Baja HaHa - Bash or Truck Home?

[Steve Phillips]

We are planning on doing the Baha HaHa this fall and need to get our boat back to SF by winter time. What is your educated opinion? Would you rather face the Baja Bash or truck it home from San Carlos? Anyone with any experience on either or both would be greatly appreciated. We have a well found, 1995 Catalina 42' MKII. Please feel free to e-mail me directly also - PhillipsSG@aol.com.

 

[Justin]

Familiar with both

Steve, In December 2000 my wife and I bashed our Valiant 32 up to San Diego. In the summer of 2000 my parents trucked their boat from SC to SD.I think it is mostly an economical and time issue. If you are planning to go up into the Sea then you'll be near San Carlos so it is an easy sail. The yard is extremely professional. During peak season they haul & truck two boats a day. That is the catch. My parents showed up May 1st in SC. They got on the schedule to be hauled & trucked the first week in July! Quite the list! On the flipside we sailed straight from La Paz to SD without stopping. Took 8 days. The catch there is we did the trip in Dec. which is the one of the calmest months. We either had perfect wind or no wind so our average speed sailing & motoring was right around 6 knots. It was mostly uphill, but the seas were way down (compared to our trip south) and pretty dang comfortable for beating. April/May is the worst time to do the Bash because the wind is the strongest. If I were to do it again? I'd have more time and stop along the way going north during the winter. I wouldn't Bash in the Spring.Hope that helps.

 

[Gary Jensen]

getting boat back

When I do the bash, I intend to truck my boat from San Carlos to San Diego then sail to Catalina and motor home to Bay Area.........

 

[Larry Watkins]

Bashing up Baja

Steve; I did the Ha-Ha last year and am in the process of writing up an account and sending it out since sailors are thinking about the Ha-Ha for this year. Look for it soon, I hope. Anyway, I bashed back in December. It wasn't bad, 15 knots of true wind on the nose with a six-eight foot long swell. I rarely exceeded four knots to avoid pounding, and took on fuel at Turtle Bay. Make sure your fuel comsumption figures take into account the adverse wind and current, especially if you have a big dodger like I do. I'd also take a shakedown cruise and really stress your systems to find the weaknessess while your still in the States, too, and more than two people aboard would be nice for longer off time between watches. If you have more questions, e-mail me atsvmoondance@hotmail.comGood luckLarry W.

 

[Tim Schaaf]

Winter storms

I agree with the previous comments regarding the relative ease of going North in December. If you have a ham rig, or at least an HF receiver (you can get a portable for about $200, but be SURE it can receive SSB) you will be able to listen to the weather forecasts on the various nets. There are a relatively few places to hide out in the event of storms, but if you pay attention you should be fine. For the time of year you are considering, San Carlos has the disadvantage that you have to get there. And why might that be tough? Well, it is the season for Northers in the Sea of Cortez, and it is very hard to make progress against them. They come through quite regularly at that time and you have about 400 NM between Cabo and San Carlos. So, instead of simply enjoying whatever part of the Sea that the weather gods allow you, you might be pressuring yourself to go when it is uncomfortable. Plus, you might enjoy spending a little time in the Mazatlan / Banderas Bay area before heading north on the "outside". One other thing to take into account, though, is that getting from SD to the Bay area can also have its challenges during the winter. However, if your schedule gets tight, I suppose you could always leave your boat somewhere along the way and continue the delivery later. I agree with the comments regarding the competence of the crew at Marina San Carlos, and I doubt that there will be much of a crowd waiting to truck north in December.