Sarah Donohue will mark her return to powerboat racing next month in Hong Kong.
She will be competing in the inaugural Asia Powerboat Championship which will be supported by the Hong Kong Tourist Association and will be held over the weekend of November 9-11.
The event has been organised by Martin Lai, Jacky Kong and Mark Tribe from Asia Powerboat Development Ltd.
Sarah told me from her home in Spain:
It’s been a long hard slog for Martin and the team to pull this off in Hong Kong so to see it happening and be there for the inaugural race is fantastic.
I’ve had time off from racing, as most people tend to do after over 26 years in the sport!
Other commitments take over and as with everything, new kids come up through the ranks, and with any sport, you sometimes have to know when to hand over no matter how much you love something.
Sarah has already visited Hong Kong twice with the team, to set-up the 4.55 m hulls that are powered by Tohatsu 50 hp motors and have been especially designed by Naval Architect John Guille.
As well as preparation and testing, she attended the PR launch which she says was incredibly successful.
On one occasion, Sarah’s testing didn’t quite go as planned.
Sarah with Martin Lai and Charlotte Camsey
The Hong Kong Police Marine gave chase to both Sarah and team mate Charlotte Camsey after they inadvertently broke the speed limit after being incorrectly advised of the local regulations.
After a long chase down the harbour, the pair were held on the water by the Marine Region for several hours.
Sarah explained:
Our only concern was low tide, facial sun burn and the worry about not being able to get the boats out!
The former James Bond stuntwoman had her License to Thrill revoked that day but after they were released there were lots of smiles and photos.
Sarah’s new project
Sarah has been working on a nutrition and skin care range for the past year which is set to launch March 2019.
The skin care alongside the nutrition was because as someone into extreme sports and often involving salt water, extreme heat or extreme cold her skin suffered so product development has been taking place in Paris.
The collection is said to rejuvenate and protect the skin.
Sarah is also on the hunt for brand ambassadors so if you are interested then get in touch sarah@sarahdonohue.com
Final thoughts
She summed her thoughts of the exciting new powerboat racing initiative in Hong Kong:
I think Martin bringing 12 experienced drivers in from across the world to race is great idea.
This event has been many years in the making and it I can’t wait for it to come to fruition next month.
Photo: © Guy Nowell / asiapowerboat.org
