Join the Victoria Swarm

January 07th, 2019

Dear Weta owners and sailors of Victoria!

The Victorian Weta owners have been more spread out doing their own thing than our northern neighbours in recent years. We now have seven Wetas at Frankston YC and four of us race pretty regularly. We know from Colin that there are more boats out there sailing regularly, so we wanted to reach out to you all to see if you are interested in coming together either once a season for a championship regatta or more often in some sort of traveler series (or both!).

The AWCA was incorporated in 2017 building on the momentum from the World Masters Games in Auckland to promote the Weta 4.4 trimaran in Australia. A national committee has been appointed which includes representation from Queensland, NSW, ACT and Victoria. We are committed to encouraging Weta sailors to come together to both share their enthusiasm for the boat and to share knowledge and practical tips you have learned whilst sailing your Weta.

In order to promote the Weta in Australia, the AWCA has begun to arrange a calendar of competitive events to meet the needs of Weta owners. Our goal is for each state to arrange state championships with a national championship help in Queensland, NSW and VIC (and other states if possible) on a rotating basis.

The Association has purchase very beautiful wooden perpetual trophies for each state championship with the first formal state titles held at Lake Cootharaba in Queensland over the first weekend in December 2018. Sixteen boats lined up for the two-day regatta and included travelers from NSW, ACT and Victoria. Faye and I sail two-up so we flew up to sail a borrowed boat and it was a fantastic opportunity to meet other Weta sailors and be inspired! The regatta report has been published on the Australian Weta website (http://www.weta.com.au/news/wetas-gone-troppo-inqueensland?fbclid=IwAR0cPlPNeyX-yN-eAyDjlgDEvbEzHGCUbwOoaMz6G7DWqGyMpVxmNcdYXA0) and is a great read.

The NSW stalwarts have announced the Sydney Harbour Weta Championship for the weekend of 12th and 13th January 2019, which will be their first formal state championships (they had an informal one last season!) and any Vic boats will be very welcome (https://www.facebook.com/events/656193584761479/).

Faye and I had a look at the sailing calendar in Victoria and noticed that McCrae YC are hosting an Australia Day regatta on 26th and 27th January 2019 for all off-the-beach classes. I’ve been in touch with the sailing officer and it is very reasonably priced at $30 if you book before the end of December. The racing will consist of 6 races over the two days and they even have lamingtons for lunch on the Saturday! Whilst it may be too soon to call it the first Victorian Weta state champions, Faye and I have booked in to check it out and would welcome other Wetas to join us if you can get along as well! https://www.mccraeyc.com.au/index.php/regattas/upcoming-regattas/2019-aus-day?fbclid=IwAR06T6FLOFRMV__yr_VwucH18bfoFXGlWcD2SWQrfYvF50cZTgkUQZzYvoM

If you love your Weta and aren’t aware with what other Australian Weta owners are getting up to, I’d encourage you to join the AWCA. You can subscribe to the regular newsletters here (https://us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d4a552c75c230c5861807b29e&id=3edcf7ae3b) and have a look at the Australian website here (http://www.weta.com.au/). There is also an active Australia Weta Class Facebook group that is definitely worth joining here (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ausweta/?ref=bookmarks).

If you want to be inspired, the AWCA Traveller Series – Queensland & NSW 2018-19 season is as follows:

12-13 Jan 2019 Sydney Harbour Weta Challenge at Woollahra Sailing Club Contact Geoff Waldon
26 Jan 2019 Australia Day Marathon, Kurnell Catamaran Club, Botany Bay NSW Contact Paul White
3 Feb 2019 Pulbah Island Marathon, Speers Point SC (Lake Macquarie), NSW Contact Geoff Waldon
8-9 Feb 2019 ACT Multihull Championships, Canberra, ACT Contact Geoff Waldon
9-10 Mar 2019 Bundaberg Sailing Club Regatta Contact Glen Foley
 30 Mar –1 Apr 2019 Maryborough Easter Regatta at Harvey Bay  
5 May 2019 Peter Loft Marathon, Bayview YRC, Pittwater, NSW Contact Paul White
19 May 2019 Bargara Bash, Bundaberg Sailing Club  
25-26 May 2019 Tin Can Bay Cockroach Cup and Cooloola Cup (TBC)  
8-9 Jun 2019 Wyvenhoe Winter Marathon Book campsites early
27-28 Jul 2019 Humpybong Winter Bash  

 

Faye and I have really benefited from sailing with other Weta fleets. We went to the World Masters Games in April 2017 for the experience and I’ve got to say, it delivered in spades… sailing in a fleet of 50 Wetas was truly awe-inspiring!

The AWCA would love to hear from you no matter what your level of sailing experience is… what type of sailing you prefer, if you’d like to have a race program in Victoria and if you like the idea of coming together for the Australia Day regatta at McCrae. You can contact me at [email protected] or simply join the AWCA and the Facebook group to keep in touch!

Wishing you all fair winds!
Andrew Boyes Wetananda, 968, FYC

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