Every October hundreds of cruisers head south to Mexico for the annual Baja Ha Ha Rally. This year’s event marks the 17th running with just under 200 boats participating. The approximately 800 nautical mile adventure starts in the San Diego Harbour with boats of all makes and models heading down the Baja Pacific Coast.  The flotilla will stop at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria with a race finale at Cabo San Lucas.  This year Catamarans had a strong presence. Spearheaded by the trio of Seawinds, (Baramundi and Island Time, both Seawind 1000's and Caprice a Seawind 1160) the Australian cruising cats took center stage as the Americas Cup Shotgun acknowledged the flotilla passing by Shelter Island.

In an interview with Pam and Steve Ellsworth of the Seawind 1000 – Baramundi, we asked them about preparing for the Baja HaHa. “We have been working for the past several months to get the boat ready. Our plan is to spend 6 months in Mexico exploring the remote islands and tropical bays."
Joining the trio of Seawind Cats was Seawind 1160-Selah owned by Roy Adcock. Although not participating in this year’s event, Selah was the unofficial send-off boat. Filled with envious sailors snapping hundreds of pictures, they sent off the sister ships waving a fond farewell as the three Seawinds sailed into the southern horizon.