TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Lagoon 42 vs Astrea 42

Planning our charter for October/November 2021. As avid mono sailors this is our first cat trip. Looking for advise on the pro’s and con’s of these two yachts. Pricing is the same so handling, speed and amenities are the tie breakers. Thanks!

I’m a biased Lagoon 42 owner, my boat is in charter with TMM. I don’t think the particular model will have more amenities than the other, it really comes down to how the owner equipped the particular boat. The Lagoon 42 is very easy to sail. I sailed monohulls for years and the Lagoon 42 is easier to sail than any of them. She is not a fast boat but if you pay attention to sail trim she moves very well, Look for a boat with a charter company that has a reputation for good maintenance and responsiveness when problems do arise. One reason we went with TMM is their reputation for having one of the best, if not the best maintained charter fleets in the BVI. The big charter companies (I’ve chartered with all of them) cannot compare. TMM has a nice fleet of Lagoon 42’s and a couple of Astrea‘s.

If you are looking at a boat in the BVI I would be very careful booking a boat in advance. There will be plenty of boats available for booking. If you do choose to book in advance use a credit card for down payments. Some companies may refuse a CC and ask for cash. Book elsewhere if that is the case. If the BVI does not open soon there has to be a shakeout coming in the charter industry. Companies and owners are starving for revenue.

We have one of the Lagoon 42s on charter for November (Hahahaha) - which will now likely mean May. I chose the Lagoon due to experiences on both Catatonics - love these boats.....

Sailed a Lagoon 44 few years back, nice boat! We had 8 adults (four cabins) and there was plenty of room. Performance wise, cats do not go to weather as well as a mono, it's just the way it is. Expect to motor-sail to windward if you have a schedule to keep. If you are a performance oriented sailor, stick with the monos. If you want to relax and enjoy life on the level, cats are terrific.

Good points!

TMM's policy and practice is to give 100% refunds or reschedule the charter at the option of the charterer. All the charters on Ocean Song (about 14) were either rescheduled or refunded all the money that had been deposited.

We have chartered both and I prefered the Lagoon - which I did not think would be the case. I thought it was more spacious, more comfortable and in my experience performance was pretty much equal between the two. We actually had a higher top speed on the Lagoon, but the conditions were pretty perfect - 20 knots off the beam with little swell and dolphins off our bow(s). Man, I am counting the days until we can get back down to the islands - would just be nice to know how high I have to count.

I would be hesitant to wait too long to book for next year. Bookings seem strong for summer 2021. I checked 4 companies to get a large boat for our group of 10 and still had to book in July to get boat that would work.

Thanks. This is helpful information. We are 18 times charterers and have the rest of it down. Just never a cat..

Hello Rita!!

Looks like plenty of availability for large cats for summer at CYOA St Thomas

I can see getting a 5 or 6 cabin really big cat might be a bit limited. There will be zero issues booking 4 cabin cats last minute.
G

Hi Rita!

To answer your original question, I would go for the Lagoon - but like Oceans Song, I am biased being the owner of Time Will Tell. I think the sailing performance will be comparable, and the amenities depend on the specific boats in question. The difference for me (and we considered the FP) is how the helm is set up. If you go aboard an Astrea, the helm and line handling are really separate "stations" if you will, one in front of the other. If you are like me, you will be the one primarily driving the boat and dealing with the lines - so as a result, being at the helm and adjusting sails are tough to do at the same time. With the L42, the stations are side by side, allowing much easier single handing - I was part of the delivery crew on Time Will Tell, and I can tell you that the three of us were basically single handing in shifts for 4500 miles.

All boats are a compromise - its really a question of which compromises make the most sense to you personally. Obviously, I picked mine with what I purchased.

You are going to have a great time whichever you choose. Maybe you should just do a week on each and come back to tell us which YOU preferred!

Fair Winds!


-Peter

Hi Rita,

We've looked closely at both for charter and for eventual purchase. We prefer, by far, the Lagoon. We've chartered Lagoons and have never been disappointed. Can't say that for other models. The main swaying factor for us has been what Peter illustrated - we just do not like the separate helm and line situation - very inconvenient. Yes, we love to sail together, but not always glued together

Hopefully the BVIs will let us in for our rapidly approaching charters on Time Will Tell. LOVE the L42.

M

Hey. I haven’t been on this site for a while. Good to connect again. Hope you and your family are well.

Thanks for the input Peter. I think it going to be the Lagoon 42.

Thank you for your info. Appreciated..

I chartered a Lagoon 42 owner version end of January 2020. I have chartered a lagoon 440 and 450 in the past. I don't want to start anything and I do like the lagoon's but I felt the 42 with the mast aft and self tacking jib was under powered. I am not a highly experienced sailor but everyone was pulling away from me in all wind conditions. Wind was pretty light when I was there but I never felt that way about the 440 or 450.

I like the owners version 440 and 450's as well (gotta have a separate shower - lol). When there are only two of us, we much prefer the 42. If it is between the Lagoon and Astrea, Lagoon all the way for factors previously mentioned.

Have looked at R&C Leopard cats?
None finer IMHO

Rita - we just put “Escape Artist” on the calendar for June 2021 — she is their FP Helia 44 owner’s version - 3 cabin/3 electric heads/GenAC

Looks like a gorgeous boat - a little more $$ than Stella...but lots of room and only 6 of us on board.

And that owner’s side.....yes please!