Club and Corporate range launched by Burke

by Helen Hopcroft on 23 Jul 2007 Burke Marine is about to launch a range of sailing clothing aimed at the club and corporate markets. The range will include comfortable fleece jackets, polo shirts and various styles of hats and caps. All the clothing has ample space for club or corporate logos and Burke will organise the embroidery as part of their service.

‘It was initially targeted at yacht clubs etc who wanted to provide a good quality garment at an affordable price as their uniform. And then of course it’s got a cross over to yacht crews who want to kit themselves out in matching gear’ said Burke’s Colin Burgess.

Colin explained that the fabrics they use have been carefully selected to be comfortable, hardwearing, warm, quick drying and sun resistant, with the fleece jackets being made from a fabric called DF300.

‘It wicks moisture away from the body, it’s extremely quick drying, has a low water retention but very high heat retention. It’s got a fleece lined collar and pockets for extra comfort and large easy access zips and zip pockets.’

Another advantage of the corporate range is that Burke has paid close attention to the styling of the garments. The jackets are suited for wear both on and off the water.

‘Burke’s unisex polo shirts are also nicely styled and come in either dark navy or white.’

The corporate clothing will include a range of technical sailing hats which are all perfect for a sunny day on the water.

‘They are a quick dry hat with a sun factor 50+ rating. They come in either a baseball style peak cap or a wide brimmed hat. And then we have a classic white canvas cap as well, like the cricket cap. We’re going to stiffen up the peak of the canvas hat so instead of being a floppy hat it’s going to be a good stiff hat in the breeze.’

‘They’re ideal for all the conditions whether you’re on a tinny fishing or on a dinghy racing hard out on the wind.’

Over the years my racing crew has lost dozens of sailing hats of various styles in the lovely waters of NSW’s Lake Macquarie. These have included the classic canvas cricket hat, beanies, baseball caps, the occasional cowboy hat and a rather nifty straw number which a rival crew kindly rescued from the water.

The straw hat had been involuntarily purchased while stuck on a cruise ship on a blistering hot summer’s day. It was very expensive, rather fashionable and not particularly good at stopping sunburn. It became known as my ‘fashion hat’ because it was very little use for anything else.

After the ‘fashion hat’ had had a dip in Lake Macquarie and been fished out on the end of a boat hook it had lost most of its original charm. By the time the rival crew threw it across to our boat it was nothing more than a sodden ball of grass that landed on the deck with a splat.

It was this experience that finally convinced me of the value of having a number of hats on board, preferably ones which were specifically designed for sailing. I naively asked Colin whether Burke had come up with a new solution to the perennial problem of racing crews losing hats over the side.

‘Not really.The caps do come with a Velcro adjuster on the back so you can actually pull it quite tight.’

Burke will launch a number of other new products in the coming months. These include sailing gloves, boat shoes and a boat sandal.

There is also a new, stylish EVO one design, breathable dinghy smock that was introduced this season and has now been on the market for a couple of months.
It has a number of highly practical features including a self draining cargo pocket, adjustable Dartex wrist and neck seals and fully waterproof tape welded seams.

‘That’s an innovative design made of rip stop fabric so it’s extremely light weight, very comfortable, breathable, fully waterproof and in a modern colour. We’ve gone for the carbon and grey instead of the traditional blues and reds.’


With the option of purchasing matching kit from Burke’s corporate range on the horizon, racing crews are going to be looking good this summer.


Contact details
Address : 1/5 Clyde Street
City : Rydalmere
State : NSW
Postcode : 2116
Country : Australia
Phone : +61 2 9638 4333
Email : sales@burkemarine.com.au
http://www.burkemarine.com.au
http://www.dubarry.com