 Sail to Mo(A) buoy (click to enlarge) Wednesday was a windy day on the water. NOAA posted small craft warnings. Cheryl Caleca, Mora Thompson and I reviewed our Basic Class skills information, then Mora and I went sailing. Departing the dock at noon with full main and genoa, we sailed out to the Mo “A” marker and back (about 12 nm) in a record time of 3 hours. The apparent wind was 20+ knots and our boat speed topped out at 7.8 knots. Everything ran smoothly and effortlessly. Mora performed and successfully executed all the activities on the boat related to our Basic Class. Great job Mora!  Mora Thompson at home anywhere on the ocean
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The anchoring lesson page is complete. You'll learn about the bow and stern anchors on Celtic Song, and procedures associated with safely lowering and raising the CQR bow anchor with the windlass. You'll find it all HERE.  Windlass top center with snubber lines attached to cleats taking strain off of it. We've added photos of the hand signals that our crew uses while safely guiding Celtic Song to an anchorage or mooring. Check it out HERE   Women sailors from throughout the United States meet up in Newport Beach Celtic Song and several of her crew participated in the 28th Annual Women’s Sailing Convention Feb. 4 hosted by the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Newport Beach. We joined 227 women from 13 states, 49 percent of whom were there for the first time. Celtic Song was one of 18 boats that served as floating learning laboratories. We conducted a class on anchoring. I was one of 27 presenters who taught wide-ranging classes that included weather, rigging, navigation and boat mechanics among many others. Our crew — Mora, Wendy and I — left San Diego Wednesday, Feb. 1 and motor sailed at about 6 knots. We anchored at Dana Point around midnight. Calm seas, sun and lots of dolphins kept us company. We left Dana Point at 0800 with 15 knots of east wind that got us to Newport Harbor at 1030. We left Newport about 2100 after the convention ended. Jean was at the helm with Jen, who has sailed out of Newport many times, guiding. The National Weather Service predicted a 15-knot northwest wind with 20 knot gust. Instead, we had light winds. Mora and Wendy took first watch; Jean and Diane were up next with Barb and Jen on deck for sunrise. Celtic Song was secure in her San Diego slip by about 1000. It was a great few days of sailing, learning and meeting others passionate about sailing.
 Captain Diane Berol Ahoy sailors and welcome to our website and Celtic Song, a Pacific Seacraft 40. I’m Diane Berol, and I have been sailing and training people how to sail for the past 35 years. My first offshore sail was from Nadi, Fiji to Sydney, Australia about 40 years ago. It was 21 days at sea and altered the course of my life. Despite other career attempts, I have ALWAYS come back to sailing and cruising. I hold a 100T USCG license, advanced teaching certifications with ASA and US Sailing. I have been a professional delivery skipper throughout parts of the world: Alaska to Mexico; England to Africa; Fiji, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand; and across the Pacific to Hawaii. In 2005 my husband placed the order to build Celtic Song, our Pacific Seacraft 40. From 2005 to 2009 we outfitted her for offshore cruising with the latest electronics, water maker, hurricane heater, chart plotter, radar, single side band radio, satellite phone, safety equipment, Automatic Information System, diesel generator, life raft, dinghy and outboard. We set sail and tested ourselves and the boat by cruising local Southern California Islands. In 2009 we participated in the Baja Ha Ha and won 3rd place. From there, we cruised the Sea of Cortez with our daughter, Leah, for a year. In 2010 we shipped Celtic Song to British Columbia and sailed the Gulf and San Juan Islands and continued up the inside passage to Alaska, returning to San Diego in September 2011. Upon our return, my husband decided to stay on land, and I decided to continue passage making. In my opinion, Celtic Song is the perfect offshore cruising boat. She is maintained to a high level of excellence To continue cruising the oceans, a small band of enthusiastic sailors has banded together. We are assembling and training 30 to 50 other interested sailors to take part in offshore expeditions aboard our boat. You could be part of the adventure. Our plan is to assemble the crew, train and familiarize them with the boat. We’ll depart October 2018 for Mexico to explore the Sea of Cortez. In May 2020 we will cross the Pacific to explore some the South Pacific Islands and Australia. The intent of our blog is to provide an ongoing narrative about the progress of our goals. We’ll announce upcoming training sessions, reports of local excursions, introduce new crew members and explain further enhancements to Celtic Song. You’ll find lots of useful information throughout the site. Please take the opportunity of make comments or offer suggestions. Welcome aboard.  Off Los Coronados Island, Mexico |
