What's your take on this Vega?

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by conachair

I've been liveaboard solo for must be about twelve years now, now down in Portugal wondering where to go next but been down Senegal and across to Brazil, back up to Europe via carib. I've done offshore passages without radar limping up to Trinidad from south america with dead batteries . It's probably quite safe just with ais receive once you're well offshore but ....
Radar picks up the lot, a big plus way out is the alarm going off when a squall heading your way is still just heading and not on top of you, if it's a minor one you get the shampoo out and if it's a biggun then get sail down. I really don't like sleeping way (or not) offshore with no radar!

Coastal is sh!t solo. You just can't sleep.

And since I'm well through this bottle of Portuguese port lets expand...

So please don't take any of this as any kind of insult, go for it , what you're doing is to admired
But...
Having been out there a HUGE lesson to be learned is to admit when you don't know, just bear in mind that there's a chance you might very well be wrong and try something else, if it's technical boat bits or passage planning, if it doesn't work admit it early and go a different way. HUGE lesson in so many areas with boats, if it ain't gonna work give up early and get out of there, find another way.
Your long term passage plan seems unlikely, but then again so what - it's a lovely world out there on a boat so maybe don't get so focused on the "big trip". The big trip will happen in one way or an other, let it roll.

The boat - I used to have Vega, they're great, tough boats. If I were looking at ocean then the top list would be short - wind vane steering, good set of sails and rigging, good anchors, enough electrics so the boat could still move with most stuff bust so low power ais receiver with alarm, low power masthead light, wfax receiver and of course radar

Good luck to you, you got a lot to do

My take: You need to get out more, maybe the southern ocean. But definitely take a lot of that port with you. If you have the proper storage, maybe cheese too.