Hillarys Yacht Club, Western Australia: At the Hillarys Yacht Club 2015/16 Trophy Presentation night, octogenarian Kevin Stacey received a standing ovation when he came forward to accept the Club Championship trophy. While picking up the award, he decided to go out on top and announced his retirement from competitive sailing. Stacey’s sailboat racing career spanned more than 40 years that culminated this season with the Overall Consistency trophy (Division 2), which he won with his Beneteau 28.5 PINTA. The humble skipper credited the win to a “very good crew.”
Having appreciated the durability of the UK Sailmakers sails on his previous yacht ENIGMA, Kevin chose UK Sailmakers sails again when replacing the inventory on PINTA in 2011. Geoff Bishop of UK Sailmakers Fremantle, visited PINTA to measure and then install and tune the new sails for Kevin. Always looking for that extra tenth of knot, Kevin made good use of the advice provided by Geoff during the season, thus contributing to the overall success that included 12 podium finishes. Just one more example of UK Sailmakers passing on our passion for the sport.
What a legend!