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Hey Dee, long time no see indeed! I made it back to Ireland with only a little drama. Sailing is an outdoor sport man, cabins are for sleeping, cooking, drinking and eating in not for sailing from. Just my opinion but I don't mind getting wet. She'll be getting a bimini and arch for the sun/to put solar on top of and for some shelter. Good to hear from you again Dee

Thanks! Yes, a few years ago I would have thought her too big but a few years of liveaboard cruising has changed my tune 🤣

Thanks! No, I'm very glad I went for a smaller boat first. In fact Sapphira (Halmatic 30) was my second boat, I had a Mirage 28 before her. Financially, If I had tried to save up for a bigger boat I would never have gotten away to do the transatlantic circuit, the money would have been tied up. Secondly, you'll make mistakes with your first boat. Like, lots of mistakes. The cost of these will usually be proportional to the value of the boat. Lastly, only by sailing a lot will you know exactly what you need in a boat, size, configuration, etc. I would have never thought of a Starlight 39, I would have thought her far too big and too much of an investment, but living on Sapphira for 2 years and doing the circuit, I'm looking for more living room in the long run and a snappier performance. This will be different for everyone and can only really be found out by experience. In summary, if money isn't a concern, and you have tonnes of sailing and cruising experience, so you already know exactly what you are looking for, and if you are extremely handy with boat jobs and unlikely to make expensive mistakes, or if you are going to pay someone else to do most jobs on the boat, then it's probably worth buying your forever boat first. Otherwise for the rest of us, best to start small and work up I think.

@SoloSailingSapphira Brillaint feedback. Thank so much.

Absolutely, legendary designer. The ford has the benefit of very low hours (450) despite being original. We'll see how we get on. I wasn't thrilled by it being a ford either

@@SoloSailingSapphira I really don't think you should worry. I had seen her for sale and thought she was excellent value. And a new mermaid unit is probably better than a neglected yanmar/volvo/bukh. You might want to carry a few extra spares if you intend to sail in some more remote locations. I look forward to seeing where the wind takes you and the vessel. I'm extremely jealous!

Yep I'll definitely feed back here on how she sails, by all accounts the wing vs deep fin loses a small bit upwind, but is more stable downwind and obviously is much shallower (1.6m)

They're very pretty boats and great performers for cruisers according to all who sail them

😂

Yep, definitely gave me pause. There are advantages below obviously, which is why they were incorporated into some designs of the era. I haven't tried getting in and out of her with the spray hood up yet, or at sea obviously. We shall see but I'll definitely feed back on how it is.

Thanks very much!

Old school.

Thanks Jonathan, yep she feels very spacious already, looking forward to finding a place for everything. Delighted with her 😊

Yep I actually hadn't thought of that, maybe one reason why the configuration isn't more widely adopted! Big difference from Sapphira's long keel where you have to be very unlucky to hook something.

Thanks Alex!

Thanks very much Peter

Thanks, yeah I love the galley. And yeah, she'll be pretty quick for a cruiser I think

Thanks Patrick! I'm delighted with her

Thank you for watching!

Thanks Jarle!

Hi Nick, the algorithm is a mystery to me too

Thanks Brendan!

Hi Carlos, I was insured third party only, by Edward William. I looked into getting comprehensive insurance but I didn't find anyone willing to even quote me for what I had planned. The only reason I went for insurance in the first place was that in some places it is a requirement for entering a marina. Spain and Portugal were the only places that asked for it. Incidentally Edward William just wrote to me to say they're pulling out of the EU market.

Thanks; yeah I got a small taste, I can only imagine what Biscay would be like on a bad week

Thanks Derek! Dont think that was me though, I sailed from Inishmore to Rosaveel today, haven't been to Roundstone. There was a very similar looking British boat in Inishmore a few days ago, with an aeries wind vane too, may have been them

Thanks a million James, hope all well with you guys.