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Got the Weta out for the 1st time in
some decent breeze today. Now I really want to move to
SF Bay because this boat loves 18 knots of breeze! You
guys at RYC need to keep an extra fleet boat for me when
I come to visit!! Coming from big monohulls, this was
the most effortless sailing in the mid teens I have ever
done. Hell, I didn't even feel the need to slide fully
out on the tramp, let alone have to break a sweat to get
the boat going. You'd also have to be completely
clueless to get into any trouble. In the biggest puff, I
set the kite on a tight reach and managed to fully bury
the leeward ama. A quick bear off popped it up and she
jumped off on a full mid teens plane. Had this been a
skiff, I would have been swimming! At no time did it
ever feel like digging in at the bows. She is also super
easy to unload with an ease of the kite sheet or a bear
down. Any real oh shit moment can be dealt with by
bearing down and furling the kite, if needed. Go sail
one of these, they are super fun!!!!!
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"I love the boat. The Weta is so much
better than I ever imagined it would be. But you lied to
me. You told me it was a sailboat it's not, it's an
airplane, it flies. I already have our first prospective
customer. An older gentlemen, who said he has been
sailing for 50 years, just fell in love with the Weta.
Today when I was packing up from a great day on the
water, he stood and talked to me for an hour about the
boat. He wanted to know how much and where can he get
one. I have been out three days in a row with the boat.
Friday I spent three hours on the beach. The next day I
went to the beach and sailed for the first time with
just the main sail. I was so surprised by the speed and
maneuverability that a big smile came across my face and
then I just laughed with joy for about ten minutes while
I was sailing. Today I put up the main and jib, it was a
blast. I am too sore to go tomorrow. I will reluctantly
have to take a day off. But there is always Tuesday.
Thanks for the joy you have brought me."
Rick
Weta Owner, Florida,
USA
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We
recently joined the converted after my father-in-law
bought a Weta. It lives behind the garage at our place -
they say possession is nine tenths of the law, which is
my justification for thinking of it as ours. Pop doesn't
seem to mind that we only let him use it occasionally. A
couple of weeks after taking delivery of our new toy, we
popped it on the garden trailer and took it to
Coromandel for our summer holiday. In two and a half
weeks away, I only missed two days on the water.
Everyone loved it - I even got airborne with an old
school friend that had never been sailing. Pitchpoled in
a bit of a blow and steep seas with my sister-in-law -
neither of us could stop laughing from the moment we
left the shore to the moment we got back to the beach to
pick up the next crew. Three-sail bast reaching with my
wife while the grandparents looked after the kids - the
ultimate grantparent support: supplying both the
babysitting and the entertainment. Beat that! Cruising
around the bay under spinnaker with three under-fives
and two adults (not her fastest mode), with everyone
lazing on the trampolines and no-one moving even to tack
or gybe. But my favourite times were cruising with my
3-year old son, Peter. He likes gentle breezes most -
things got a bit too wet for him in the breeze - but we
spent many afternoons just exploring the harbour,
sometimes for several hours on end. After a bit of
one-on-one coaching he now gets upset if he doesn't get
to steer at least 50% of the time. Destined for
greatness maybe; happiness for sure! He and I are
looking forward to getting into the racing scene at Pt
Chevalier, our local club - hoping for the prize for
youngest father-and-son team, but if we clean-up too
much silverware for sailing too fast, we might find that
plan gets voted down! Perhaps the first bit of
competition on my hands is convincing my wife to let me
go instead of her - I'm sure she's got her eye on a
mother and son trophy (she might have to donate one
first). Fabulous family fun, with plenty to keep those
with a competitive streak interested. I get the feeling
we'll be Weta-people for a very long time - the question
is how long have I got before Peter and his little
brother oust their Dad altogether. I figure I still have
a few years, and I'm looking forward to them."
Michael
Eaglen
General Manager, Engineering
Consultancy
High Modulus International
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"I'm
very happy to report that the boat arrived safely at the
lake. Sunday morning I was up at 5am in quite strong
winds, out in the boat together with a friend. I tell
you, this boat is a rocket - it is amazing how fast it
goes! I feel very great with my boat...and people were
very curious about it. Most would like to try it. We
will see what happens! Anyway, I hope next weekend the
wind will not blow too much, so I can take Helen out on
it. I think she like it too."
Markus Winter
WIN ASIA
Consulting
Member of the Shanghai Yacht
Club
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"Having
sailed around the World on a Townsend 34, I was of the
opinion that I had experienced the ultimate adventure
onboard the ultimate sailing boat. We parted with our
Townsend some years ago and I thought I would never
experience the ultimate sail again. How wrong I was!
Having seen the Weta in boating magazines, I was
fortunate to meet both Roger Kitchen and his Weta at
Castor Bay. I was treated to the first of several sails
on the Weta and was sold within the first ten minutes -
what a ride! The Weta has all the traits of a
well-behaved sailing boat; stability, easy-to-handle and
rigged with the added bonus of a safe thrilling ride
that is second-to-none. The Weta is to sailing what Pele
is to Football - there will never be another like it.
Thank you Roger!"
Alan Hounsome
Cafe
Sofra
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"I've
been out a number of times in the Weta - an all-round
boat for learn to sail, recreation, and high
performance! What a blast! I cant wait for the class to
grow!
The laser and the Hobie have always been
seen as the worlds all purpose recreation boats. Having
sailed the Weta I can see that these guys have
incorporated all the strong characteristics of both. A
high performance boat, it is exciting, forgiving and
easy to sail, while being simple and compact. Why wasn't
this thought of before?!?
I'm going to push for a
lot of sailing clubs to jump aboard the Weta - it's just
what New Zealand sailing needs to boost interest and
participation in the sport."
Michael Bullot
Double
World Champion
New Zealand Olympic Laser
Sailor
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"I
was looking for a 'big' little sail boat. It had to have
and do everything for almost everybody in my circle of
family and friends. The only trouble was, I wasn't at
all sure what such a boat would look like or if it was
even possible. I looked at a wide variety of boats but
for me all fell short in one way or another.
I
saw The Weta prototype at The Boat Show of 2003 and
wasn't alone in recognizing a great concept well
underway. A multi hull with a great design and a
terrific sail plan. It was also the first time I met
Roger, the driving force behind the project not to
mention youth sailing programmes in Auckland over many
years. Through him I was able to follow some of the
evolutions and refinements that led to the fully honed
Weta we purchased in October 2005.
Since then my family and friends have
sailed our Weta on more than 30 occasions in a wide
variety of seascapes and winds. It has been sailed alone
with all sails up; two up and stacked out in skiff-like
fashion hard on the wind; handled by one of the kids
with just the boomless main or with the whole family on
board !
We wanted a safe, stable, strong, easy
to rig sail boat with good all round performance. One
that was easy for everybody to sail. We got all that and
more! It points well, it tacks with consummate ease and
it gives a thrilling ride with no fuss. Everything about
it is effortless and responsive. An efficient, well
balanced design, bulletproof sails and up to the minute
materials choices and construction played key roles in
assuring these qualities. The workmanship is also
excellent.
Then The Weta has bonus attributes we
hadn't even thought about. The beach trailer, the way
the boat packs down, tows and stores. The colour choices
that individualize it. The supremely uncomplicated
layout of quality gear and the colour coordinated lines
and halyards. The multitude of comfortable and spacious
sitting positions. The way our red screacher turbo
charges performance when unfurled and so on.
Hard to believe that you can have all
of this in a sail boat a little over 4 metres long!This
is truly a 'Big' little sports sail boat that has
everything and will do everything for almost everyone,
whatever age or sailing ability. As such, I would
recommend The Weta to anyone who likes or thinks they
would like to get out on the water.
John van Kan, family and
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