Start of the Baja Haha, Leg 1

The Sudden Stops Necessary Baja Haha crew (Mark, Ben, Chet, Carl) at the kickoff costume party on the day before the start.

My Pimp costume got me arrested. Must have been part of the cunning plan Carl hatched when he chose it for me.

Just about to cast off the lines to head to the start line for Baja Haha leg 1. Wonderful La Nina weather gave us a drizzly start.

Carl in pirate paradise at the start. 196 boats to choose from!

Dodging boats at the pre-start parade

A submarine joined our parade to the start line.. pretty cool. Never seen a sub in the water before. Later on my 1am night watch an aircraft carrier crossed our bow some 2 miles ahead with fighters and helicopters taking off and landing. Made for lots of excitement, especially since it didn't appear on AIS.

Carl on watch. Obviously looking for birds that we might collide into.

Anchored in Turtle Bay.

Finished Leg 1 at 10.06AM on 10/28 covering some 350 nautical miles in 59 hours. The forecast called for wind to lighten, so we chose to head offshore to get more pressure when it lightened. Unforturnately the forecast was wrong, it built to 15-25 knots with 9-12 ft seas. After going some 40 miles offshore we gybed back in.After a rough couple of days, the wind and swell decreased to make it a light air leg 1 finish. We had sailed the whole way without having to motor! We found out that we were one of only a handful of boats that managed to do that.. and we were the smallest boat to do it.