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Clothing
Exactly what clothing to take will obviously depend on your personal preferences and the season. We lived in swimmers and casual clothes for most of the trip. You will need nicer clothes for the restaurants if you go ashore for dinner. Even though you’re in the subtropics, being on the water means it still can get cold at night, so you’ll need some warm layers too. Remember there probably won’t be anywhere for you to stow a large suitcase so it’s best to pack as lightly as possible.
While walking around on the deck of your yacht, you’ll need to wear shoes with a light coloured sole so you don’t leave marks.
Take a rain jacket in case of wet weather and for an extra layer of protection against the wind.
Sailing gear
Gloves
If you plan to do any sailing, wearing gloves will protect your hands from blisters and rope burn. Sorry, line burn. There are no ropes on a boat. (If you’re new to sailing, every rope on a boat has a specific name, like halyard or main sheet or gib sheet, etc. If you call them ropes, you can bet on getting strange looks from any purist sailors. And possibly a lecture!)
We got our gloves from Whitworths for around $40 (AUD).
Hat with a strap OR a hat strap
If your hat does not have a strap, you should buy a strap to stop it from blowing off your head when the wind picks up. We bought ours from Whitworths for around $10 (AUD).
Sunglasses strap
A sunglasses strap will stop you from losing your sunglasses into the water as you move about the vessel. I bought mine from Whitworths for around $10 (AUD). Captain Dan has made several offerings of sunglasses to Poseidon now because he has not found a sunglasses strap he likes.
Ear plugs
We had several nights of lying awake listening to the mooring buoy periodically bang against the side of the hull. Oh how I wished I had taken ear plugs!
Swimming Stuff
Swimmers
Rash vest to protect your skin from sunburn without needing to coat yourself in sunscreen every time you go swimming. The sun can burn your skin much more quickly in Australia than in other parts of the world – learn more here.
Reef shoes to protect your feet from getting scratched by broken coral, shells, etc.
Snorkel and mask
Pool noodles to help you stay afloat
Many charter companies provide snorkels, masks and pool noodles free of charge or for a small extra fee. Check before you go so you don’t take up valuable real estate in your luggage with a bulky snorkel and mask.
For the boat
Lantern
We took our own rechargeable lantern and we were so glad we did. The lights on the back deck of the yacht were not very powerful so we used the lantern every evening. We also had issues with the boat battery not holding its charge, so having the lantern meant we could still have a light when we had turned the power off for the boat to save the batteries.
We bought our lantern at Anaconda.
Head torch
To give you more light as you move about in the evening and at night. Especially useful if you need to visit the bathroom during the night or if one person (Captain Dan) needs to check on another person (me) who is asleep on deck after getting seasick. Look for one with a red setting that won’t impair your night vision.
Dry bag
For keeping cameras and towels dry when going out in the dinghy.
Mosquito coils to keep the mosquitos away. These burn for around 8 hours so we set ours up once we were at anchor or moored in the afternoon. One coil was enough to last until bedtime each evening.
Entertainment
Obviously this will depend on what you like to do and who you are travelling with. We took a USB drive with some movies and TV shows which we plugged in to the TV on the yacht. We also took some trivia games, a pack of cards and Uno. We only used the Uno cards but then we had very good weather for the whole trip which meant we were busy swimming and snorkelling each day.
Photography gear
Camera and spare batteries
I took my trusty Olympus eM10 mark 2 camera body.
I took my wide angle Olympus M.Zuiko f2.8 7 to 14mm lens to take photos of the scenery
I took my long Olympus M.Zuiko f2.8 40 to 150mm lens for the photos of the wildlife
I also took my waterproof camera & charger. I have the Nikon Coolpix AW130. It has lasted really well since I bought it around 6 years ago. Even if you’re not particularly keen on underwater photography, it can be very handy to have something rugged and waterproof you don’t have to stress about when you are near the water.
Medical
These are the standard medical supplies I always take with me on a trip.
- Sunscreen
- Disinfectant for cuts
- Seasickness tablets
- Bandaids
- Immodium
- Pain killers
- Throat lozenges
Your yacht should also have a first aid kit, so you don’t need to go overboard packing medical supplies.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!
