerra in a shop right outside their house, and 14 long years later she was finally launched. Now, after six years of finish work she is ready to go. And David and Melanie. . . Let's just say they're way past ready. The post-rally plan is to head for the South Pacific next spring. Walela — Amel Maramu 46 Carl & Marilyn McDanel Fiddletown, CA For Carl and Marilyn, part of the post-retirement process involved selling their boat and moving to California. For a while they tried to fill their recreational void with a 'land yacht', but that just didn't cut it. So eventually they bought this beautiful Amel in Florida and sailed her home to the Bay Area. Later, they crossed to Hawaii and spent a year exploring the island before circling north to Alaska. "Now," they say, "after three and a half years of warming up — and refitting the boat to like-new condition — we are at last beginning the real cruising of the world." Wisely, they have not set their plans in stone, but the Caribbean and Europe have been mentioned after a couple of seasons in ol' Mexico. Marie and Ron Scofield will crew to Cabo.

Sea Breeze — Swift 40

Chris Arnold, Gardnerville, NV "I plan to follow Jack Sparrow's compass," says Chris, an aircraft mechanic by trade. "After 18 airplanes, I need something different." Since he has spent his life flying and repairing planes all over the world, the list of far-flung places Chris has visited would make your head spin. But long before all that, as a kid he accompanied his parents halfway around the world during their circumnavigation, and later joined them for several arctic cruises. We're pretty certain, in fact, that his adventures could fill a book of several volumes. Where he'll head after the rally is yet to be announced, as are his Ha-Ha crew.

Quantum — Cooper 416 Jeff Phillips & Bill Leach Redwood City Jeff became a part owner of Quantum last year after answering an ad on Craig's List. Since then, he and Bill, another part owner, have done a lot of sailing together in preparation for the Baja cruise. On a trip from Drake's Bay to Bodega they found out that this heavy displacement pilothouse cutter does well in nasty conditions. "With 10-foot seas every 7 seconds, she was bashing into swells on autopilot without much complaining," recalls Jeff. The third crewman on the Cabo run will be Justin Zink — talk about an appropriate name for a sailor! Come to think of it, this entire crew is nautically named: There's Zink, Leach and what sailor worth his salt would go to sea without a Phillips-head screwdriver? Post-Ha-Ha, Quantum will be berthed in La Paz awaiting visits from her owners.

Georgia J — Passport 47 Kim & Sharon Barr, Tiburon Believe it or not, Kim and Sharon began sailing actively only about three years ago. They'd been longtime powerboaters, and had dabbled a bit with sailing years ago, but never caught "the bug" until something inspired them to take a few classes. "After a blitz of classes, private instruction, both of us crewing every Friday night, and chartering in the BVI

and the Med, we found ourselves looking to buy another boat — this time, a sailboat." Having honed their skills on a number

Kim and Sharon transitioned from the dark side (powerboating) just three years ago.