Lagoon 42 Owner Review

Paul Brown was one of TMG Yachts most recent handovers in France in 2019.

Rowan sat down for a chat with Paul to find out why he decided to buy a Lagoon and specifically the 42.

They go on to chat about his first few months aboard, his highlights and why he decided to pickup in France.

Lagoon 42 Owner Review

Why’d you choose Lagoon?

 

I suppose, initially it was an experience I’d already had with Lagoon boats. I chartered a Lagoon 450 in Croatia seven years ago now. I had a fantastic couple of weeks on that and that’s probably where it all started from. At the same time I met a fellow that had a Lagoon 450 and was just starting out his 5 year journey. Mick and Leanne, the boat has subsequently gone through the Mediterranean and across to the Caribbean and back across the Pacific and I followed that journey very closely. All the reports that Michael always has about the boat and everything gave me the confidence to want to go into Lagoon. Obviously there was probably only a couple of choices  when you’re looking at the sorts of boats I was looking at. Lagoon always came up as the one that ticked all the boxes. Very happy for sure.

What led you to TMG Yachts?

 

Initially Lagoon, I first met you a couple of years ago now. In the beginning of last year we met up in Dusseldorf and we looked at the new Lagoon 46. That was always the boat I was looking at. Then I think it was always just the follow ups that you had with me.  Then when we said, maybe the 46 wasn’t going to work It was a long time to wait and I was very keen to get started, I felt a bit impatient. I was ready to go and I wanted something to happen, you suggested we looked at the 42 in Sydney. The rest is history since then, but I think it was the whole TMG Yachts crowd. John and Joe down in Sydney were always welcoming to go and show you anything. Showed me around the 42, I couldn’t fault the TMG Yachts network. And what we were able to do and how everyone was easy to get on with.

Lagoon 42 Owner Review
Lagoon 42 Owner Review

Why European Pickup?

 

Number 1, anxious to get on board, so that was always a priority. Actually heading over to Europe was so much easier that I thought it was going to be. I was by myself, I didn’t have anyone else going with me. I was there a week before the handover I managed to arrive in Les Sables-d’Olonne 1 day before the boat was going in the water.  That was fantastic to see, to actually see the boat launched for the first time and then to follow its development in those couple of days after with rigging and everything. Then obviously the actual handover period, Joe Fox came over and apart from having a great time with Joe as far as restaurants and eating and drinking. The handover itself for the two days was fantastic. We sat on the boat for the first day and went through it from top to bottom, bow to aft, starboard to port. It was a great learning experience, and then out sailing the next day. Making sure everything worked properly, putting up the Code Zero that I’d got for the first time.  It was a fantastic thing to do and I can’t speak highly enough about that actual process. I found Les Sables-d’Olonne a great place to stay, I stayed in the hotel you recommended. The Admiral’s Hotel. So convenient, restaurants and everything right there. The chandlery was fantastic to be able to deal with. Then I hired a car for a couple of days and there was a fantastic array of shops and businesses and hardware, to get everything that you wanted to get done, I even got timber cut. It was just a great week. It’s definitely a very central place Les Sables d’Olonne. It was very easy, I don’t know how you could make it much easier.

Lagoon 42 Owner Review
Lagoon 42 Owner Review
Lagoon 42 Owner Review

From the moment we left Les Sables d’Olonne, on Friday the 30th of August I had a skipper from England join me for the first 2 weeks, I’m not an experienced sailor by any means. He was just fabulous, we left late Friday afternoon and then basically the 4 day sail across the Biscay. It was something I wasn’t looking forward to because of all the things you hear about it. But it was just fabulous, we had great weather, we left a little bit early and got ahead of bad weather. We had a fantastic crossing, made very good time, we had a combination of weather. We had good winds to start with and a couple of days when we had calm conditions and were motoring but that meant we could fish. That was handy, a nice tuna along the way. Basically then just heading down the coast, we stopped at Cascadia of Portugal, near Lisbon. We had a couple of days there, waiting for another friend to join me.

Lagoon 42 Owner Review
Lagoon 42 Owner Review
Lagoon 42 Owner Review
Lagoon 42 Owner Review
Lagoon 42 Owner Review

From the moment we left Les Sables d’Olonne, on Friday the 30th of August I had a skipper from England join me for the first 2 weeks, I’m not an experienced sailor by any means. He was just fabulous, we left late Friday afternoon and then basically the 4 day sail across the Biscay. It was something I wasn’t looking forward to because of all the things you hear about it. But it was just fabulous, we had great weather, we left a little bit early and got ahead of bad weather. We had a fantastic crossing, made very good time, we had a combination of weather. We had good winds to start with and a couple of days when we had calm conditions and were motoring but that meant we could fish. That was handy, a nice tuna along the way. Basically then just heading down the coast, we stopped at Cascadia of Portugal, near Lisbon. We had a couple of days there, waiting for another friend to join me.

Lagoon 42 Owner Review
Lagoon 42 Owner Review

Highlight?

I think Sardinia and that area was, simply because my daughter was there and we had other friends and we just had a wonderful couple of weeks, it was my birthday while we were there. So that was a bit of a milestone and we had a fantastic day, and the food was just amazing! It’s just a beautiful area, water wise and island wise, it’s just incredible. Certainly the volcano and cruising up to that in the early hours of the morning and that appearing out of the dark, sparks flying, was certainly a highlight. It’s hard to pick a highlight out of even just those 9 weeks, the whole 9 weeks was a highlight.

Lagoon 42 Owner Review

What’s next?

Firstly, just getting back onto it, like I said the boats in Montenegro. It was pulled out near the Porto Montenegro Marina, didn’t get a chance to discover that area As soon as I go back in April, get the boat back in the water, get it re rigged and do that Kotor Inlet. Just see that Montenegro area, then from there, go up to Croatia. And that’s where that whole experience began back in 2013 when I had that time on a charter boat. Really just see more and more of Croatia and my plan this year is to not go much further than that. Get right up the top of Croatia and maybe come back down the Italian coast. Possibly take the boat back to Croatia and winterise it again there next Christmas.

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