Vela a Stealth 13.2C
Meet Nick Lyons, the owner of ‘Vela’, a first-of-its-kind Stealth 13.2C, a Blue Water racer/cruiser. Read on as Nick gives us a testimonial about his experience building a boat in another country he could not visit.
Nick says, “Shortly after the build commenced, COVID hit”.
Unable to leave Australia, Nick never actually got to visit Vela, his new boat, during the build.
“Sending large sums of money to a foreign country that could not be visited initially caused us some anxiety; however, it quickly became apparent that this was not an issue. Asia Catamarans were an extremely professional and friendly outfit. Asia Catamarans sent us frequent updates and photographs until Vela was eventually put on a container ship to Australia, where we saw her for the first time”
“Naturally, never having seen the boat during the build (or at all!), we had our doubts about what to expect. To our absolute delight, Vela was perfect and extremely professionally finished, with only a surprisingly small number of minor issues to be expected from any new boat build by any builder, regardless of size”
Five Years Later
5 years on from our first sail out of the harbour and after multiple extended trips living abroad, our first impressions have only been reinforced: a beautiful, roomy, comfortable catamaran that can be sailed at wind speed (or as fast as you dare!)
Vela has proven to be a comfortable home for our family of 4 with young children. Vela frequently averages above 8-10knots sailing conservatively when cruising, and to our surprise, enables us 100nm+ easily during daylight hours. After a day’s passage, we often arrive mid-afternoon at an empty protected anchorage to enjoy a beverage and wait for the rest of the cruising fleet getting ravaged by afternoon storms. I frequently sail single-handed with ease in all weather conditions with the simple sailing systems, whilst my wife and kids enjoy the ride. It still amazes me to this day how fast and manageable Vela is in light airs whilst single-handed sailing on a family cruise.
Two short video clips of Vela out on the water
It blows (pun intended) me away that you can barely feel the wind on your face, yet still doing wind speed while the family are lounging inside with all the creature comforts, it seems to defy physics!
Vela goes racing
Whilst predominantly a cruising vessel for us, Vela has been extremely competitive in the racing scene, achieving two firsts and a second on OMR in the prestigious Moreton Bay Multihull Regatta in past years, with some serious competition.
Vela was also the Australian National OMR Multihull Champion in 2025. Vela has proved to be a capable, comfortable, and extremely rapid sailing vessel, and we would have no hesitation in recommending the design and professional build of Asia Catamarans to others.
Asia Catamarans thanks Nick for the update, and we are pleased to read that Vela is providing enjoyment for the whole family.
