Made it to the Caribbean! (just)

stevebirch2002 · Jan 21, 2013

Well done John, enjoy and live life Steve BFrom: John Denney
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 11:11 PM
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AlbinVega] Made it to the Caribbean! (just)
Hi all, just thought I would let you know that I crossed the atlantic and I am safely anchored in Grenada. The vega took me nearly half way here but I crossed in a Vancouver 27. Will not be doing it again soon! Trade winds my arse - we had f7 and f8 most of the way and did it in 19 days from cape verde. Boy was it windy! Anyway I am now settled in prickly bay in Grenada and it is wonderful! Loads of nice yanks and canadiens and the weather is perfect!
Anyway, just want to thank all those vega owners who helped me get this far. It is a shame I sold my vega but we fell out. Too many breakages and creaking noises!
Regards to all.
John

johnadenney · Jan 21, 2013

Cheers steve. Have to say it is really nice here. I hear it is snowing in the UK!

Sent from my iPhone

Vega1447 · Jan 22, 2013

Congrats John - very envious!

John

albinvega3283 · Jan 22, 2013

Hi John

Congratulations on crossing the pond. I am glad you achieved a dream and am envious.

Out of interest what comparison is there between sailing on a Vega compared with the Vancouver 27. If you have time what are your thoughts.

David Wisdish
Ponteneur V3283.

From: John Kinsella
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 10:21 AM
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [AlbinVega] Made it to the Caribbean! (just)

Congrats John - very envious!

John

johnadenney · Jan 22, 2013

Well, I have to say I am much happier with he Vancouver but it cost ?35000
and my vega was ?4000! It is a much more solid boat and much more
spacious. I will try and write up a comparison but I have not been in many
yachts so take it all with a pinch of salt.

albinvega3283 · Jan 23, 2013

John

Thanks for your initial impressions of the differences between the Vega and
the Vancouver 27. I always regard the Vega as a very capable Ford Car with
no frills and would be interested to hear where the Vancouver improves on
this.
Additional interior cabin space and weight of the boat must be a
considerable improvement when doing long voyages. When you have time I
would be interested in any other thoughts that you have.

Thanks again

David
V3283

johnadenney · Jan 23, 2013

Agreed - my Vega was a bit "lacking" in the fixtures and fitting department
- the winches and cleats let go occassionaly as did the roller reefing
cleat - which was a bit upsetting when the weather was bad! I had to wrap
all the sheets and lines around anything I could find to keep the secure.
The bulkheads creaked like mad when I was in heavy weather (Biscay) and I
found the meths stove to be useless (origo)- the meths just evaporated in
the hot weather despite fitting the rubber covers. The roller feefing
system was useless in strong winds - the line was too thin to grip and as I
say it kept freeing itself from the wooden cleat. I had the block which
controls the foresail sheet come adrift - the block actually broke at the
fitting which caused mayhem in a gale over Biscay and the engine was a
complete bloody nightmare. - fuel pump failed and had to be changed mid
Biscay, oil leaked from the back of the combi all the time (despite new
seals) - the exhaust fractured at the manifold, the bracket holding the
exhaust at the stern gave way, the dynostart trashed its bearing and many
more small but anoying failures. I spent all my time as far as southern
Portugal fixing it! Shame really because it went quite fast compared to
other yachts and was fine on the short hops down the Portuguese coast. It
was the long passages that caused me concern and I was quite worried about
the terrible creaking noises! Anyway, I ended up hating the damn thing and
could not wait to get off it. I banged my head so many times when going
fwd and it just did not suit me - basically I fell out with it!
The Vancouver has much more headroom and a seperate (useable) forecabin and
all the fittings are of good quality - reefing is easy, 35 gallons of fuel,
30 gallons of water, and built like a brick toilet - it makes the Vega look
flimsy.
But...... remember that I only paid ?4000 for the Vega - so for that sort
of money it was a fabulous boat - just not suitable for me! Hope that
helps and I hope I have not been too disrespectful to the Vega! I know
loads have done long trips but I feel much safer and more comfortable on
this Vancouver. It is a pity I cannot afford one....

pjacobs55 · Jan 23, 2013

Congratulations John, you've had a great adventure. Most of us will never leave sight of land in our little ships, content with shorter outings with a warm bed waiting at home after the voyage ends. To set off across an ocean is a dream for many but a reality for only the few with the determination to make it happen.

In defence of the Vega, and for any prospective Vega owners searching this site, I'd like to quote Vega circumnavigator Tony Skidmore.

================================================================
"Some boats do not take kindly to ocean voyaging and are dragged kicking and screaming around the world; every passage a nightmare of gear failures and defective systems. In port they sulk and drag their anchors. Not so the Vega! "Lorna Doone" entered fully into the spirit of the voyage and seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as I did. The additional weight didn't seem to phase her unduly and although certainly never aggressively sailed she managed to run 160 nautical miles noon/noon on two consecutive days in the Indian Ocean south of Cocos and more recently made 112 miles in 24 hours close hauled to the Northeast Trades coming up from Hawaii to British Columbia.

In my opinion, the Vega is a very undemanding and forgiving boat for single-handed voyaging and has an impressive ability to keep moving under adverse conditions. About 1500 miles north of Hawaii on the trip home, stress of weather forced us to lay a-hull in late August this year (1996). Prior to that, we had not been stopped since, a blow off the Cape of Good Hope in January of the same year 15,000 miles sailing away.

In 30 months, we experienced no gear failures and there are no major changes that I would make to the boat if I were to do a similar trip again."
================================================================

Tony's complete story is in the files section on the Yahoo Vega site, and makes interesting reading.

Peter
www.sintacha.com

albinvega3283 · Jan 23, 2013

John

Thank you for taking the time to give such a detailed reply. The problems
and failures you experienced on your voyage to the Azores were enough for
anyone to loose faith in a boat. It is a lesson to us all that a 30 year
old boat needs considerable tender loving care to keep it sailing and
motoring efficiently. There is a considerable difference in cost, design
and build between the Vega and Vancouver 27 and for long distance sailing
the larger boat certainly seems the better option if you have the pound
notes.

Enjoy your time in the sunshine of the Caribbean. The weather in Scotland
is wet, windy and snowy at the present time. My boat lies in the marina and
I am spending time with a fan heater on, doing interior refit work. The end
of March should see me sailing the West Coast of Scotland for the summer.

All the best

David
V3283

rogerefairest · Jan 23, 2013

Go the Vega and congrats to John (and his Vancouver 27), still are we going to get a few details on an upcoming email?________________________________
From: Peter peter@...
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, 24 January 2013, 4:35
Subject: [AlbinVega] Re: Made it to the Caribbean! (just)

Congratulations John, you've had a great adventure. Most of us will never leave sight of land in our little ships, content with shorter outings with a warm bed waiting at home after the voyage ends. To set off across an ocean is a dream for many but a reality for only the few with the determination to make it happen.

In defence of the Vega, and for any prospective Vega owners searching this site, I'd like to quote Vega circumnavigator Tony Skidmore.

================================================================
"Some boats do not take kindly to ocean voyaging and are dragged kicking and screaming around the world; every passage a nightmare of gear failures and defective systems. In port they sulk and drag their anchors. Not so the Vega! "Lorna Doone" entered fully into the spirit of the voyage and seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as I did. The additional weight didn't seem to phase her unduly and although certainly never aggressively sailed she managed to run 160 nautical miles noon/noon on two consecutive days in the Indian Ocean south of Cocos and more recently made 112 miles in 24 hours close hauled to the Northeast Trades coming up from Hawaii to British Columbia.

In my opinion, the Vega is a very undemanding and forgiving boat for single-handed voyaging and has an impressive ability to keep moving under adverse conditions. About 1500 miles north of Hawaii on the trip home, stress of weather forced us to lay a-hull in late August this year (1996). Prior to that, we had not been stopped since, a blow off the Cape of Good Hope in January of the same year 15,000 miles sailing away.

In 30 months, we experienced no gear failures and there are no major changes that I would make to the boat if I were to do a similar trip again."
================================================================

Tony's complete story is in the files section on the Yahoo Vega site, and makes interesting reading.

Peter
www.sintacha.com

Trevykins · Jan 23, 2013

Amen to Skidmore!

To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
From: peter@...
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:35:24 +0000
Subject: [AlbinVega] Re: Made it to the Caribbean! (just)

Congratulations John, you've had a great adventure. Most of us will never leave sight of land in our little ships, content with shorter outings with a warm bed waiting at home after the voyage ends. To set off across an ocean is a dream for many but a reality for only the few with the determination to make it happen.
In defence of the Vega, and for any prospective Vega owners searching this site, I'd like to quote Vega circumnavigator Tony Skidmore.
================================================================

"Some boats do not take kindly to ocean voyaging and are dragged kicking and screaming around the world; every passage a nightmare of gear failures and defective systems. In port they sulk and drag their anchors. Not so the Vega! "Lorna Doone" entered fully into the spirit of the voyage and seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as I did. The additional weight didn't seem to phase her unduly and although certainly never aggressively sailed she managed to run 160 nautical miles noon/noon on two consecutive days in the Indian Ocean south of Cocos and more recently made 112 miles in 24 hours close hauled to the Northeast Trades coming up from Hawaii to British Columbia.
In my opinion, the Vega is a very undemanding and forgiving boat for single-handed voyaging and has an impressive ability to keep moving under adverse conditions. About 1500 miles north of Hawaii on the trip home, stress of weather forced us to lay a-hull in late August this year (1996). Prior to that, we had not been stopped since, a blow off the Cape of Good Hope in January of the same year 15,000 miles sailing away.
In 30 months, we experienced no gear failures and there are no major changes that I would make to the boat if I were to do a similar trip again."

================================================================

Tony's complete story is in the files section on the Yahoo Vega site, and makes interesting reading.
Peter

www.sintacha.com

tim_klynn · Jan 23, 2013

John,
It looks like your perseverance has paid off with a reward of a great adventure and well some deserved tropical lounge time.

Your comments about the two boats sparked my curiousity so I did a little googling on them.
Both the Vega and the Vanguard have similar overall and waterline lengths. The Vanguard is about 8" beamier, 3700 lbs heavier and has about 8" more headroom below.
The Vanguard's sail plan is only about 40 more square ft than the Vegas.
I was surprised that the phrf for the Vanguard is only 258 , vs the Vegas 240.
I would have thought the much heavier,wider boat with a deeper keel and more wetted surface area would have been slower given the similar sail areas. I bet the added weight really helps with the motion at sea.

I bought my Vega because it fit a lot of my criteria and was inexpensive enough that I could upgrade any old or worn parts and end up with a very capable boat for not much money (relatively speaking). On the other hand, I haven't had my boat out on the ocean yet, so who knows, maybe I'll be shopping for a vanguard or a Ballad once that happens. Tim

tomfentonvega2977beowulf · Jan 24, 2013

Well done John. After Biscay I stopped teasing my partner that I wanted us
to cross the Atlantic. You have convinced me. Thanks for sharing so much of
your Vega and Vancouver Experience. If you are in the vicinity of the
Balearics in May, or Sardinia in June,or Italy in August, or Sicily in
September, come and split a beer in Beowulf's cockpit. This year we are
going to have fun, fun, fun. All the best. Tom