Richard and the Baja Haha XXVII gang embark November 1 – 13th.
I often meet people, sailors, that tell me they arrived in La Cruz via the Baja Haha, then I met Richard who founded the rally and just had to learn more. From the Baja Haha XXVII website I learned:
The Baja Ha-Ha is a two-week cruisers rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which takes place every fall. Dates for the 2021 event will take place November 1 – 13th.
For answers to frequently asked questions, see our About the Ha-Ha page. And be sure to support our sponsors, without whom there would be no Baja Ha-Ha.
I have one of two criteria that have me deciding who gets written about on my blog.
- They must live in La Cruz and have a compelling story or;
- They must operate a business or provide a service out of La Cruz that, I believe, benefits folks visiting or living in La Cruz.
Richard Spindler falls into the latter. As always I asked him about his life and how he relates to our magical town.
Do you live in La Cruz?
Even though my office is in Mill Valley near San Francisco, Dona and I live in four different places, three months a year each.
- In the winter we either live in one of three luxury condos Dona rents at Punta Mita or aboard our 63-ft catamaran Profligate.
- In the spring we live aboard the 45-ft cat ‘ti Profligate in St. Barth, French West Indies.
- In the summer we live aboard the 42-ft canal boat Majestic Dalat in France.
- In the fall we live aboard Profligate between San Diego and Santa Barbara. In short, the north coast of Banderas Bay is our home from November through January.
What brought you to La Cruz?
I’ve been coming to Banderas Bay and La Cruz with my sailboats since 1981. It’s just one of the places we stopped in our travels.
Tell me about your career.
I was a philosophy and Russian major at UC Berkeley. When I was 29 I started Latitude 38 sailing magazine in California and am still the owner/executive editor. In 1994 I started the Baja Ha-Ha cruising rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. Over the years we have brought over 2,000 boats and 10,000 sailors to Mexico. I also started the Sea of Cortez Sailing Week, Zihua SailFest and numerous other sailing events.
I know you’re not retired, how much do you work per week, on average?
Dona and I both continue to work well in excess of 40 hard hours a week. I’m not happy if I’m not working.
Chartering your catamaran Profligate, tell me more?
UPDATED February 5th, 2016
OUR CHARTER SEASON WITH PROFLIGATE, AKA SPIRIT OF RIVIERA NAYARIT, is over because we’re headed to the Caribbean. It was a bit of madness getting the boat ready to charter after the Ha-Ha, but we’re satisfied with how it all turned out. Along with Dona and our Mexican crew, I actually had a lot of fun because: 1) We only took out small groups (as few as two), 2) Because they were high-end charters as opposed to big groups getting smashed on tequila and dancing to rap music — not that there is anything wrong with it — we met a lot of very interesting and accomplished people; and 3) We only did an average of about two charters a week. So rather than getting burned out, we had a good time.
The cool thing about taking non-boating people out is how amazed they are at being out on the water. I’d see a whale and go, “Oh, that’s cool.” They’d go, “Oh my god, I’m getting chills up and down my spine!!!” People telling you the charter was one of the best experiences of their lives kind of de-jades you and reminds you just how lucky you are to have a boat.
If you’re thinking that chartering your boat in Mexico is a cool and easy way to make money, I have to caution you that setting up a legal charter operation in Mexico is much more time-consuming (it took us about a year), expensive (tweaking the boat, buying SUPs, getting Mexican charter insurance, getting all the permits, paying lawyers and accountants, etc.), and complicated (you have to have a Mexican partner, etc.) than it might seem. And even then there are some issues that put you at risk financially.
There are two other critical things. First, you need to have a boat that is suited for the job or you won’t get much business. We were lucky in the sense that charter brokers had been begging us to charter Profligate for years. Second, you have to really like dealing with, serving, and entertaining people. Dona and I had both done quite a few charters before in different parts of the world, so we know how to do it and get a kick out of it. But if you don’t have the right personality, it would be a nightmare.
Initially we thought we might have someone else run Profligate while we were in the Caribbean and France, but decided against it. There’s just too many things that can go wrong on too many fronts. So Profligate, which I feel is finally complete after 19 years, gets to rest until August when Dona will deliver her north for the SoCal Ta-Ta and the Baja Ha-Ha. Anybody needing sea time or fun on the water want to do a motorboat ride north with her? She might be looking for crew.
So despite our little charter gig operating deep in the red for the first winter, Dona an I, a couple of workaholics if there ever were any, are looking forward to next season.
What do you enjoy the most about what you do?
I like to write and I like to start events and businesses.
The sailor’s world, including the legal concepts about bringing boats into Mexico, has gone thru many changes, are they for the better?
After stumbles, including a very serious one two years ago, Mexico is getting its marine paperwork act together. Things are better than they were, but there still needs to be more clarity and uniformity of the rules.
Do you both speak Spanish or like me, are you working on that?
Dona is very good with Spanish. I’m not so good because she does all the talking.
Beyond waters sports, do you enjoy other water sports… surfing, fishing, etc? If so, what is your favorite?
I surf at little, SUP even more, and boogie board.
You’re an amazing contribution to the sailing community, did you start Latitude 38 and if so why/how?
I started Latitude 38 in 1977 because I was selling boats in San Francisco and had no idea what was going on in the world of sailing.
What do you see as the greatest change to La Cruz since you started coming here? Do you like that change?
The biggest change in La Cruz has obviously been the marina. There are winners and losers in any big change, but I think overall it’s been good and will continue to be good for the majority of the people.
If you had a magic wand, what would your wish for La Cruz de Huanacaxtle be 5 years from now and beyond?
That less garbage would be thrown on the streets and beaches. It’s gotten much better but still has a long way to go.
What is the one thing you’re most proud of in your life, greatest achievement kinda thing?
I’m most proud of my daughter and my son and having been able to do things my way.
Would you suggest others visit La Cruz de Huanacaxtle?
I think the entire north shore of Banderas Bay is a great place to vacation and/or live. It’s close to Vallarta, but not too close. La Cruz still has small town charm.
What one thing do you think people ‘about town’ don’t know about you?
That my good friend, Peter Vargas of Sea Tek, who has done all kinds of great work on Profligate, is my Mexican partner in Profligate charters. Read more about Peter here.
I asked a sailor friend about Richard, here’s what he had to say:
Richard of Latitude 38 is most likely the person most responsible over the last twenty years for positive, consistent and helpful information through his magazine, and also the 21 editions of the ‘Baja Ha Ha’ activities in promoting Mexico’s West Coast, including the Sea of Cortez, Banderas Bay and all the way south to Zihuatanejo. He is responsible for enticing thousands of people from Canada, the West Coast of the United States and elsewhere to come and check out this beautiful world of Mexico’s West Coast. I have never been aboard Profligate, but have been in her company twice. I have never ever heard anything negative and from what I saw, I would be delighted to sail on her. As a fellow sailor, a reader of Latitude 38 from volume one on, and a Baja Ha Ha participant twice, I think of Richard and Profligate as being part of Mexico.
Saludos, Klaus Kutz
The photo is of Profligate sailing on Banderas Bay with the new hardtop made by Peter Vargas and crew.
