May 26th, 2015
We are very happy to announce the appointment of Stephanie De Lair as our USA Weta Ambassador.
Stephanie will initially work at the grass roots level getting involved with yacht clubs, working with existing Weta owners, Weta dealers and creating/organising events which are family inclusive with a strong emphasis on fun. These events will be very informal and will try to engage the many Weta owners who may not be racing orientated.
At the same time Stephanie will be active on social media with, sailing blog, Facebook, Instagram so it will hopefully inspire and give ideas to other Weta communities to join in and organise similar events.
This is a new direction for us but we are very excited to be working with Stephanie. Not only does she have infectious enthusiasm for sailing she also has a very strong business background. (See bio below)
By Roger Kitchen
Stephanie’s parents introduced her to boats and water sports at the tender age of 6 months. Since then, her love of the water has only grown. She enjoys the outdoors and was a successful athlete in several sports; volleyball, tennis and golf were among her favorites. After sustaining injuries in a serious car accident, she was unable to compete in the sports that she loved. Thus, began the quest to find an outlet for her competitive spirit. One of Stephanie’s many friends introduced her to sailing in July of 2013. After crewing in a regatta her first time out, she was hooked! This new sport nurtured her competitive spirit as well as her love of the water and anything outdoors. It required athleticism, strategic thinking and skill. She was also delighted by the comradery of the many new friends she met at the Oak Hollow Sailing Club in High Point, NC, USA, where she received the “Rookie of the Year Award” her first season.
After a successful first season, she signed on as full time crew on a monohull sailboat and began her search for a boat of her own. She needed a vessel that would be flexible enough to sail single handed or with a crew member depending on weather conditions. Due to her physical limitations, it also needed to be easy to tow, set up, launch and sail. Most of her experience up until the summer of 2014 was on monohull sailboats. One of her friends at Oak Hollow took her out on his Weta trimaran and she was intrigued with the way the boat handled. Due to the light winds that time of year, she was still unsure. A few weeks later the winds picked up to 12-14 knots and she got to take the boat out by herself. After several hours enjoying the exhilarating speeds and nimble handling of the Weta Trimaran, she purchased #937 the very next day from the North Carolina dealer. Her boat with the bright pink Screecher emblazoned with “Stephalicious” on it is easy to spot and generates a lot of interest everywhere she goes with men and women alike.
As of November of 2014, Stephanie was elected as the first female Commodore of Oak Hollow Sailing Club in many years. The club is on an inland lake and currently averages approximately 22 boats in their mixed fleet regattas. Her plan is to promote the sport of sailing, enhance education and most importantly ensure that everyone has FUN! Her emphasis will be on introducing women to sailing and promoting sailing as a family activity, both racing and cruising.
Stephanie has a Bachelor of Science in Management and Communications with an emphasis in Electrical Engineering. In addition, she received her MBA in Finance from one of the top programs in the United States. She gave up her successful career in banking to live a simpler life, which now involves cruising sailboats, racing and just having fun on the water. She is certified with the American Sailing Association through Coastal Navigation and is currently working on Advanced Coastal Cruising with some additional endorsements. These certifications allow her to skipper and navigate a monohull up to 45′ on a cruising trip. In her short time involved in sailing, she has been at the helm of large monohulls everywhere from the Hudson River in New York City to regattas in the Downtown Race series on the Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington. By gaining experience on many different vessels, it has helped develop her skills and confidence in a short period of time.
