Naturally sailing the Grotty Yachty Flags

by Sandra Clark on 25 Aug 2010 Thanks to an exciting move by a North Queensland sailing family, a new line of clothing has washed onto our shores and it has thrown hefty resort price tags overboard. Surfers have had access to a range of quality and stylish clothing for years, but what about their humble cousins – sailors, yachties and other sea lovers? Grotty Yachty was created for sailors by sailors to allow them to express their unique personalities and humour.

'While there are a number of brands catering to the sailing fraternity, we felt there was a gap in the market for street wear that had a relevance for sailors, was a wee bit tongue-in-cheek, yet didn't cost a proverbial sheep station to wear,' Sandy Clark explains, who fabricated the brand with her partner Kelvin. In irreverent Australian fashion, Sandy and Kelvin launched their label under the name Grotty Yachty, a usually affectionate term to describe sailors. We are working hard to give grotty yachties a good look to go with their hard earned pride. Its less about the grot and more about the yacht!

'We are genuine yachties who just want to put affordable quality clothing on peoples backs that they can identify with and not having to spend a lot of money, hence the price of $30 per T.Shirt is very reasonable.' explains Sandy. 'We drew upon our own experience for suitable styles and fabrics and sourced samples which we wore and then washed a few times before giving them the okay. We have singlet tops, t-shirts and polo shirts in the range now and hope to add cargo pants and sun smart shirts in the near future.' says Kelvin.

Sandy and Kelvin are now dropping anchor in Airlie Beach to develop the innovative range. Although garments are manufactured overseas, Grotty Yachty has elected to have all the design and printing work completed by Australian businesses so that others may benefit from this exciting venture without compromise in quality. They are keeping the operation as local to North Queensland as possible by using a screen printer in Airlie Beach for the t-shirts and a local embroiderer will create the polo range for the ‘After 5' look.

The lifestyle of the cruising sailor is but a pipe dream for many and an idyllic reality for some. Both veteran sailors, Kelvin and Sandy met on the high seas and have been cruising together for a number of years on their Roberts 44 offshore sloop Naturally. On her sturdy deck they have sailed to remote Australian destinations like the Kimberleys and are planning a trip to explore the isolated coastline and islands of the Northern Pacific. The vast improvement in telecommunications in the last decade has made web based businesses very viable and attractive to those on the move. The cruising community is a diverse but close-knit one with intertwined networks and Sandy and Kelvin hope that this will help to make their fledgling business www.grottyyachty.com.au a success.

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