Sophia and I are heading home today.  Most of my crew are staying to explore La Paz for a few more days and Roxy will take care of Celtic Song.  I know CS is in good hands with Roxy!!!  It feels great to have navigated successfully the first two legs of our cruise.  Another thing to note that is super about this marina is that all of their water is made from reverse osmosis.  The drinking water here is the best.

I want to thank my crew for helping to make this voyage successful.  On the first Leg from San Diego to Cabo, John effortlessly took over the role as head navigator, computer operator and ireach check-in person.  He trained me how to use all the new electronic systems that I didn't have time to learn before leaving SD.  John has a quiet, gentle way that helped to keep Celtic Song moving forward steadily and safely.  What a great asset to the team.  Anna was always eager and enthusiastic to learn and often  ahead of me to help make the upcoming watch schedule, figure out more detailed functions of Coastal Explorer. Thank you Anna.  Shelly was amazing in quickly learning any task that was put in front of her and always ready to give a hand to anyone who looked like they could use it, and I love her way of connecting with all the other cruisers:) Everyone on the first leg was so proficient in all the navigation systems and trustworthy on watch that we all slept peacefully through the night passages.  We all learned how to deal with the Spinnaker. Roxy was a great support in all areas, especially taking care of everyone basic needs....like food!

Our new crew of Cheryl, Sharon and Valerie brought another breath of fresh air and laughter aboard.  Sharon is always ready to go out and explore and she is fearless.  I love her love for life and her physical ability to do,( as far as I know) anything.  She rowed our dinghy out of the surf effortlessly and can raise the mainsail with her own strength and no need of the winch.  Sometimes I think she is a bionic human!!!  And thank you to Cheryl who is my angel by my side; especially navigating that last channel in the dark, giving me a feeling of calm and immense appreciation for life.   She is always anticipating what needs to be done and is either doing it or getting ready to do it.  Wow
Valerie is our newest crew member.  She came bravely trusting her life to us and did whatever was asked of her, even if she felt she wasn't ready or didn't quite know what to do!  What a wonderful person to have on board.  Everyone did more than their share, and that is what made the experience so easy.  Roxy, well, thank God she was here.  With her life long experience of living and cruising with her family she brought a grounded and secure feeling on board.  When I was very tired she took over and made sure we were ready for anything that might come our way.  She was always ahead of me on getting the boat ready and I hardly ever asked her to do anything.  She just did it and was an expert in all aspects of cruising, taking care of the boat and the crew. Roxy you are amazing!  And Sophia who would come play and explore with me anytime and anywhere I wanted to go.  Well at least almost.  She didn't really like swimming all the way to the shore in Cabo.  I could tell by the look in her eyes.

Thank you all and looking forward to our upcoming passages with you all onboard!!
Diane and Celtic Song

It's Monday afternoon (I think). One loses track of days when awaking pre-dawn and sailing through sunrises and sunsets to arrive at the next destination in inky blackness. Only a crescent moon and star-filled night lead the way. Actually, Celtic Song is equipped with some of the best navigational tools available and, under the skilled guidance of Captain Diane, trusty navigator Roxy Darrow, and a couple of over-taxed flashlights, we safely navigated our way into Marina De La Paz at 10pm last night after a 19 hour trip from Bahia Los Frailes.

We outran the predicted northerlies and, from what I just heard at the local dive shop, the port is now closed to boats under 40' from entering and exiting so Diane's decision to make a beeline was a good one.

This trip flew by but was filled with so many memories and lessons learned, I will be savoring it for a long time. Diane runs the boat in a way that makes me feel safe but challenges my limits and comfort zones in ways that have helped me grow. I've learned to navigate (much more to learn) using the Raymarine Chartplotter along with the fantastic Coastal Explorer program. I've handled watches, alone in the middle of the night, under a moonless sky. I've moved this big, heavy boat, managing the helm, throttle and bow-thrusters as we've picked up and moved anchor in a blustery anchorage. I've learned to read a barometer and better understand tides and currents and how they impact safe navigation and docking and anchoring. The biggest lesson I've learned is how much more there is to learn. Diane is a wonderful teacher and Celtic Song is a beautiful, homey, sturdy, safe classroom.

Thank you Captain Diane for the last several days of learning, laughter, sunshine, wind, rainbows, good food, and so much more.

Fair winds and following seas, Valerie

La Paz, The Peace,  we are safely in our slip.  Just woke up to a calm sunrise in the quiet Marina.  La Paz is a magical place on planet earth.  A feeling of peace embraces the city.  We were welcomed on our approach to the Loranzo Channel with a display of rainbows appearing off our starboard side at sunset and then lead down the La Paz Channel with
a lighting show enticing us forward through the narrow channel.  This is why we love cruising.  Roxy was spot on for me on the chart plotter and Celtic Song did not wavier her course by a degree,  Awesome Roxy.  Sharon and Val on the bow spotting for any strange objects in the channel.  We were OK until the last Channel Marker and Val yelled stop as she mixed up the Red and Green Marker (we were all tired).  Thank God Sharon still had her wits!  Cheryl stayed next to me to reassure me we still had water under our keel.  We slowly made our way into the marina and with the help of the night watch man tied to our slip #130 for the next month and half.  Oh and Sophia was very happy to put her four paws on Terra Firma :)

AMF,  Celtic Song, Sophia and Diane

On our way to Los Frailes and meeting Baja sailor’s on the beach while doing some hiking - Sharon (sent pictures and note as text)

We received a message from Diane that Celtic Song's crew weighed anchor and left early this morning from Bahia Los Frailes ..... heading towards Ensenada de Los Muertos (about 46 nautical miles (NM)) and on to Bahia de La Paz (104 NM from Bahia Los Frailes).

Good morning world from a little bay in Mexico called Los Frailes. We arrived via Celtic Song at around 2 a.m. with a billion stars shining on us and a crew ready for a new adventure. After waking up to the smell of fresh coffee brewing, we all head up on deck with our exploratory minds to decide whether snorkel, dive, hike or walk the beach. We are, of course, doing everything. The water is about 82 degrees - and at least one of us is jumping in all during the day. It is an extraordinary life and we feel extremely humbled to be here in this sacred cove with the locals.
         Adios Cheryl

Left Cabo behind just before sunset.  Crazy Cabo, crazy people, music too loud, happy to go.  Fortunately we were anchored out at the bottom of the Cape and the aqua blue 82 degree water was divine. We jumped off the boat all day and swam around.  Sophia swam all the way to the beach.  Yes she had her life jacket on :)  She got alot of exercise today.  Good thing because at the present moment we are bashing NE ward in bumpy
seas.  Heading for Los Frailes looking forward to diving on Puma reef tomorrow.  Diane

New Crew - Valerie, Cheryl, Sharon, [DIANE], Roxie

Smooth sailing from Bahia Santa Maria.  Pretty good wind for most of the day 5-7k boat speed, broad reaching....the way cruising is suppose to be.  Everything about the boat is perfect, the navigation, head, food, and super well trained crew.  So far we have had two hitch hikers...another larger bird landed on our bow pulpit about 30miles earlier.  It looked like a type of heron.  She stayed with us all the way until we were about to drop anchor.

After we dropped anchor, Sophia immediately went to the poop deck and christened it.  She is adapting well to the cruising life.  Crew is back to sleep for a couple of hours before we wake at 0700 to greet the sunrise and head to the fuel dock.  Ohhh and how can I forget last night's green flash.  I think we caught it on our cameras for you nonbelievers!