From FUBAR to CUBAR at San Diego Yacht Club

by Judy Parker on 18 Jun 2014 The international powerboat rally formerly known as FUBAR (Fleet Underway to Baja Rally) officially changed its name this past week to CUBAR, an acronym for Cruise Underway to Baja Rally.

'This cruise has always been recreational,' said Chuck Dahill, chairman of the FUBAR/CUBAR Committee at San Diego Yacht Club, 'so the name change to CUBAR more accurately reflects its family-friendly nature.' San Diego Yacht Club has taken over the responsibility of organizing and hosting this biennial event, with the next 15-day powerboat cruise down Baja and up to La Paz in the Sea of Cortez to take place in November 2015.

The acronym 'fubar' had its origins in the WWII military, an expletive for something broken beyond all repair.

Marv Benson, San Diego Yacht Club CUBAR Committee Co-Chair, said the slightly negative connotation of the word 'fubar' has prevented more than a few boat owners from joining the international pleasure cruise – or from bringing their friends and families along.

Bruce Kessler, founder of the FUBAR Odyssey at Del Rey Yacht Club in 2007, agrees that the name change from FUBAR to CUBAR is an improvement.

'When we started organizing this rally,' said Kessler, 'a group of Del Rey boaters were trying to think of a catchy name, and someone kiddingly said, ‘hey, how about fubar.’ The FU could stand for Fleet Underway, and the rest stood for Baja Rally. For lack of a better idea, that name stuck.'

Sponsors and boat owners are already lining up to participate in the CUBAR; basic facts and links of interest are posted at CUBAR.

The first public CUBAR informational dinner meeting will be held November 13, 2014 at San Diego Yacht Club, 1011 Anchorage Lane, San Diego, 92106. Any interested boaters should plan to attend, to meet the rally organizers and sponsors, to get the 12-month schedule of cruise seminars and skippers meetings, to share feedback on what they hope to experience during the group cruise, and to meet like-minded boaters who may also join the CUBAR cruise.

Besides the Mexico Tourism Board, rally sponsors have included vessel and engine manufacturers, airlines, chandlers, marinas, vineyards, restaurants, weather routing services, med-evac plans and more.

The actual 980-mile CUBAR cruise will take place in November 2015, departing from San Diego, with overnight pleasure stops en route at Ensenada, Turtle Bay, Magdalena Bay, Los Cabos and elsewhere. The CUBAR’s grand finale destination 15 days later will be in La Paz.

Vessel requirements include the fuel capacity to travel at least 450 miles at about 8.5 knots, because 450 miles is the longest distance between diesel docks and to allow for daylight arrivals. Previous FUBAR fleets have numbered between 30 and 50 powerboats, including sport fishers, motor yachts and yacht trawlers, ranging in length from 32 to 150 feet.

Participating boaters typically have come from all along the U.S. West Coast and British Columbia, using the rally from San Diego to La Paz to position themselves for the start of winter cruising season in the Sea of Cortez and mainland Mexico.