Hopping into Racing Line

by Helen Hopcroft on 23 Apr 2007 Racing Line, the specialist sailing gear company, recently received the following email from a happy customer.

‘This photo was taken yesterday at our Easter regatta, where I had reluctantly lent my boat to the guy steering. As you can see we were still miles in front, but more importantly you can see how well your gear stands up to conditions here in Port Macquarie’ wrote Peter Fitzroy.

‘The vest is 7 years old, the rashie is five and the gloves are about one season old, so is the hat. Keep up the good work.’

Scott Birdsall started the Racing Line company after a downturn in the Japanese economy left his Sydney tannery oversupplied with glove quality kangaroo leather.

‘About 1996 we were making a lot of leather for golf gloves out of kangaroo for the Japanese market. When the Japanese went into a bit of recession, the big company tours stopped coming out here. In the tannery our turnover dropped dramatically.’

Scott Birdsall’s family had been in the tannery industry for over 120 years. They had watched all the tanneries in the Botany close until they were the only one that remained. The prospect of shutting down their business was unthinkable.

They stood around in the quiet warehouse, looking at the piles of kangaroo leather and wondering what to do. Then Scott, a keen sailor with many years of racing to his name, had the great idea.

‘I thought it’s about time we did something. We’ve got glove leather sitting here. How about we have a look at making some sailing gloves?’

‘We sat down and thought about it. I’d used a lot of pairs of gloves in my time…So we actually designed some gloves ourselves and had patterns made up here. We ended getting them made from leather that I tanned in my tannery.’

Luckily the gloves were a hit. Sailors like Nev Witty, Jamie Wilmont and Ian Short started using them. Scott said that the design of the glove and the toughness of the kangaroo leather made them popular with marine customers.

‘Kangaroo leather is the strongest leather of any leather in the world for its weight. So you’ve got a very high tensile strength on it.’

His design does not have the stiff piece of leather or fabric across the back of the glove which is supposed to protect the knuckles, but which often makes the glove stiff and difficult to bend.

‘There’s no knuckle protector on the glove. Without having any knuckle protector and with Lycra across the back of the hand, you’re not fighting against the glove…You’re actually getting a lot better power transmission to your grip.’

‘They’re a full fingered glove. The only two open ones are the thumb and the index finger. And they’re made from waterproof leather. Most of the other gloves that are around now are all synthetic.’

Scott had always had a passion for sailing. ‘I’ve always been a sailor. I’ve loved sailing, been very passionate about it.’

With the gloves being such a success, he decided to start a business that specialised in sailing clothing and gear. The business was launched in 1996 and was given the name Racing Line.

Scott was determined that his business would be operated in line with two fundamental principles. Firstly, he would try and support Australian manufacturing whenever possible.

‘We always do. All of our Crescendo shirts are made here. My aim is anything I can make here I will.’

And secondly, he would only sell products that he knew worked.

‘I always try things myself first. I’ve given them out to a few of my trusted…I won’t say guinea pigs’ he said with a dry smile.

‘I know that they will give me accurate feedback on them. They just won’t bullshit to me and say 'these are great, these are great, these are great'. I get accurate feedback from the people I do use.’

Racing Line was also committed to selling products that were suited to the harsh Australian climate. As the business began to diversify they started selling strongly made shorts and shirts with high UV resistance. Their original line of cotton shorts was so tough they sold many pairs to bricklaying companies which used them as a uniform.

Nowadays they have a busy online store which sells a range of gear including shoes, sunglasses, waterproof ipod pouches, clothing, hats and just about anything else you would need on the water…except a boat.

Scott has continued to work with other sailors to ensure that he sells gear that they want, need and will use.

‘I really like protection from the elements: especially UV and our Microtex shirt, which is our Crescendo shirt.’


The Crescendo shirt was developed in conjunction with Jamie Wilmont. He had been sailing on a boat called Crescendo during the design process. The long sleeved unisex Microtex shirts have mesh under the arms to keep the wearer cooler.

Underarm mesh was introduced after customer feedback that the long sleeved shirt was too hot on breezeless summer days. Though as Scott points out, any shirt feels too hot when stuck out on the water with no wind.

‘Microtex is a great fabric. It’s actually knitted in Australia from yarns that are coming out of the US and all over the world. Out of all the meshes kicking around it is definitely, without a doubt, the best one around.’

‘We obviously pay a lot for Australian made. But you get the comfort factory and you get a guaranteed 50 plus SPF from it. And it wicks well. It’s got an antimicrobial property which tends to take away odours.’

Wicking is the ability of a fabric to absorb or draw off liquid by capillary action.

‘Next to your skin they’re great in the sun or even as a base layer going to Hobart, or something like that, under wet weather gear. They wick moisture away from your skin very, very well.’

‘They’re not actually a thermal as such; but they stay dry, and so you stay dry.’

Racing Line customer and sailor Peter Fitzroy would probably agree. In his email he wrote; ‘I get 3 to 4 seasons wear out of the gloves, which is sailing week in week out for 9 months of the year, including travelers, states and the odd national. My daughter still has her original pair, making them 5 seasons old.’

His email was titled ‘your gear works and it lasts well’.

Racing Line will be showcasing their wide array of marine products at the 19th Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, from Thursday May 24 to Sunday, May 27, 2007.

Staged at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast, the 2007 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show remains one of the largest on-water displays of boats and marine products in the Asia Pacific region.

Scott says 'This fantastic event not only gives us four days to be in support of the marine industry, but is a great way to increase our contacts with our customers - boat owners, sailing enthusiasts and water sport devotees alike.

'So be sure to look for the Racing Line stand - we will be on 'The Promenade' near the Tavern. Look forward to seeing you there!'

Have a look at the extensive range of Racing Line gear online now at http://www.racingline.com.au

Racing Line
36 Chegwyn St
Botany, NSW 2019
Australia

Phone : 02 9540 1491
Fax : 02 9540 1496

Email : sales@racingline.com.au