THE SPECIFIC CRUISING BOAT DOESN'T
MAKE
THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE. ONE FAMILY'S OPINION.
The photo shows just a part of the diverse fleet at
Turtle Bay, the second stop in the Ha-Ha.
About 10 years ago we hosted a group of six folks for a charter aboard 'ti Profligate in the Caribbean.
The male in one of the couples spent most of his time on the phone doing business deals, while his wife, who wore a lot of sweatpants, did craft books.
"Those two aren't going to do much more sailing," I said to Dona at the end of the charter.
So it was much to surprise when about five years later, the man and woman, and their three kids, showed up in St. Barth. It turns out they had chartered a Outremer 49, a very fast cruising cat, for two years. They started their cruise in the Eastern Med, and would eventually cross the Atlantic twice.
Then they flew to Thailand or somewhere nearby, where they chartered a couple of more cats, none of them anywhere near as fast or sophisticated as the Outremer, for another two years.
A few years later I spoke to the man again, and he told me how prior to chartering the first boat for two years, he'd obsessively researched catamarans for six months to find the 'perfect one'. But after four years of cruising, he and members of his family came to the conclusion that the kind of boat you cruise on really isn't that important at all.
"Moving forward, just about anything seaworthy would be fine with us," is basically what he told me. "The exact boat just isn't that important."
Mind you, this is coming from a very successful Silicon Valley guy, with a very smart wife and Stanford caliber kids.
Interesting opinion. One I don't necessarily agree with, although I do think buyers of boats, particularly first-time buyers, often do obsess over the craziest, least important things.
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Now for some factual data. In the 25 years of the Baja Ha-Ha, the average size of the 3,000 boats entered is about 43 feet, and hasn't changed much over the years. The average age of the boats is about 15 years. You can find a complete list of boats at www.baja-haha.com.
This year's Baja Ha-Ha, the 750-mile cruiser rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, with stops at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria, will be held from November 3-16. Entries will be accepted at www.baja-haha.com starting on May 8.
Not sure if you would like to do the Ha-Ha? The Grand Poobah recommends that you ask folks who have done one. We hope you'll join us.
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