BAJA HA-HA XXIII, PT 2 I
s every West Coast sailor heading south this year? No, but you might have gotten that idea if you happened to be outside San Diego Harbor at 11 a.m. on Halloween. That's when the 182-boat Baja Ha-Ha fleet charged south in unison. On board were roughly 600 sailors from all walks of life, some of whom had been waiting for decades to join this fun-focused 750-mile rally to Cabo San Lucas. For many, the two-week event serves as their inaugural step into the laid-back cruising lifestyle. Although this is our second installment of fleet profiles, we don't have nearly enough editorial real estate to include them all, but they will all be available to read via the official rally website: www. baja-haha.com. Please note: Profiles presented here were randomly selected. The * symbol next to the boat's name indicates that the boat has crew aboard under age 20.
technician, and Diane, a middle-school Spanish teacher, will have Elvin Wical and Dan Dowd along as crew. "We started planning this trip a couple of years ago when our landlord told us he wanted to sell the house and we would have to move," says Tony. Dreamweaver — Custom Trawler Ken & Dottie Saville, San Diego Ken, a 62-year-old retired plumber, and Dottie, a retired administrator, built Dreamweaver at an altitude of 8,000 feet at their remote mountain property near Big Bear Lake. "We took six years to build her using solar energy and many recycled parts. Snowstorms added to the adventure." They will have Ade and Joanne Salzar along as crew, and are bringing a motorcycle on the boat for inland travel.
Circadian — Solar 40 George Phillips, Ventura Circadian was built in England more than 40 years ago," says George, a 67-year-old information architect, "She's a tank, as she was T-boned by a ship and didn't even sink. "For years she languished on the East Coast. I bought her in South Carolina from a couple who had gutted her and started a restoration. I've continued the restoration for the last five years. "I've been reading Latitude since it was published on stone tablets," he adds, "and first learned about the Ha-Ha some time during the Cenozoic Era." Dakota* — Hunter 42 Ryan & Christina Dixon, San Mateo Ryan, a 40-year-old airline pilot, and Christina, an attorney, will have their sons Elliott, 7, and Finley, 3, along as crew. "We're a young couple with kids who probably shouldn't be doing this at this point in our lives," they say, "but screw it." Day Dream — J/122 (40 feet) Robert & Ian Day, Newport Beach Robert, a 55-year-old retired BMW dealer will be sailing with his 25-year-old son Ian, Jeff Kaiser and Ken Fehrnstrom. "It can't get much more interesting than having a young artist, two retired guys, and the commodore of the world-famous Lahaina YC as crew," says Day. Dolce — Cape Dory 33 Tony Bishop & Diane Grieman San Francisco Tony, a retired 54-year -old stage Page 82 •
Latitude 38
• November, 2016
to sail in 2010, he soloed this boat to Kauai four years later in the Singlehanded TransPac. "I will have on board my two kids, Stefan, 10, and Olaf, 8, but their responsibility as crew will probably be limited to galley watch," said Aleksandra. Friend Greg Brandysiewicz will be along to lend a hand. Fiddler's Green — Ta Chiao CT38 Jeffrey Glasse, Marina del Rey, CA "I've been thinking about the Ha-Ha since moving aboard in San Francisco in 2005," says Jeffrey, a 46-year-old CEO. "That was two boats and three cities ago. I've spent the past month removing systems rather than adding them," he says, "because I like to go sailing, not bring my condo with me into the ocean." Fields of Gold — Beneteau First 45.5 Alex Cartwright, San Francisco Alex, 34, and his youthful crew are "loaded with toys, surfboards and kiteboarding gear, plus scuba, spearfishing and deep-sea fishing gear." Along on the joyride will be contractor Tod Falcke, 34, and Peter Aaron, 33, and Dan Rhodes, 35, both pro kiteboarders. Fixin To — Hylas 44 Jim & Sharon MacIntosh San Francisco "We did our first Ha-Ha in 2010," say Jim, 66, a property manager, and his wife Sharon. "Last time we missed the first night in Turtle Bay because of equipment problems, but this year we're going to make sure we don't miss a single party." Jim and Sharon live in Oklahoma but have kept their boat on San Francisco Bay since 2004.
The Wada family on 'Empyrean'.
Empyrean* — Mayflower 48 Tom & Shelly Wada, Long Beach Tom, 50, a pipeline controller, and his wife Shelly will be doing the Ha-Ha with Kaitlyn Nichols and Emily Wada. "We are an almost all-female boat, right down to our dogs," jokes Tom. Festina Lente* — Beneteau 45 PK & Aleksandra Karwasiecka San Francisco PK, 46, and Aleksandra both retired young. He was a network engineer; she was a geophysicist. Although PK learned
Gadabout — Tayana 48DS Arthur & Paula Wagner Anacortes, WA "When I started flight school in the mid-'90s, my buddies would use beer to lure me into being rail meat during local regattas," recalls 'Wags', a 47-year-old retired naval aviator. "The Ha-Ha will be the third major leg — after our trip to Alaska and our trip to San Diego — in our planned circumnavigation. We were heading south anyway, so why not join up and meet nice people and catch some tasty waves?" Golden Rose — Ortona Navi 92 Joël Eisenberg, Portland, OR Joël screwed up and forgot to enter by the September 15 deadline. The Rally
