WETA's for disabled people

Please select your home edition

Edition

WETA's for disabled people

by Mike Wood on 10 Dec 2016

Best performanc with crew to ballance the boat Mike Wood

While the Paralympic world ponders the technicalities of disabled people you may be interested to know that disabled people in the UK have been sailing and racing them for over 10 years.

The UK's Disabled Sailors Association (DSA) has a small fleet of Wetas and either provides dinghy sailing free of charge to disabled people or loans boats to people who promise to use them on a regular basis.

Rod steering is very positive © Mike Wood

Rod steering is very positive © Mike Wood

It is very easy indeed to adapt the Weta and the DSA provides modifications which allow any disability to sail them, single handed or with one or two crew. The most popular 'mod' is fitting a racing seat on the centre line allowing severely disabled people to enjoy this versatile craft.

Two Wetas are kept on the Mar Menor in Southern Spain which allows all year round sailing and racing and inexpensive holidays.

Spanish National Team members try a Weta in 2011 © Mike Wood

Spanish National Team members try a Weta in 2011 © Mike Wood

Very comfortable © Mike Wood

Very comfortable © Mike Wood

Wetas will sail with and rig combination © Mike Wood

Wetas will sail with and rig combination © Mike Wood

Easy access to seat © Mike Wood

Easy access to seat © Mike Wood

If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.yachtsandyachting.com/150331

Related Articles

Passion, Precision and Innovation at Metstrade
If you want a positive outlook on the marine industry then there's no better place to be If you want a positive outlook on the marine industry then there's no better place to be than Amsterdam in mid-November.
Posted today at 6:00 pm

BUSA London Six Pack team racing
Welsh Harp hosts 44 races for university students Saturday saw an action-packed start to the London Six Pack, with ran 44 out of 55 races completed as part of the round robin. Despite some difficulties with the start boat dragging its anchor we were able to get under way smoothly and efficiently.
Posted today at 4:52 pm

Jackman and Reynolds cheer on BONDS Flying Roos
Ahead of this weekend's SailGP Abu Dhabi Grand Final Hugh and Ryan dropped a fun new video today introducing global audiences to SailGP and the Australia team. The duo bring their signature banter as they join BONDS Flying Roos Driver and CEO Tom Slingsby.
Posted today at 4:27 pm

IOM Worlds 2026 Runners and Riders Part 1
A design history of the class and what the likely winning designs will be A competitor said to me last weekend, "I learnt more in 3 months of radio sailing than 30 years racing a dinghy". There will be nowhere better to extend your learning of racing than by watching the best in the world in a stadium like setting.
Posted today at 4:04 pm

Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca example of success
Ferran Muniesa participated as a speaker at the Yacht Racing Forum A renowned annual meeting of the main players in international competitive sailing, the Yacht Racing Forum, included the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca as an example of the organisation of top-level international regattas in its 2025 edition.
Posted today at 3:51 pm

iQFOiL Senior Europeans at Sferracavallo Day 2
Strong breeze and tight racing in Sicily After a slow start on Day 1, conditions at the 2025 iQFOiL Senior European Championship came to life today in Sferracavallo. With sunshine and a solid breeze filling in across the racecourse, all fleets were able to complete five full course races.
Posted today at 3:33 pm

Six recognised into Cape Horn Hall of Fame
Cape Horners take centre stage in Portsmouth It was a time for seafaring memories as 126 Cape Horners met up in Portsmouth to applaud the latest in a Who's Who list of global circumnavigators to be inducted into the Cape Horn Hall of Fame.
Posted today at 3:18 pm

Solent Super Series round 4 at Gosport
20 knots, at times gusting to 27, for the series finale After three rounds of very favourable conditions, the 'winter series' version of the Solent Super Series greeted teams for the fourth and final round of the 2025 edition.
Posted today at 2:30 pm

British University Fleet Racing Championships 2025
Hosted for the first time by Durham University Sailing Club The BUCS Fleets Championships were hosted for the first time by Durham University Sailing Club, at Derwent this year. The race team completed five races in sunny conditions with tricky shifts across the course.
Posted today at 2:14 pm

Midland Area Solo Championship preview
Northampton SC are hosting this Saturday The planets have aligned in the favour of the Midland Championship which, having been postponed earlier, has now been bequeathed the last big Solo regatta of 2025 and so the focus will very much be on who can claim this hotly contested title.
Posted today at 12:54 pm