Weta Sailing in Europe: The Netherlands

June 2009

On Sunday 7 June a trimaran meeting took place on the water of Muiderberg. A busy and varied programme stood. Firstly there was the possibility to meet one of the designers of the WETA trimaran; Chris Kitchen from New Zealand.  Chris updated the sailors on the newest developments of the class from New Zealand and other continents. It appeared that in several spots around the world the Weta class is already fanatically sailed.

10 Wetas sailed in the afternoons 3 races. Also Chris Kitchen sailed in the brand-new boat of class-sponsor Auckland Extreme. Under splendid circumstances of flat water in Muiderberg with the wind at 15knots the boats showed that they were sailed easily. Also it was clear that the speed differences between the participants was particularly wide.
Because it was the first time racing for many of the competitors in the Netherlands the participants had get used to racing in the first race. In the Second and the third races the field was more dense and the lead was regularly changed.

However Chris Kitchen who was clearly the most experienced sailor and with the new boat claimed victory in all 3 races.
WETA owner Clean Monsjou: It is inspiring to see with which freedom and agility Chris sailed the WETA at speed. We have clearly seen how it is possible to sail the boats in a race.
Chris: As a designer and builder of the WETA it is fantastic that there are such a great group people in the Netherlands fanatically sailing the Weta. We see this in a number of spots around the world for example San Francisco, Shanghai and South Africa to name a few. It is a good initiative that the class organisation is now set up in the Netherlands. By regularly racing the level of sailing will improve rapidly and the class will develop. I think that next year it will be much more difficult to claim victory here. 

After looking back at a successful day for the participants of good races and a particularly sociable event organizer Iemke Roos comments:
A foundation has been laid today for a sociable, fanatical class and a new friendly club. This is certainly subject for recurrence. Today already there have been a bunch of phone numbers and e-mail addresses exchanged.
Also new klasse-sponsor the Auckland extreme were satisfied. N.Z.A comments: the WETA is exactly the product we want promote our new line of sport-loving clothing. We believe that together we will develop our new line and the Weta class.