Elite News

WETA Cup Summer Final

2011-07-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

The WETA Cup Summer Final was held on the 3rd. of July 2011. 13 of this little Trimarans have been registered for the race. A triangle course of about 6NM was to circle 3 times. One of the racing rules was, that each boat had to carry at least two people. Wind conditions were moderate. After 2 hours 30 minutes, first boat crossed the finish line. It was……….

For those which which are not familiar with our place, Dianshan lake is located west of Shanghai, about 70km from down town. The Lake covers an area of 63 square kilometers and has an average depth of 2 meters. A shipping line in about the middle crosses the lake.
Therefore the CMSA (Maritime Safety Administration, one of two PRC Coast Guards) has to be informed when racing on this lake. Weeks ago I have checked some waypoints on the water, given marks, such as fixed buoys or other installations. This would be convenient, since in the past during long distance races our buoys have been disappeared, most probably caught by fishermen which had another use for them.
Finally after long discussions with the MSA, they did not allow us to pass the shipping line and we had to keep distance from it. But prepared for such an outcome, we could go for a shorten course and therefore several laps. This indeed also had the advantage that the race could be easy observed from shore.
Since beginning of the week, wind forecasts had changed and came more and more down. Finally the forecast was for about 8 knots at lunch time and coming down then to 5 until mid afternoon. Therefore we had to be on time with the start.
11:00AM Race briefing. The usual procedure. 3 laps, all marks leaving on port side, min 2 people on board, take enough drinks on board, don't forget the high factor sun cream! Fair winds!!
11:15 Lunch time and fine tuning
12:00 Start
Yep, start a bit delayed because not all boats have been on the water on time, but not much delay.
This gave everybody which was ready a bit time to find the right angles and positions. And……. what did I say in the WETA Tips and Tricks Class a couple of weeks ago???? Preparation is the key point. And exactly it happened to me!
Shortly before the start, my main sheet cam block on the bottom came off. The pin of the shackle have been loose and came completely off. Bloddy hell, just before the start!!! But usually I carry some spares with me and I could fix it just on time. Yes, just on time. 20 seconds before the start we have been still too far away from the starting line. "Sheet in, we go" I yelled to my wife!!!! Ha, it was the right decision, our boat crossed the starting line maybe 2 seconds to late, but we have been first over the line and in favored position. Clear start, clear start!!

Since wind conditions were from SW, just after the starting line all screachers were going out. "Everybody move forward, keep the balance of the boat"!!! Haha, our little one enjoyed all the boats behind us, to be honest me too. It was great to see all these colors when looking back.

The leg to the first mark, was nothing spectacular, keep watching what the others are doing and just check where the mark is.
Finally, we were rounding the mark in first position, heading down to the second mark. After us, it was Per and Compton fighting for second place, followed closely by the others. It was then Philippe and Mel which found the right angle and rounded mark two in first position, already with quite some distance between us. These guys did very well and did not give up the leading position until the end of the race.
Behind them, there was the fight between Boroa Bora (my boat, the original one from NZ hull no. 3), Per Lindvall, the "Absolute Swede" guy and the Kiwi Compton Tothill on Takapuna. Anyway, the Swiss nerves have been proofed to be strong enough and with the right tactics and with the Chinese crew on board, we managed it to get these guys under control and ended sovereign in second place, Compton in 3rd and Per??? He finally ended up in 6.th position. Not clear what happened to him, but sea grass have to be mentioned, which was growing fast last couple of weeks and made sailing a bit more difficult. It needs much more cleaning of center board and rudder blade all the time.

The leading boat (Adios) had passed the finish line 17 minutes ahead of us. The fleet was quite spread after 3 laps also shown on the race result below. People have been pretty exhausted since the wind came down as it was in the forecast. All in all the boats were moving good. Winds from SW to W means, we had nice flat waters.

The BBQ after the race was great for the socializing part of the day. Discussions on all tables and drinking, drinking, drinking…..
Prize giving was sponsored by WETAMARINE, Harken, SBYC and Elite Yachting China. All participants have gotten a prize from our chandlery. We also had a special price for the oldest participant (64 years old) and the youngest one (3 years old). At the end of the day, all tired, but happy faces all around.

Yeah, a great day has ended, but people were talking about it. Seems even the Summer Final was set up quite early in the summer time, but still many of our very keen sailors couldn't join. Summer holidays are starting early and ends late!!! The WETA Winter Final will be held on the 13.th of November. Conditions usually are great at this time. Hopefully we will have even more participants on the water.

I would like to say thank you to the sponsors (WETAMARINE,Harken, SBYC and Elite Yachting China) for their financial support for the prize giving. Many thanks to John Chao for supporting us with his powerful rib, as well to the race officer Roy Sun and Raj Khurana taking fotos and shooting some video sequences. Not to forget those guys which could not participate in the race, but gratefully lent their boat to others.
But also thanks to all sailors which showed up and made this event a great day.
We are looking forward to the next one.

Please have a look on the pictures gallery here: http://gallery.me.com/mawiborabora#100259&bgcolor=black&view=grid
Videos will be uploaded soon as well

And here the Race results:
13 boats started
10 boats finished
3 boats DNF

Ranking / Skipper / Crew / Boat / Time

1 / Philippe / Mel / Adios / 2:30:00
2 / Markus / Helen & Marc / BoraBora / 2:47:00
3 / Compton / Jonas / Takapuna / 2:53:00
4 / Peter / Bruce / Mairangi / 2:55:00
5 / Kurt / Henk / 5701 / 2:58:00
6 / Per / Henri / 42 / 2:58:30
7 / Tim / Fred / Riana / 3:08:00
8 / Paul / Jeffrey / Kiwi / 3:08:20
9 / Arthur / Mika / 32 / 3:12:20
10 / Klaus / Simon / 264 / 3:25:00
John / Philip / Iritana / DNF
Frederic / Rudolf / 263 / DNF
Andreas / Lilie / Lilie / DNF

Cheers, Markus

Web Page update

2011-06-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Dear sailors and friends.
After some time we decided, that our web site needs to be refreshed. So we do this at the moment. Not everything is ready yet, but soon....

New continous furler

2011-06-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Performance, simplicity and reliability are the key!
KZ Marine, in conjunction with Weta Marine has developed a new continuous line furler, guaranteed to furl and unfurl with ease.
KZ marine, a New Zealand based manufacturing company, is famous for supplying furlers to the best racing yachts in the world. From Americas Cup to Volvo Ocean racers, TP 52’s to Maxi’s, KZ furlers come with a world-class reputation.

Working closely with Weta Marine has enabled KZ Marine to develop a fantastic little furler. Compact and lightweight the RF200 is injection molded with glass filled nylon.
The head and base units come with watertight stainless steel bearings, and the marine grade stainless steel eyes and pins making the unit maintenance free.
The removable rope peeler allows for hassle free changes to the furler line.
Tested in conjunction with Weta Marine, the development process is now complete and production of RF200 has started. All new WETA boats are now equipped with this furler.

WETA Day Tipps and Tricks class

2011-05-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

The first WETA Tips and Tricks class for Shanghai area was held at Dianshan Lake, where Elite is located. A great turnout of WETA owners and with 13 boats on the water. A total of 23 WETAs are presently at this lake, a water area of about 60km2 only 45 minutes from downtown Shanghai.

Updated information about developments on the WETA and its market, but also tips for preparation work, rigging instructions and fine tuning were on the list. Since boat handling is a key part on this site, this was another issue which has been discussed. Hoisting sails and parking the boat safely all on the water can be a challenge but if trained we can avoid unnecessary damages. Capsize training and recovery was also foreseen, but at the time, stomaches were empty and since the wind was blowing nicely, people couldn't wait to go out of the water. So therefore several items on the task list have been cancelled and we did then do some regatta start training. At the end of the day Helens BBQ and chocolate mousse have been very welcomed at the nice spot and people were sitting together and had a chat until dark.
A great day all in all and good we did’nt go through all the listed items on our agenda. That means (and it was confirmed by many attendance) that we have to go on and do such classes again. Yes of course!! Because on Sunday, wind had changed and was blowing onshore and here we are!!! Boat handling, parking, mooring, is really an issue and we should train that more often.
Thanks a lot to all participant, Per Lindvall for the start training and of course my Helen for the delicious BBQ.

King's Cup Regatta 2010

2011-04-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

The King’s Cup Regatta was held from 29.th of November -7.th of December 2010. We took part on the race with the Corsair Dash. Low winds at beginning of the week, but on Friday situation changed and ended up with dramatical losses.

Topper Topaz Catamaran for sale

2011-04-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

Two Topaz 16 CX secondhand Cats available at the lake!!
The 16 CX provides exhilarating performance. As you'd expect the 16 CX is unashamedly fast. Yet she can easily be handled by inexperienced crew. The responsiveness resembles that of an Olympic racing machine. Yet the Topaz 16 CX is exceptionally stable and forgiving.

The 16 CX can handle any conditions. Tested in a demanding holiday company environment by Sunsail, the Topaz 16 CX just keeps coming back for more punishment.

The hulls are constructed using the now legendary TRILAM roto-moulding technique used on the incredibly successful Topaz range of sailboats so the 16 CX is incredibly robust and resilient.
The 16 CX's unique hull shape makes light work of big waves even putting many larger Cats in the shade.

The hulls incorporate skegs rather than daggerboards so beaching the CX is safe and simple. And the lightweight TRILAM Metalicene hulls are easy to handle ashore and require virtually no maintenance.
The rig has been kept relatively simple, so the Topaz 16 CX can be quickly and easily rigged and de-rigged. In high winds, mainsail reefing is an option and the jib can be furled in seconds.

All fittings on the 16 CX provide supreme efficiency and outstanding durability. The controls, from raising the mainsail and jib to handling the mainsheet loads, are geared so that even young or lighter crew can handle them comfortably in up to a force 4-5. The rudder system is shared with many of the top end racing cats so it has been tried and tested to extreme levels.
All in all, owning the 16 CX catamaran is plain sailing for an extremely wide range of ages and abilities - and what incredible sailing it is!