The purpose of this video is to give the viewer an in-depth look into the current condition of Stella J. The lack of editing is on purpose and its length is meant to show as much information as possible. Currently Stella J is in Barra de Navidad and for sale for 2,500,000 pesos. If you are interested, you can send a private message @ SV Stella J on messenger.

Now that we have crossed the Sea of Cortez and arrived on the mainland, we cross the notorious El Sid marina bar and get together with our cruising friends to explore this wonderful town. Music credit from SlipStream - Track: "Falling 012 Instr" Music provided by https://Slip.stream Free Download/Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/de7e26df-c3e8-46e8-8540-2636d0e1aae4 Track: "Feel The Fire" Music provided by https://Slip.stream Free Download/Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/c6dbedca-fb21-42b1-b5af-b31bc4cb1b5f Track: "If It's Not Me" Music provided by https://Slip.stream Free Download/Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/fa881c70-2495-4347-905e-27c0e9b976f3 Track: "Make It" Music provided by https://Slip.stream Free Download/Stream: https://slip.stream/tracks/6dd69868-3ceb-45df-8591-5929ac234530

As we make our way north through the Sea of Cortez, we make incredible friends and make memories of a lifetime. The area is teaming with life and the summer months are molten HOT! I take you through our highlights of the summer and fast forward you south again to our crossing back to the mainland, destination, Mazatlan.

The anchorages are absolutely stunning and the aquatic life is truly unbelievable! We've been lucky with good winds and we arrive in Marina Puerto Escondido, a cruisers safe haven for hurricanes!

Now that all our boat work is done and hurricane season approaches, we head out of La Paz and head north. Our exploration of the Sea of Cortez has only begun and there is so much to see! Things kick off well as just a couple hours outside of La Paz, I catch my biggest fish yet!!

So what is it like living and cruising on a monohull sailboat with a dog? Well, in this video we take a closer look into how we deal with having a 90lb chocolate lab on board and sail the Sea of Cortez.

We've known our bottom paint is in dire need of some attention, so we find a DIY yard in La Paz and haul Stella J out and set to work. We can't stay on the boat while she's on the hard, so we rent an Airbnb and get a taste of what its like to live in the mexican suburbs.

Its been a long run but we finally make it to our first main destination during our southbound sailing journey, La Paz. Stella J gets some much needed love, and so do we! We treat ourselves to a slip, a pool, and sharks. WHALE SHARKS!

We reach the tip of Baja California Sur and join the party for a few days in Cabo. We say goodbye to our friends on S/V Traveler, and we win the turtle lotto as we are treated to releasing over 900 freshly hatched sea turtles!! Follow along with the crew from Traveler as they sail thousands of miles from the PNW all the way to the east coast on their custom built steel monohull. https://blaine2maine.substack.com

We make it to Bahia De Tortugas, a well protected bay which is also known as the first stop on the Baja Ha Ha boat rally. Here we meet up with our friends from SV Traveler, we top off our fuel and water, and explore the town.

We depart Ensenada and also the noisiest marina EVER, and begin our voyage down the rugged Baja coastline. It becomes quickly evident that the west coast of Mexico is a desolate and extremely dangerous place, yet in order for our chocolate lab, Ramie, to get to shore so she may do her business, risks must be taken.

Its happened so fast. Already we have sailed the entire west coast of America and now we cross the border to Mexico. If things weren't already getting real, well there's nothing like a different country to make you feel alive. Lets do this.

After a night of pure terror, we arrive on Catalina Island. This couldn't have been a more welcome sight, a complete contrast to our last 12 hours . We have arrived in a true paradise and it's time to celebrate!!

We spend a few nights on Santa Cruz island but the island is a protected nature conservancy so dogs are NOT ALLOWED. So we move on for a overnight sail to Catalina island and we run head on into the worst storm yet! Its time to buckle up and take your hands off the standing rigging, its going to get shocking!

After a devastating reality check, we hoist the anchor and continue south. Mistakes were quickly forgotten as nature is in full attendance and provides an experience that is one for the record books. In this episode we make 2 overnighters as we head out of Santa Cruz and head for Santa Barbara.

Now that we have made it safely to San Francisco, the boat empties out as the crew heads back home and Stella J becomes strangely quiet! We celebrate our anniversary and once again, cut the lines and continue heading south!!!

This marks a momentous occasion for us. We finally take the big left turn and enter the big blue. It doesn't get much more real that the northern Pacific Ocean. We spend 7 days out at sea, destination San Francisco. Usually I try and make my videos shorter, but I really wanted YOU, the viewer, to get a real understanding for what it is like 100 miles off shore. This was a wild ride, one I will never forget.

Final preparations are being made and we finally leave Blaine for good. We have 48 hours before the fleet departs to make "The Big Left Turn". The San Juan's have been good to us but its time to get this party started so we start the first part of our journey by heading over to Port Townsend to meet up with the rest of the Coho Ho Ho group.

We are less that 4 weeks from departure so I get some projects done while we still have a comfortable space to tie up. Then I put the tools away as a couple familiar faces come aboard, so we cut the lines and head on out for what may well be our last big outing in the San Juan Islands!

We finished up our journey to Port Townsend without anyone becoming sea sick, WINNING, so its time to show off the boat to the Coho Ho Ho rally group as Port Townsend Rigging hops aboard to take a closer look at things. I sure hope Stella J isn't shy, because today she is front and center!