Ahoy Westsail 42 Elysium! I'm enjoying reading your blog... Nice boat! We were actually discussing wind vanes on the SSCA board back in 2007! How has your Sailomat vane been since then?

I've sailed for years with an Aries Lift Up Vane on my Westsail 32... Then since we last talked in 2007 I've been sailing my Westsail 42 with the new Aries vane made by the company in Norway... It works great, but I always thought that the original lift up vane worked better... I think the foil in the air on the lift up seems to be much more sensitive to wind direction... Then I just recently I sailed 650 nm as crew on Westail 42 Fiona with the Aries Lift Up Vane and yes, I really think it works better than the current model... The was this magical part of that sail where that vane steered us dead down wind, wing and wing in 20-25 knots for a whole day and night without needing any adjustment... Having used both on the same hull I still prefer the Lift up...

Hope to see you guys in the anchorage someday!

- Drake on Westsail 42 Paragon