Baja Ha-Ha

[FLKokopelli]

We did the HAHA in 2002. We actually were permitted to motor several times during the rally because of a lack of winds. We met a great group of cruisers many who we later hooked up with in La Paz, and are still in contact with us today..

[rebel heart]

It's always fun to be in San Diego in October because of the Ha-Ha people. Lots of cruisers from around the world getting ready to have an adventure. Cracks even the thickest salty sailor.

[Pete the Cat]

Originally Posted by Hud3

I'm not sure I understand what "hammered" means in this situation. The winds are from the NW, right? That would put them on the starboard quarter for a boat headed south. Sounds like a good ride to me, with the wind behind the beam, not something to be avoided. "Hammered" would be beating into those conditions.

The corresponding situation on the East Coast would be riding a front from the Chesapeake Bay down to the Tradewinds. 40-45 knots on the port quarter, with a scrap of genoa out in 24' swells means you're doing hull speed or better and having a ball!

I've never sailed the Pacific coast, and so would appreciate someone clearing this up for me.

Well, I did the trip from San Diego to Cabo when we had 32+ Kt winds and 15-20 seas with short periods for a bit more than three days. Yes, the wind and sea were off our stern quarter, but I found it more than a bit wearing. My crew and I had to sleep on the saloon floor because we were getting pitched over the lee cloths in the berths from falling down the fronts of some of the waves--I would have invited any helmsman to steer diagonally down a wavefront in the dark when all you can see is the lightning phosphorescence of the waves breaking and when they are so close together. I was really happy to get to Cedros Island to get a little relief. I have sailed from Panama to Maine and have been here on the East Coast for a couple years. All I have seen here is godawful storms where everyone finds a harbor or that 4-12 foot chop that is equally uncomfortable upwind or down. The prevailing winds make most harbors upwind.

If the Baja Ha Ha folks are getting 40 knots and the seas that go with them, I extend my sympathy. There is virtually no place to hide for 800 miles as there are few easy harbors (Turtle Bay and Mag Bay can be iffy in some conditions), few islands to get behind for relief and everything is a lee shore. Frankly it was the one of the most rugged passages in my 35 years of sailing. More wearing than scary. Although I have bashed North over the same route on deliveries in my younger days, I do not believe any sane person would do it in those conditions.

[Roy M]

For what it's worth: Interphase: SE-200.

I predict that in a short time these will be as ubiquitous as depth sounders, GPS and autopilots. I have one. It is everything it purports to be. Consider it as underwater radar. Period. OOps! Phased array, does anyone recognize that term? As in advanced naval technology? Seriously, check it out. You could be the first one on your dock to rule the seas!

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Pete the Cat

Well, I did the trip from San Diego to Cabo when we had 32+ Kt winds and 15-20 seas with short periods for a bit more than three days. Yes, the wind and sea were off our stern quarter, but I found it more than a bit wearing...

Thanks, Ray.

Wave period is a major factor, no question about that.

My experience in the Atlantic is that after a day or so of wind at Force 8+- the period lengthens to the point that it's not a bad experience, with the waves from the quarter. I've found that having a bit of the headsail out, and no main, makes steering fairly easy in those conditions.