THE FOUNDERS
We are sailors.
Between us, we have sailed over 70,000 ocean miles. We started DriKiwi to build the gear we wanted on passage and couldn’t buy.
Jono
I grew up racing and cruising on Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour. Since moving to the UK, I’ve sailed the Solent, the British Isles, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. The boats have ranged from a VO60 and a Farr 60 to a Class 40, a Sigma 38 and a GK29. In 2023/24, I sailed around the world as a Watch Leader on a Clipper 70.
DriKiwi started with my search for sailing gear that was well made, functional, durable and good value. I couldn’t find it, so we built it.
I began my career in chartered accountancy, then moved into consulting and running financial services businesses. That shapes how we work: attention to detail, resilience and real value in everything we do.
I’m happiest helming a fully powered-up yacht downwind in a running sea.
Steven
I grew up in the UK and now sail out of Houston. Ocean racing comes first. My logbook runs to over 20,000 offshore miles: the Fastnet, the Caribbean 600, the Middle Sea, and three Atlantic races, including the RORC Transatlantic. The boats have ranged from a VO65, a VO60 and a Farr 60 down to a Class 40. I’m a member of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, and between ocean races it’s round the cans or offshore in Texas.
On every one of those boats, the watch change looked the same: half awake, in the dark, digging for kit that was never where you left it. DriKiwi started there.
My background is engineering, at Imperial College, followed by a career leading businesses and technology teams. That shapes how we build: define the problem precisely, test against it, and don’t sign off until it works.
I’m most at home a thousand miles offshore, in a strong breeze, with the sun coming up.