Hello one and all. Thought I'd finally post a message as the new
owner (along with my wife, Marj) of Steve DeMont's "SV Erindera". I
live in Powell River, BC, Canada and, with the help (as in; he was
skipper, I was crew/ballast) of an intrepid sailor from Victoria,
brought this wonderful vessel home from Seattle a few weeks ago. Was
a terrific trip, 3 long days on the water (Seattle/Victoria,
Victoria/Nanaimo, Nanaimo/Powell River) and, at times, 35kts. of wind
and 8' seas. The boat handled magnificently and our trusty GPS said
we were surfing a few times at 10.9 kts on day one and two.
The search for my/our perfect Vega was a real 'hoot' involving, among
other things, walking away from one Vega deal for reasons best left
unsaid, missing out on Lorna Doone because of bad timing -and
probably cash flow/cost concerns as well, but I did see and go aboard
her briefly and the pics on the website do not do her justice, what a
beauty. The best part of the Vega search were the people we met and
spoke/corresponded with including Gene Suess (former owner of Lorna
Doone); Jan in Holland who, along w/Gene, brought Steve's advert to
my attention and very effectively sold me on Vega's (I was an easy
sell, Jan....); Steve D. of course, a real gentleman and now a
Hallberg Mistral owner; Bill Evans of Blue Water Surveys in Seattle;
Hugh MacKenzie, a local Vega owner for 20+ years who didn't want to
sell his vessel; and, the guy that played the biggest part in the
deal, my skipper for the trip home, Jim Allen.
I would be remiss if I didn't tell you a bit about Capt. Allen.
Jim's about my age, late 50's; originally from New Zealand where he
started sailing as a youngster, who came to Canada in his early 20's
to go to chiropractor school. He crunched bones/necks/spines for 25+
years but continued as an active sailor in Ontario/BC earning his
papers as a Canadian Yachting Association instructor; rebuilt several
sailboats (including a few Vega's); was a yacht surveyor for a while
and very active in Pacific Northwest sailing; including participating
in many (I believe 15+) Swiftsure races here on the BC coast.
A few years ago Jim, along with his beautiful wife Franca, started up
Canadian Pacific Northwest Sailing Charters in Victoria using only
refurbished/rebuilt Bill Lapworth designed Cal 29's and 25's. I
should mention that Jim and Franca didn't only charter the boats,
they personally (with help, I'm sure) also did the boat rebuilding.
Their amazing efforts/results were profiled in Pacific Yachting
magazine's January '04 edition. At some time during the charter
enterprise, this lovely couple started a boat brokerage business,
Vela Yacht Sales, now located at Oak Bay (Victoria), BC. To make a
long story a bit shorter, brokering boats got so time consuming that
the charter business is now sold and Jim and Franca are working 26
hour days and 8 day weeks buying and selling boats; and they do it
very well.
Jim did not broker my 'new' boat but during my 'Vega search' I got to
know him and the brokerage, and came to have a great deal of trust in
his knowledge, expertise and honesty. He helped with/supervised the
survey, the negotiations with Steve D., and "helped" me bring
Erindera home to Powell River; the latter exercise with little help
from me. All that to say if anyone in our neck of the woods (or
further afield for that matter) is in the market for a trustworthy,
knowledgeable broker to find, buy, sell your perfect boat, Jim's the
man. You'll have to be prepared, though, to do most of your business
with Jim via cell phone. I understand he's been back to Seattle 3
times since we sailed Erindera home, has a few trips planned to Los
Angeles and San Diego within the next month and his cell phone always
seemed to ring (about 20 times a day) just as he and I were about to
gybe/tack when coming home from Seattle.
As you can see, I do tend to 'go on' and will therefore sign off now
that I've made my 'announcement' concerning V2947. I've sent an
eMail to Chuck Rose in Hawaii about joining the North American Vega
group (hope you got it Chuck); you can see I've joined the Yahoo
gang; have read 3-4 years of the late Sid Rosen's monthly newsletters
that Steve D. left on board; read a fair number of the bulletins,
messages, etc., on this site; and now look forward to turning V2947
into 'our' boat. She's presently on the hard in a beautiful spot
south of Powell River called Hummingbird Cove (adjacent to Saltery
Bay)where she'll get some 'spit and polish' over the winter (such as
winter is here in coastal BC).
In closing, I should note that while I kept a 21'Sirius', swingkeel
sailboat in Ontario many years ago, and now have a 16'Nordica full
keel double-ender in my carport (soon to be for sale), I've never
owned or sailed a 27 footer with inboard/mechanical/thruhull systems
like Erindera, especially with salt water/tides to contend with. So,
it'll be a steep learning curve for me and probably involve many
eMails to help me sort out what, to you folks, is second nature, I
look forward to the journey.
We wish you all a very enjoyable holiday season and a grand and
prosperous 2005.
Geoff & Marj Warren,
Powell River, BC
V2947 (soon to be 'Cailyn Rose' our new/first grandchild, sorry Steve)
owner (along with my wife, Marj) of Steve DeMont's "SV Erindera". I
live in Powell River, BC, Canada and, with the help (as in; he was
skipper, I was crew/ballast) of an intrepid sailor from Victoria,
brought this wonderful vessel home from Seattle a few weeks ago. Was
a terrific trip, 3 long days on the water (Seattle/Victoria,
Victoria/Nanaimo, Nanaimo/Powell River) and, at times, 35kts. of wind
and 8' seas. The boat handled magnificently and our trusty GPS said
we were surfing a few times at 10.9 kts on day one and two.
The search for my/our perfect Vega was a real 'hoot' involving, among
other things, walking away from one Vega deal for reasons best left
unsaid, missing out on Lorna Doone because of bad timing -and
probably cash flow/cost concerns as well, but I did see and go aboard
her briefly and the pics on the website do not do her justice, what a
beauty. The best part of the Vega search were the people we met and
spoke/corresponded with including Gene Suess (former owner of Lorna
Doone); Jan in Holland who, along w/Gene, brought Steve's advert to
my attention and very effectively sold me on Vega's (I was an easy
sell, Jan....); Steve D. of course, a real gentleman and now a
Hallberg Mistral owner; Bill Evans of Blue Water Surveys in Seattle;
Hugh MacKenzie, a local Vega owner for 20+ years who didn't want to
sell his vessel; and, the guy that played the biggest part in the
deal, my skipper for the trip home, Jim Allen.
I would be remiss if I didn't tell you a bit about Capt. Allen.
Jim's about my age, late 50's; originally from New Zealand where he
started sailing as a youngster, who came to Canada in his early 20's
to go to chiropractor school. He crunched bones/necks/spines for 25+
years but continued as an active sailor in Ontario/BC earning his
papers as a Canadian Yachting Association instructor; rebuilt several
sailboats (including a few Vega's); was a yacht surveyor for a while
and very active in Pacific Northwest sailing; including participating
in many (I believe 15+) Swiftsure races here on the BC coast.
A few years ago Jim, along with his beautiful wife Franca, started up
Canadian Pacific Northwest Sailing Charters in Victoria using only
refurbished/rebuilt Bill Lapworth designed Cal 29's and 25's. I
should mention that Jim and Franca didn't only charter the boats,
they personally (with help, I'm sure) also did the boat rebuilding.
Their amazing efforts/results were profiled in Pacific Yachting
magazine's January '04 edition. At some time during the charter
enterprise, this lovely couple started a boat brokerage business,
Vela Yacht Sales, now located at Oak Bay (Victoria), BC. To make a
long story a bit shorter, brokering boats got so time consuming that
the charter business is now sold and Jim and Franca are working 26
hour days and 8 day weeks buying and selling boats; and they do it
very well.
Jim did not broker my 'new' boat but during my 'Vega search' I got to
know him and the brokerage, and came to have a great deal of trust in
his knowledge, expertise and honesty. He helped with/supervised the
survey, the negotiations with Steve D., and "helped" me bring
Erindera home to Powell River; the latter exercise with little help
from me. All that to say if anyone in our neck of the woods (or
further afield for that matter) is in the market for a trustworthy,
knowledgeable broker to find, buy, sell your perfect boat, Jim's the
man. You'll have to be prepared, though, to do most of your business
with Jim via cell phone. I understand he's been back to Seattle 3
times since we sailed Erindera home, has a few trips planned to Los
Angeles and San Diego within the next month and his cell phone always
seemed to ring (about 20 times a day) just as he and I were about to
gybe/tack when coming home from Seattle.
As you can see, I do tend to 'go on' and will therefore sign off now
that I've made my 'announcement' concerning V2947. I've sent an
eMail to Chuck Rose in Hawaii about joining the North American Vega
group (hope you got it Chuck); you can see I've joined the Yahoo
gang; have read 3-4 years of the late Sid Rosen's monthly newsletters
that Steve D. left on board; read a fair number of the bulletins,
messages, etc., on this site; and now look forward to turning V2947
into 'our' boat. She's presently on the hard in a beautiful spot
south of Powell River called Hummingbird Cove (adjacent to Saltery
Bay)where she'll get some 'spit and polish' over the winter (such as
winter is here in coastal BC).
In closing, I should note that while I kept a 21'Sirius', swingkeel
sailboat in Ontario many years ago, and now have a 16'Nordica full
keel double-ender in my carport (soon to be for sale), I've never
owned or sailed a 27 footer with inboard/mechanical/thruhull systems
like Erindera, especially with salt water/tides to contend with. So,
it'll be a steep learning curve for me and probably involve many
eMails to help me sort out what, to you folks, is second nature, I
look forward to the journey.
We wish you all a very enjoyable holiday season and a grand and
prosperous 2005.
Geoff & Marj Warren,
Powell River, BC
V2947 (soon to be 'Cailyn Rose' our new/first grandchild, sorry Steve)