AlbinVega in light air?

Vega1447 · Feb 20, 2009

My experience has been that the Vega performs v well in light airs.

John

V1447 Breakaway

ninebendsriver wrote:

rogerefairest · Feb 20, 2009

Trim the sails, play around with them and see what works better, a spinaker would work a lot better than just a Jib but if not a spinaker pole would be invaluable to avoid the jib not doing its full potencial, keep the boat balanced (heavy stuff amidships if possible), take a good book lots of good food and manage expectations, we have at times spent hrs looking at the same light house from the same angle just to name one occation...............but those ocations have been sunny and warm.

Have fun!

Roger

j.hunter9999 · Feb 20, 2009

I've had extraordinarily good luck with Bella in light air. We've got
a 155 made of lighter material. We've had great success flying it
with a spinnaker pole. In light air, with rolling seas, you may find
it a necessicity, as the genoa will tend to bounce less with the pole.
Of course, an actual spinnaker is another option.

In addition to the pole on the genoa, I've also run with a boom
preventer (on a previous boat) to help keep the boom out and stable.
However, I would not recommend this unless you are able to pay careful
attention to the wind conditions and course. It can have disasterous
results if your run turns into a lee sail. If you choose to go this
route, it is still better to treat the boat as if the preventer were
not in place. Don't try to run downwind thinking the preventer will
take care of any problems with accidental jibes. It is better to sail
on a broad reach and use the preventer to simply stabalize the main sail.

Best of luck. Bring a few good books, plenty of water and some
sweetened condensed milk.

Jack
V2620
Bella

pjacobs55 · Feb 20, 2009

In priority order, for those waters: use the tides, keep the bottom clean, use your spinnaker and reacher when you can.Nicholas H. Walsh P.A.
111 Commercial St.
Portland ME 04101
207/772-2191
Fax 207/774-3940

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From: ninebendsriver
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 4:45 PM
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AlbinVega] AlbinVega in light air?I will be sailing in Western LIS and expect light air from June to
August. I will cruse to block island and day sail.Will the
vega perform well in light air....please give me advice as to its
ablities and what can be done to improve light air sailing.

Thanks
NineBends

frankdeba27 · Feb 20, 2009

NineBends,
???? We keep our boat in Groton, CT and go to the Beautiful Bridgeport area every year along with trips to Buzzards Bay and Martha's Vineyard. What Nicholas Walsh said about tides and currents and a genaker or spinnaker is perfect. We try to have enough time on our hands to wait at anchor or at the beach for a good travel day. We really don't like listening to the motor run. I find right now that I can only seem to remember the good travel days we've had. The motoring has been forgotten.
???? Frank & Tena DeBaggis
???? Vega 2141, Carpe Diem

sailshiva · Feb 20, 2009

One of our most memorable days "sailing" was a light air trip from Anacortes up to Bellingham, WA. It was warm, sunny and totally windless. We didn't like the idea of running the motor, preferring to hear the gulls, the seals, the water, etc. So we left the sails furled and only put up the spinnaker. We held the lines in our hands, and tweaked along, moving north, slowly, but surely. Passing boats stopped to ask if we needed a tow. I'm sure they thought we were nuts, but when we ghosted into the marina in Bellingham without having contributed a single greenhouse gas to the environment, we felt like we'd won the race of a life time--the race to slow down and live.

Sheila

wemccourt · Feb 20, 2009

Sheila,

That's what sailing is all about!!! Fantastic

Bill McCourt
Reston, VA

sailshiva · Feb 20, 2009

One of our most memorable days "sailing" was a trip from Anacortes up to Bellingham, WA. It was a warm, sunny and totally windless day. We didn't like the idea of running the motor, preferring to hear the gulls, the seals, the water, etc. So we left the sails furled and only put up the spinnaker. We held the lines in our hands, and tweaked along, moving north, slowly, but surely. Passing boats stopped to ask if we needed a tow. I'm sure they thought we were nuts, but when we ghosted into the marina in Bellingham without having contributed a single greenhouse gas to the environment, we felt like we'd won the race of a life time--the race to slow down and live.

Sheila

btfag0s · Feb 20, 2009

One of my favourite light-airs moments was on a spinnaker run, nearly 20
years ago, northbound in the Sound of Mull in the west of Scotland. The
sailing was great in the warm sunshine, but it was disconcerting watching
another boat a few miles to the north who was also on a spinnaker run, but
SOUTH bound!

It goes without saying that within the hour we were beating hard in oilskins

Alisdair

vegatern · Feb 21, 2009

It seems to me that the asymmetrical spinnaker is easier to keep
full in very light air. I have assumed it has something to do with
the apparent wind, but maybe I'm just kidding myself so there's less
to deal with.
In general, which is the quickest way to reach a mark downwind;
sailing a bit faster with the cruising chute and gybing downwind, or
going straight for the mark with the poled out symmetrical?
Craig

btfag0s · Feb 21, 2009

Gybing downwind would likely be the most comfortable, possibly even the
fastest. If there's any swell around then going directly downwind is likely
to end up with a 'death roll' developing and the chance of spilling some
beer.

Alisdair