The following lists are of course not entirely exhaustive, but they are useful for anyone sailing at sea for the first time.
Personal packing list for a sailing holiday
Clothing and personal gear
- Bedding, pillow and sleeping bag if not provided on board
- Boat shoes (no black soles on board, as they leave marks on the deck, and no ordinary running shoes)
- Fleece jumper and trousers
- Thermal underwear
- Warm clothing
- Beanie
- Cap with a cord to attach to your high-waisted sailing trousers or lifejacket
- Sailing suit (charter boats usually carry lifejackets and lifelines)
- Sailing gloves
- Sailing boots (no garden boots caked in mud, please)
- Slippers for the showers in the harbours
- Swimming shorts
- Sunglasses with a cord
Documents and essentials
- Passport or ID card
- Sailing CV and any previously earned sailing certificates, boating licences or CWO progress records
- Enough coins for showers, water and similar costs in the harbours
- Watch (bring an inexpensive waterproof watch for on board; no expensive timepieces, as they can snag and sometimes fall into the water)
- Toiletry bag
- Towels
- Tea towels
- Torch
- USB stick with music
- Sunscreen and lip balm
- Seasickness tablets or wristbands against seasickness
Provisions
The following are often forgotten: washing-up liquid and a washing-up brush, hand soap, kitchen roll, scouring pads, dishcloths, bin bags and toilet paper.
Make sure there is always an easy meal that can be prepared in case we arrive late in the harbour and the restaurants are closed. If we sail through the night at sea, instant meals such as noodles, soup or pasta are easy to prepare.
Drinking alcohol, as well as strong coffee, a heavy breakfast or very spicy meals, makes seasickness worse. Ginger, on the other hand, helps against seasickness. Wholemeal crackers are good if people have already become seasick and are struggling to keep their food down.
Drinking water from the tap on board is in principle possible, but in summer especially there is a risk of the legionella bacterium. Bottled drinking water is therefore always a good idea.
Bear in mind that the fridge uses a lot of power and so cannot always stay on while sailing. Never buy meat, fish or similar for the whole week, as it will not keep for long.
