VALENTINE

Capt. Stephen Powell
Captain Stephen Powell grew up sailing in Newport Beach, California. “My brother and I would spend the summer sailing in Newport Harbor, like a modern version of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. My entire family were lifeguards, sailors, scuba divers, pilots, and general Bon Vivants”, he said.

After graduating from the University of Southern California, Stephen traveled down to South Africa, to race and deliver sailboats, where he earned his Yachtmaster Ocean certification. Captain Stephen has sailed in all of the great oceans of the world and has logged in excess of 50,000 miles offshore, including two trans-Atlantic crossings and two Indian Ocean passages.

He holds a USCG 200 ton Master license and is also a PADI Divemaster and a private pilot. In 2017 he purchased his very own 41′ sloop in Palma de Mallorca, which he sailed across the Atlantic, through the Caribbean, and up the east coast of the USA. As a result of his extensive travels, Captain Stephen speaks fluent Spanish and can generally get by in a couple other languages as well. He will keep you entertained with tales of the high seas and even teach you a few sailing knots if you so choose.

Chef Celia “CC” Corbin

Chef and First Mate Celia, who goes by the nickname “CC”, was born and raised most of her life near the ocean in Southern California. It wasn’t until 2015 that CC gave up her corporate career as a Meeting & Event Planner and started traveling the world spending three of those months sailing across the South Pacific on a Lagoon 450. Traveling brought CC to earning her PADI Dive Instructor certification which then led her into the superyacht and luxury liveaboard industry where she worked in a variety of roles – one of them more recently being a chef cooking for 25 guests and crew combined in the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos.

After nearly 7 years working in the yachting industry, she’s now able to combine her passion for the ocean and focus on her creativity skills preparing modern fare cuisine. When CC is not on charter, you’ll likely find her traversing through mountains and enjoying the culinary delights of the country she’s in or continuing her education working toward her sommelier certification and yoga teacher training.

We’re pleased to have Celia onboard with her shared passion for the ocean and enthusiasm for food.

Stephen & Celia have crewed that same vessel, Esperanza II, together for two seasons and are very much looking forward to their third season in 2023-24 as professional crew on Valentine, delivering excellent service and guest experiences to discrete clientele. They both share their shared passion for the ocean with their guests, Celia with her Pan Pacific cuisine and Stephen by identifying sea life and their habitat on snorkeling excursions. Both are excellent divers, and have experienced some of the world’s best dive sites from Komodo, Indonesia, to the Seychelles, French Polynesia, and the Caribbean.

Stephen and Celia tailor each charter to the unique desires of each family. Some may choose an active charter that includes hiking, diving, wake boarding, and snorkeling, while others may be happy with a cold Caribbean cocktail and a good book. During diving expeditions Stephen & Celia find wild life to enhance the guests experience, and snap picture with a Go Pro so the clients have photographs to go along with their memories. On many occasions, they have organized boat concerts with local three piece bands, or steel pan players, that play on the aft deck while the guests float in the warm sea enjoying the music and a cold beer. The concerts have been a huge hit with guests for birthday’s, and other special occasions. Stephen particularly enjoys after dinner games with families, especially teens and children that need a good alternative form of entertainment to distract them from their Iphones.

While sailing from place to place Stephen will entertain guests with tales of ship wrecks, or the golden age of piracy, or history about the local islands. Celia loves to share her passion for food with clients, especially foodies and those who love the nuances in her amazing dishes. Previous guests frequently comment on how much value the crew adds to the charter experience, and their client reviews are universally outstanding.