In late 2005, SEX DRIVE, a Contention 30, came under new ownership. Twelve months later she was ready to grace the waters of Hong Kong once more, having done so for almost 30 years.
Rob Berkley, her new co-owner, reflects:
�Even after a year of working on the boat, we still ran out of time to finish everything before our first race; we set off for the start line having only had the chance to look at half of our sails. Hoisting the 150% genoa was a shock. It had been cut down to a reacher and was missing more sail area than I care to remember. And, as with every other sail on board, it dated back to 1992!
�The China Coast Regatta, three days of autumnal racing in Hong Kong, was twelve days away and it was clear that we needed new sails � fast. SEX DRIVE was my first boat, and although I knew something about sails, having crewed and chartered for several years, I really did not know where to begin when it came to actually buying them.
�The day after that first race, Barry Hayes of UK-Halsey Hong Kong, had a quotation in my in-box. The following day, having already had measurements taken, sail material samples were under scrutiny. Only 11 days after that initial hoist of a saggy old reacher and shapeless mainsail, and a new Tape-Drive mainsail and genoa were being unpacked and readied for the next day�s start to a busy regatta weekend.
�Working with Barry and UK-Halsey Sailmakers has been easy; never any pressure to buy despite parting with endless amounts of information over the months. I must admit, when analogies are made between sails for America�s Cup challengers and SEX DRIVE I get a little lost in the technical detail, but as a customer it is nice to feel valued, regardless of the size of boat or budget.
�One of the great things about SEX DRIVE is her history in Hong Kong and the number of seasoned sailors who have sailed on her in her early years, in particular Willy Roberts who raced her from Hong Kong to the Philippines in the early 90�s. We wanted to take an old boat and bring her back to life. She has performed well under HKPN but the next challenge will be to see how she races under her new IRC rating.
�I think the bottom line is that we have had a much better SEX DRIVE since we started using Tape-Drives. Thanks to Barry Hayes and UK-Halsey Sailmakers Hong Kong.�
SEX DRIVE�s Results After Her Re-fit
China Coast regatta 2006 1st Overall HKPN
Round the Island 2006 1st HKPN Division B
HKRNVR Pursuit Race 2007 1st
RHKYC Top Dog Trophy 6th 2006/07...highest placed cruiser
RHKYC Spring Regatta 1st overall HKPN cruiser
ABC Singlehanded Race 2007 1st
HHYC Singlehanded Race 2007 1st
Chinese New Years Macau Race 1st overall HKPN div B
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