Do you know this fashionable Gaastra product?

Also in the merry month of May, we give you as a Gaastra Blog reader the chance to win a great Gaastra product: And this month, we will even raffle off 3 times a fashionable item from the official Gaastra Online Shop! The question is: What’s the name of the product you see on the detail picture? Search, find and win this lovely item! Go on Search & Win touring and send the correct answer to denis@gaastraproshop.com by tuesday, the 22^nd of May midnight at the latest – with a bit of luck, you will possibly belong already next week to the 3 lucky winners, who will rejoice over this fashionable Gaastra product with the special, summerly detail. Your Gaastra Blog and Shop crew wishes ‘Best of luck’!

Capri Sailing Week, Volcano Race 2012 may 19–25, Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi

From 19–25 May, the Rolex Volcano Race 2012 sets sail within the Rolex Capri Sailing Week 2012 to its second edition in the Tyrrhenian Sea – through the Pontine Islands and around the Aeolian Islands including the active volcano of Stromboli. Organised by the International Maxi Association (IMA) in conjunction with the Yacht Club Gaeta E.V.S. and the Yacht Club Capri, the Rolex Volcano Race 2012 offshore race for monohull Maxi yachts will debut this year as a two-legged race.

Starting at the historic town Gaeta on sunday, 20 may, about twenty-two yachts will challenge at leg one with approximately 100-nautical miles to Capri. Sailing teams from eleven countries as the Sir Peter Ogden Jethou (GBR) sailing crew sponsored by Gaastra, the DSK Pioneer Investments team with Danilo Salsi (ITA), the Nilaya yacht crew (BEL) with Filip Balcaen and Bouwe Bekking as tactician as well as the Y3K wally yacht team with Claus-Peter Offen (GER), will face the altogether 400-nautical miles competing with the Greek demigo ‘Aeolus’, ‘Guardian of the winds’ of Homer’s Odyssey – the UNESCO World Heritage Aeolian Islands, where leg two is taking the fleet around, are named after him. From the magic island Capri, the crews are heading for the main event with 300-nm.: Along the active volcanic island Stromboli, the island Vulcano and Alicudi sailing back to Capri, where Rolex will host a celebration dinner and award ceremony at La Canzone del Mare, an exclusive seaside venue, on friday. Gaastra Blog wishes all teams good speed and all friends of nautical fashion a casual-elegant season with the Gaastra Capri Regatta Collection 2012!

Technical Sailing Clothing, Gaastra Pro Gear

In 1897, Douwe Gaastra established Gaastra as a sail-making company in the Dutch town Sneek setting out to make sailing faster and more efficient. This day, you’ll find this centuries-long experience from sailing pooled together in the professional Gaastra Pro Gear – sailing clothing tested by professional sailing crews under extreme sailing conditions. Whether technical sailing jackets made of high-quality, 2 or 3 layer TORAY fabrication, sailing pants or wind-and waterproof softshell-jackets as well as functional longsleeves with reflective 3M scotchlite prints: Worldwide recreational and professional sailors rely on sailing clothes by Gaastra enjoying optimal protection and comfort for all types of sailing, on all types of water and in all kinds of weather conditions.

The legendary Audi Azzurra Team, the Jethou racing yacht crew, the olympic sailing team Steven and the Dutch professional sailor Pieter-Jan Postma for example trust in the technical Gaastra sailing gear and state-of-the-art high-tech technologies as waterproof and breathable TORAY fabric, highly durable IBQ Kevlar® fabric, thermoplastic adhesive BENIM film and Riri Storm® & Riri Aqua® zippers keeping you dry and comfortable. Gear up now comfortably for the sailing season 2012 in the new Pro Gear Shop with the latest Gaastra Sailing Clothing!

Hamburg Port Anniversary 2012 running from 11 to 13 May

In a few days, the 823rd Hamburg Port Anniversary will clap on all the sails: Also this year, more than a million visitors will attend the world’s greatest port festival with its manifold programme around the famous Hamburg Landing Stages (Landungsbrücken). Majestic tall ships, cruise vessels, modern naval units, magnificent heritage ships and cruising ships as the ‘MSC Lirica’, ‘MS Deutschland’ and naturally the citizens’ of Hamburg darling ‘Queen Mary 2′, arriving on sunday, will be on spot at the maritime Hamburg event 2012. A special highlight at Hamburg’s Port Anniversary 2012 this year: The world premiere and christening of the brand-new AIDAmar on saturday evening — it will be the ninth member of the AIDA fleet.

Altogether, about 300 vessels will be involved at the 3-day event turning the Port of Hamburg into a complete sea of masts and especially the windjammers will be high in number this year. Among them as premieres, the 65 metres long three-masted bark ‘Alexander von Humboldt II’ and the 115 metres long four-masted ship ‘Star Flyer’. Visting Hamburg as well, the imposing four-masted ship ‘Kruzenshtern’ and the sail training ship ‘Dar Mlodziezy’ with her 26 sails. Don’t miss the Open Ship opportunities neither and the fascinating tugboat Ballet on saturday! The complete Hamburg Port Anniversary 2012 Programme, the Hamburg Live Webcam and the largest assortment of nautical Gaastra Fashion for the Hamburg runway you’ll find here. Ahoy!

Gaastra Men’s Fashion 2012, Heiko Kanzler, www.heikokanzler.de

What are the summer fashion highlights 2012? How do the season’s trend colours look? And which accessories are the fashion must haves 2012? At our Gaastra Blog, we keep all friends of nautical fashion steadily updated on the latest Gaastra collections, presenting fashion styling tips, exclusive previews and also photographs of Gaastra shootings. Of course, we are enthusiastic about Gaastra: But what does the wide world of lifestyle and fashion bloggers say about the current Gaastra Fashion Trends?

Get your inspiration from our compiled ‘Blogger Best of’! Get on Marita’s Dolce Vita deck with her Gaastra women’s seasons’ highlights, come to know why Gabriela of ‘Netzgeflüster’ blog is thinking of packing bags or by which women accessorie fashion piratess Vreni is thrilled. Gaastra men as well can take their cue from the blogosphere by following the fresh Men’s Fashion 2012 airstream by Heiko Kanzler, who’s appreciating as a passionate drop-top driver Gaastra’s functional fashion features. Or learn, what the Dutch artist Daan Roukens is thinking about Gaastra and why he’s having a fancy for the Gaastra boat shoes Mast. With pleasure, Gaastra loves to talk with fashion bloggers personally as well: So the Dutch blogger Juan reported on his Gaastra Brand Experience at the Amsterdam flagship store in 2012. Enjoy discovering!                                    

Gaastra Women’s Fashion 2012, Netzgefluester Blog, www.netzgeflüster.net

Gaastra Women’s Fashion 2012, www.myshoppingbag.de

Jethou sailing crew, Gaastra Pro Gear equipped

The small channel island Jethou is situated east of the Bailiwick of Guernsey: The Judel/Vrolijk designed carbon racing yacht built by Green Marine in Lymington (Vitters Shipyard Holland Yachting Group) is named after it. Curiously enough, the sailing crew around Sir Peter Ogden of the IRC 60 Jethou with Stuart Branson, Brad Butterworth and Ian Budgen among others on deck, is bigger than the number of inhabitants on the 44 acres large island Jethou – it amounted to three in 1996 last. Currently, it is leased by Sir Peter Ogden, professional sailor and also known as the founder of the IT company Computacenter.

The 62-feet yacht Jethou was purely build for breath-taking speed: The ultra light carbon fiber hull and the complete carbon lacquering from hull, deck, interior to deckhead, pave the way for constant high positions at international sailing regattas of the state-of-the-art racing yacht. Quite recently in April, the Gaastra sponsored Jethou sailing crew at PalmaVela 2012 off Mallorca won the first prize! Also at the Copa del Rey, the Giraglia Rolex Cup or at Les Voiles de St. Tropez, the Jethou team is sailing completely equipped with Gaastra Pro Gear technical sailing clothing. Apropos, the black beauty was pronounced ‘Best looking IRC yacht of the year’ by Seahorse magazine. Step on board with Gaastra on deck of the Jethou and you’ll catch why!

Queen’s Day clothing by Gaastra

There’s no monday blues in the Netherlands today: For the whole country is shining in the Royal House colour Orange and celebrates the 74^th birthday of Queen Beatrix at countless parades, public festivals and concerts! The Dutch celebrate this royal birthday always on the 30^th of april, although it is the official birthday of Queen Juliana, the mother of Queen Beatrix. For the real birthday of Queen Beatrix is in winter on the 31^st of january, she officially celebrates it on this temperature friendly spring day.

The Queen of the Netherlands visits this year the cities Rhenen and Veenendaal in the province Utrecht and Gaastra is feasting as well – naturally in orange! Discover the orange Gaastra Queen’s Day Clothing for Men, Women and Children with a large assortment of orange polo shirts and t-shirts, orange blouses and shirts, valuable, orange sweaters with elbow patches and trendy, orange boat shoes and swim trunks. In 2010, Queen Beatrix has visited Gaastra’s hometown Sneek last – in celebration of the 75^th jubilee of the Sneekweek sailing regatta. Be always prepared for every royal visit: With Gaastra! Our Gaastra Blog and Shop Crew congratulates Queen Beatrix and wishes everybody a very orange monday and a great start in may! 

Queen’s Day Ams­ter­dam: Orange Craze! © NBTC

Antigua Sportswear Collection 2012 by Gaastra

From 29 April to 4 May, the Antigua Sailing Week 2012 is taking place: The oldest Caribbean sailing regatta off the largest British Leeward Island Antigua, gathers sailors from all over the world and yachts ranging in size from 24 to over 100 feet at the historic Antigua English and Falmouth Harbour also this year. To the tradition-rich Antigua Sailing Week, that marks the end of the Caribbean regatta season, about 2000 visitors from abroad are expected. About 115 yachts are registered for the races. The monohulls set up the biggest sailing class with about 76 participants this year, amongst them also state-of-the-art yachts as Peter Harrison’s 115-foot Farr-designed ketch Sojana with Marc Fitzgerald as Sojana’s skipper. Already on friday, the fast cruising yacht challenged at the ‘Guadeloupe to Antigua Race’ organized by the Antigua Yacht Club and yesterday on saturday, 28 april, at the re-introduced 50-mile ‘Yachting World Round Antigua Race’!

For five racing days running from sunday to friday, wednesday will be the lay day, the international teams will face the Caribbean trade winds. On shore, locals and visitors are partying from day into the evening the whole week with steel bands, barbecues and Caribbean rum punches. As a tribute to the dreamlike Caribbean vacation island Antigua and inspired by its special sailing conditions with its never-ending shades of sea, Gaastra presents its Antigua Sportswear Collection 2012 for Men, Women and Kidsthis season. In bold shades of blue as navy, atlantic blue and discovery as well as in a passionate scarlet red, the Antigua sailing adventure kicks off!                                                                                                   

Antigua Gaastra Fleecejacket Joy, Grey, Women

Antigua Gaastra Polo shirt Jolly Roger, Red, Women

Antigua Gaastra Fleecejacket Key West, Atlantic Blue, Men

Antigua Gaastra Shirt Kasey, White, Men

Tour de Belle-Ile 2012, Gaastra T-Shirt Trinite, Atlantic Blue

From Provence to Bretagne: Today is the last regatta day at the Semaine Olympique Francaise 2012 off the Southern French Hyeres. Tomorrow, 28^th of april 2012, the next big France sailing regatta will take place. The Tour de Belle-Ile 2012! To the fifth edition of the Brittany sailing regatta leading around the biggest Bretagne isle, the Belle-Ile, Gaastra Sportswear is the official sponsor for the first time this year and proud to present the first Gaastra Tour de Belle-Ile Sportswear 2012.

The collection for men and women offers Gaastra T-shirts and longsleeves made of high-quality cotton fabric with stretch for comfortable wearing and a good fit. Decorated with valuable details and huge Tour de Belle-Ile print at back, this special Gaastra Sportswear freshens every sailor’s heart with atlantic blue colours. Additionally, Gaastra has created particularly nautical chic Tour de Belle-Ile 2012 Polo Shirts: Made of high-quality cotton piqué with stretch and equipped with valuable Tour de Belle-Ile embroidery and applications at front, back and at the sleeves. Set sail now to the official Gaastra Online Shop while stocks last!

More Tour de Belle-Ile backgrounds? Here!

Portofino Italy, Ligurian Coast, Andi Buchner, GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2

The rows of houses picturesquely paint the small but very mighty Portofino harbour in pastel colors as yellow, ochre and rose, harboured in the Golfo del Tigullio bay the clear blue water hugs the white luxury yachts and with Mediterranean lifestyle, Liguria holidaymakers relax highly fashionable in the former Italian fishing village: Portofino is located just 36 km east of city Genoa, the capital of Liguria, and belongs to the Riviera di Levante, the eastern part of the Italian Riviera stretching from Genoa to the Tuscany. Estimated by Italy luxury holidaymakers, yachtsmen and Liguria sailing enthusiasts, Portofino’s guest list is long: Here, Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, Richard Burton, Frank Sinatra and many more enjoyed the Dolce dolce Vita in the ‘50s and ‘60s and till this today, the fishermen’s village is the meeting place for everybody who’s anybody. In may, three Italy sailing regattas at Portofino organized by the Yacht Club Italiano will be held: The Pirelli Regatta 2012, Portofino Rolex Trophy 2012 und Trofeo Siad Bombola d’Oro 2012 will make the Marina di Portofino (Webcam) shine even more brightly.

The Italian Riviera pearl of beauty is the perfect place to relax but also to discover the smiling landscape of the same-named Portofino peninsula with its natural preserve Portofino (Parco naturale regionale di Portofino). Above the jet set bay, the famous Castello Brown from the sixteenth century is enthroned – the most noted Portofino sight offers a beautiful panorama view of the bay. To be recommended as well, a Portofino boat trip to San Fruttuoso bay, romantic Camogli or Santa Margherita. Fashionable Riviera Looks you’ll find at Gaastra this season – discover the summerly-casual Portofino Classic Collection 2012 in peculiar pastel colours!