UK Sailmakers is pleased to announce an exciting new chapter for our Texas loft, welcoming Kelly Sears and Steph Jarvis to the UK Sailmakers family. With decades of combined experience in sailmaking, racing, cruising, and sail repair, they bring deep technical knowledge, hands-on craftsmanship, and a lifelong passion for sailing to the Texas sailing community.
This transition will be a smooth one. Pedro Gianotti will remain a familiar contact for customers as Kelly and Steph gradually expand the loft’s capabilities, ensuring continuity and trusted service. Like every UK Sailmakers loft, the Texas location is independently owned and operated, combining local expertise with the high standards and support that UK Sailmakers is known for worldwide.
Kelly: Expertise, Performance, and a Lifetime on the Water
Kelly’s sailing story began at a young age aboard his uncle’s 44-foot sloop in St. Petersburg, Florida. Early exposure to cruising boats sparked a lifelong love of sailing, paired with a competitive drive for speed and performance.
In 2007, Kelly began his professional sailmaking career at the North Sails Super Yacht manufacturing facility near South Lake Tahoe. There, he built some of the world’s largest and most technically demanding sails, both cruising and racing, for vessels ranging from small performance boats to superyachts. He worked closely with leading sail designers worldwide, earning a reputation for craftsmanship, consistency, and attention to detail.
Kelly spent the next 13 years supervising sail production, overseeing hundreds of sails and managing complex manufacturing workflows from design execution through final quality control.
Away from the loft, Kelly is a seasoned sailor. In 2010, he completed a double-handed transatlantic delivery of a Catalina 30 to England without an autopilot, stopping in the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Azores. In 2014, he spent a full season in Antigua repairing superyacht sails. More recently, from 2022 to 2026, Kelly managed a sail loft and led repair operations in Anacortes, Washington.
An active racer, Kelly crewed on a Santa Cruz 27 to win Boat of the Year honors at the Anacortes Yacht Club in 2025 and secured the club’s Distance Racing Championship in 2024. He is now excited to bring that experience—and Pedro’s proven sail designs—into production in Texas, with the goal of growing the loft into a full-service facility serving boats of all sizes.
Steph: Versatility, Craftsmanship, and a Love of Sailing
Steph brings nearly 20 years of sailmaking experience and a broad range of hands-on skills to UK Sailmakers Texas. She began her sailmaking career in 2006 and has worked across the country for many of the industry’s top brands, including Quantum, Doyle, North, Ullman, and now UK Sailmakers.
Her background includes building new sails and spinnakers, as well as servicing and repairing sails and canvas for grand prix race boats, superyachts, dinghies, and cruising boats. Steph is known for finding a way to repair nearly anything—and a knack for fixing the unfixable.
Steph learned to sail at age six with her father on a Chrysler Mutineer and quickly fell in love with life on the water. She has since sailed on “anything that floats,” from dinghies and keelboats to schooners and tall ships. She worked as a sailing instructor in college, sailed professionally on tall ships through ASTA, and has logged miles on the East Coast, Great Lakes, and West Coast.
While Steph has raced extensively in both buoy and distance formats, her greatest joy comes from simply being on the water and helping others Sail With Confidence.
Looking Ahead in Texas
Together, Kelly and Steph are focused on building on the strong foundation already in place at UK Sailmakers Texas. Their plans include producing Pedro’s race-winning designs locally, expanding repair capabilities, and offering full-service support for both cruising and racing sailors.
With deep experience, practical problem-solving skills, and a shared passion for sailing, Kelly and Steph are committed to delivering the craftsmanship, service, and performance that define the UK Sailmakers network of lofts.
You can visit the updated UK Sailmakers Texas Loft Page here.
