Clean Sweep For Quokka
Date Posted: 18/07/2011
With eight bullets in eight races, Peter Rutter and his Gill Race Team crew on the Grand Soleil 43, Quokka 8, comfortably secured the 2011 IRC UK National Championship title as well as victory within IRC 2.
"I am incredibly proud - my crew have really worked their hearts out," said Rutter. "I have never been able to win this regatta before and I said to them 'we have to nail it this time' and they have worked their cotton socks off to achieve it. So I am very very pleased and it is nice to have got this one finally put away. The boat is going well, the sails are good and the crew work has been stunning."
Quokka 1st British Boat in IRC National Championships
Date Posted: 10/06/2009
Peter Rutter and his crew on the Gill supported ‘Quokka’ were first British boat in the UK IRC Nationals. However after a closely fought battle they lost the overall event win to the Irish Mills 39 ‘Mariners Cove’. Scoring 3 race wins and 5 seconds Quokka was winning the event up until the final lap of the last race but as the wind died they were unable to keep up with the larger ‘Mariners Cove’ who sailed a superb event to record 5 firsts and 3 seconds.
Steve Norbury, tactician on Quokka explained ‘we spend every race battling with Mariners Cove, swapping first and second place on almost every leg. Both boats are at the top of their game and we sailed an impeccable series. Against any other boat we would have won but with Mariners Cove we have met our match. They sailed even better than we did and deserved the win. We are now looking forward to a re-match when we travel to Ireland next month!”
Conditions for the event ranged from 5 knots with blazing sunshine to 20 knots and rain. The Quokka crew were wearing KB racer trousers with the new Crosswind jackets. These Jackets are made from a thermal material but are also waterproof and windproof. They proved ideal in the very changeable conditions keeping the crew warm and dry in the wet but preventing over heating in the sun.
Quokka continues to dominate class in RORC offshore series
Date Posted: 01/06/2009
The Gill race team Corby 36 ‘Quokka’ claimed her second victory in Class 1 of the RORC offshore series. Having previously won her class in the Cervantes Trophy in early May, she has now claimed the Eddystone race victory beating her nearest rival by over 90 minutes!
Quokka was part of last years winning Commodores Cup team and Gill has been part of her success since she was launched in March 2008. The crew are fully equipped with KB Racer smocks and trousers which they use for both inshore and offshore racing. Helmsman Martin Moody commented “Even when racing offshore the Quokka crew need to be mobile and have maximum freedom of movement. A key part of this race win was our constant sail changes to optimise our performance in very changeable conditions. We made 5 sail changes just in the last hour of race! The KB Racer kit keeps the crew warm and dry without adding the bulk associated with competitor’s products. In my view it is the best kit available for inshore and short offshore racing”.
Quokka’s next event is the UK IRC Nationals in June.
