Annapolis to Liverpool S/V ECLIPSE

Hi All

Since my last posting Mad Dogs & Englishmen I have sailed Eclipse back to Liverpool. The trip got off to a poor start when my Hydrualic steering fell apart in a force 10 about 400 miles out from Cape May, New Jersey unable to make it back to the USA with the emergrncy steering we made landfall at Shelbourne Harbour, Nova Scotia for repairs. The true seaworthyness of this design was put to the test as we lay ahull in winds that reached 67 knots and seas of 7 metres the motion was suprisingly comfortable given the conditions and very little water made it onto the deck.

We set off for the Azores after repairs the leg took about 16 days, on arrival we proceeded to leave our mark as is traditional in Horta and after a couple of days R & R set off for Jersey, Channel Islands this leg took about 10 days, the French customs boarded us off Brest and carried a thorough but good natured search. Finally i single handed from Jersey to Liverpool taking about 4 days to complete this final leg, really enjoyed being solo and found the boat was suprisingly easy to manage despite some fairly heavy going crossing the English Channel. I will complete a few trips to Ireland over the next couple of months and then haul out for a major refit over the next two years getting ready to live aboard and do some serious cruising from 2011 onwards.

Mick Fogarty

Vagabond 42 s/v STARDUST

I am John McCahan and with my wife, Sue Stockman, we are the former owners of the Vagagond 42 STARDUST, which was sold to Al & Jean and the boat will be known as Ryen's Quest in the future. We owned STARDUST for 15 years and made lots of changes to her over the years. We cruised her from Annapolis, Maryland to Trinidad, spending a total of 10 winters in the islands of the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean.

Teak and Holly Flooring....How do you

Now that I am into the polishing and cleaning of the interior of RYEN`S QUEST, I don`t know how I should properly clean the floor, which is teak and holly. There are some scratches in obvious areas such as the main salon, and another spot which I know needs to be sanded down and varnished. However, I don`t know how to, or what to use for cleaning the floors without making then too slippery to maneuvre around. Can any of the other blog members tell me what has worked for them? When I do a google search all I get is marketing outlets wanting to sell product. I`ll buy whatever works. Thanks in advance for your response. Jean

Hi From Ted Dalton

It was nice to hear from you and Thank you for the warm welcome. well let's see I'm 55 at this time but will be 56 in Oct. I'm Pretty well stove up from too many years of working with my back and muscles and without using my head but will be in better shape towards the end of the year after I have surgery, that's why i'm looking at the end of the year to find a boat and hopefully purchase early next year.

I have been studying boats for several month's and was about to choose a 46 foot morgan but then saw a reference to the 47 foot Vagabond and so I started doing research on them, they look like great boats, I was leaning to the Morgan because it is built here in America, being A Navy Veteran and seeing how some other countries treat American's I was pretty sceptecle about boats built in Taiwan until I got to doing research on them. I will close for now, I spent most of the day in San Fran at the V.A.Medical center and then a 150 mile journey to my home in the Mountains. Have a great day and "GOD" Bless.

Greetings

Hi - Bill & Maureen from the s/v Kalunamoo a 1988 Vagabond 47. We bought Kalunamoo (ex-Good Times) 4 years ago and will be full time live-a-boards and cruisers in 2 years. Until then we enjoy sailing local waters from Cape Cod to the Chesapeake (when we have time). Hopefully a Bermuda trip in 2 years.

Mad Dogs & Englishmen

Hi Everyone

S/V Eclipse takes to the water for the first time in two years and I manage to catch the first snowfall in Annapolis for a sea trial. I spent my first hour aboard shoveling snow much to the amusement of the marina staff. But the crazy englishman went ahead with the sea trial and i am now the pround owner of a 1984 Vagabond 47. I am planning to sail back to the UK in May 08 and will sail locally for the next 2 years, then I hope that I can set out to join some of you in warmer climes. I would like to thank Al and Jean of s/v Ryen`s Quest for inviting me to join the Blog, and Ron of S/V Island Siren for putting me in touch with them and I look forward to keeping in touch with you all in the future.

Mick Fogarty S/V Eclipse

mick9565@btinternet.com

Hello everyone

Hi, this is Guy from Bay St. Louis, MS. I've own Trinity, a 1980 Vagabond 47 for two years. I bought her 7 months after the storm (Katrina) ended my 2 1/2 year stint building the original Trinity. A 48 foot wood motorsailer. My current Trinity was pretty much neglected by her former owner. Water up to the floor boards, teak deck deteriorated, sails in bad shape, standing rigging original. Running rigging was in bad shape as well as the canvas work. Both fuel tanks leaked. You get the picture. So I started addressing the problems as best I could. Its taken a long time since she is in TX (Kemah) and I work in MS. So I would drive over to see/work on her every other weekend. I did this for two years now. And you know what, I'm really starting to dislike the drive, imagine that! :) But I've hook up with a lot of great people who have worked on her and she is pretty spectacular now. So in about 3 to 4 week I should be bringing her to MS. I'll stay in a marina in Moss Point since there really aren't any marinas along the MS Gulf coast that I can stay at due to being a live aboard, draft and just plain availability. So anyway this is a short into and I look forward to talking to the group and learning more about these really cool vessels. The picture of her is while she was in the yard after being painted, before pulling the masts and new canvas.