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Weta, fastest boat on the water! |
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Jack Sparrow 
Really should get out more 
Joined: 08 Feb 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2965 |
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 Topic: Weta, fastest boat on the water!Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 2:12pm |
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Thanks Mr Welly
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yellowwelly
Really should get out more
Joined: 24 May 13 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2003 |
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Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 2:28pm |
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I know in a Malcolm X kind of way, sailing a Solo in a local fleet isn't really helping, but I can't help but admire a well written, witty and succinct appraisal of the UK dinghy scene.
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Rupert
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Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956 |
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Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 2:34pm |
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The great thing about chasing plastic cups is the company. And, sailing inland, there is only so much exploration you can do before finding everything on the lake there is to find.
However, racing dinghy sailors do tend to have a blinkered outlook in general when it comes to exploration. I had a wonderful time on Windermere in a Mirror earlier in the year, just playing, and on the Broads a couple of years before that. It is something I keep on meaning to do more of (and the Weta would make a good steed), but trotting along to Opens is easier in many ways, and is fun, too. |
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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Nipper
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Joined: 17 Oct 13 Location: Hants Online Status: Offline Posts: 40 |
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Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 3:50pm |
The market for the Weta does indeed look as if it is more suitable for the cruising/exploring, wizzing around type market, but we do not have that in the UK. We have small lakes, featureless reservoirs, the water is cold for 10 months a year, we have a generally inhospitable coastline, we have huge tidal ranges, and to top it off an unreliable damp climate.
Hence in the UK we have turned everything into a racing boat even when it was designed to be "multi-purpose", because a) The opportunities for interesting exploring/cruising are so limited, b)Being at one with nature in the UK generally means being cold and miserable on your own c) Brits like the camaraderie of being a member of a club and aprticularly sports clubs, d) The Brits are a very competitive race and love sport.
Somewhere hot/sunny/windy with a sandy beach, no issue, I'd leap into a Weta for a blast.
6 knots of breeze on a Sunday morning in November for a club race on some godforsaken pond in middle England, give me the Laser, where using all my senses in trying to get to the mark ahead of the 6 other competitors, takes my mind off what a miserable day it is.
That is what the Weta is up against in the UK, not small mindedness.
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39 years of dinghy racing and still waiting to peak.
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Jack Sparrow
Really should get out more
Joined: 08 Feb 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2965 |
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Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 4:59pm |
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I don't think I could have written a better argument for what I was talking about than you have just written.
In my view the UK is a spectacular place to sail for pure pleasure. This boat allows you to take in our fantastic scenery with your family in safely. You are fast enough to punch tide and light enough to handle ashore! What's even better is if decided to test your metal against your fellow Brit, you can do it - amazingly, all in the same boat! But the most incredible thing of all is that you will not the slowest boat on the course, you will be one of the fastest. That seems quite a good deal to me to achieve from one boat. I might add, I'm sorry you feel that concerned about sailing around our coastline. God knows what those Kiwi's must be thinking when they leave there shore! It's time to read some real peoples endorsements I think - LINK http://www.wetamarine.com/gallery/endorsements Edited by Jack Sparrow - 14 Nov 13 at 4:59pm |
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yellowwelly
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Joined: 24 May 13 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2003 |
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Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 5:08pm |
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I think it depends on your view of pleasure... there's no way I can convince my wife sailing here is pleasurable. She's just too cold most of the time. That's why our family sailing is always abroad- somewhere with 300 days a year + sunshine. I keep a windsurfer onboard too- this doubles as a paddle board. It's 100% about fun.
The 'sacrifice', if you can call it that, is that we don't utilise the local club for any family activities and I'm unlikely to introduce my kids to dinghy racing. Weta / Mirror / Halbery Rassy.... wouldn't matter, not here, not with this crappy climate.
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shadeux
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Joined: 06 Feb 09 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 77 |
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Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 5:31pm |
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There are also disabled sailors for whom tris like the weta present an opportunity to get out on the water and carry on enjoying their sport in relative safety.
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Bruce
Shadow002 |
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Nipper
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Joined: 17 Oct 13 Location: Hants Online Status: Offline Posts: 40 |
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Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 11:07pm |
And that exactly sums up the problem that most UK clubs are facing today. It seems ironic that today's sailing gear is so much better than it was 30 years ago, but less people are sailing, with the cold being the main reason why partners and children are not interested.
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39 years of dinghy racing and still waiting to peak.
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Nipper
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Joined: 17 Oct 13 Location: Hants Online Status: Offline Posts: 40 |
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Posted: 14 Nov 13 at 11:15pm |
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[QUOTE=Jack Sparrow]
I might add, I'm sorry you feel that concerned about sailing around our coastline. God knows what those Kiwi's must be thinking when they leave there shore! /QUOTE] Don't feel sorry for me. I was just pointing out that there are large parts of our coastline where no one in their right mind would want to be washed onto. Having an inhospital shore makes you treat the wind and water with respect, which may be why the Kiwis are such good sailors, as they know if the broke the boat they were going to get washed onto the rocks. If you are not concerened sailing around the UK coast, then you are either niave or irresponsible.
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39 years of dinghy racing and still waiting to peak.
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sargesail
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Joined: 14 Jan 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1459 |
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Posted: 15 Nov 13 at 7:01am |
Or you're treating the wind and water with respect and making appropriate decisions based on that. It's about how you approach it. (My dinghy cruising credentials include Plymouth to Weymouth as a 17 year old (supported) and cross channel as a 16 year old (very supported). I'd like to repeat that, or similar, with the family someday.
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