We made a trip down the Pacific coast in 1998. It was a great year for
surfers, big waves. When the seas would get down to 16 feet we would leave
port for our next destination. Occasionally we woud get caught by bigger
ones. The largest seas we were in were 25 feet with wind waves of 5 feet on
top of that. We hove to. Wind was gusting to 50 knots. More important than
the height is the interval between the waves. The Vega can take it but put
extra drains in the cockpit. You could get filled. If doing it over I'd also
put the engine control panel on the cockpit bulkhead. If it gets immersed in
the well you could lose it. Walt, S/V Lyric #120
P.S. In "Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere" by John Vigor our
boats get rated a 6 for safety at sea. This puts us right behind the West
Sail 32 which got a 5. Of course if you wanted to spend twice as much and go
down to 25 feet you could get something as nice as a Pacific Seacraft. It
was rated at 18. Need I say number 1 is the highest.
