Since I learned a few things about what to expect while living on a boat from this trip sailing the Adriatic Sea, I thought I would make a list of the top 5 must have pieces of clothing you should have if you ever go live on a boat for 7 days anywhere.
- Cotton Dresses – Cotton dresses are essential because it gets very hot in the summer. No one wants to sweat in a dress with a lining or wear a dress that is made out of some material like silk where sweat marks turn into stains. These cotton dresses will probably end up having at least 3 wears, so make sure these dresses can be worn for many different occassions. We found a Cami NYC white cotton eyelet dress on sale for $76 from $176 here.
- Denim Shorts – Denim shorts are on trend and look great in a casual setting like hanging out on the boat and also look cool when you are going to shore to explore for lunch and some shopping. When stopping in places like Hvar, the shops and restaurants are hip so you will want to look on trend.
- Button up blouse – A button up blouse is always a good option when traveling with limited space. You can wear a button up blouse with a great looking skirt or with a pair of shorts or pants. You can dress it up or dress it down. Found some on sale by Madewell.
- Cotton tees – Make sure you have 4 or 5 cotton tees for $20 from Madewell is easy to do. You will be hot and sweaty during the day when you are wandering the summer spots off the boat and you will not have a place to wash your clothes unless you dock at a marina where they do have washer and dryers. A lot of times private charters will not stop on the marina side only because it is prettier to drop anchor on the bay side and it is difficult and wastes a lot of gas to sail over to the marina side to wash clothing, so be prepared to have enough of what you need to use on your trip or be prepared to buy some things on your trip because washing your clothing off the boat is not as easy at it seems unless you know you will be docking in a marina.
- Comfortable hiking sandals – Even if you normally never wear hiking sandals in your everyday life, it is a good idea to have a pair of Tevas or some other brand of hiking sandal on this trip. Many times you will be dropping anchor in the middle of a bay and need to kayak to shore for a quick morning coffee if you do not know how to operate the tender on your own. When you get out of your kayak to tie it to the dock, you will need to get out into the water. If you are wearing Havaiana flip flops, you will likely lose one of them in the water. Definitely bring cute sandals that you can wear with your dresses and shorts, but make sure they are comfortable and going to be ok if you get them wet.
- Windbreaker – I am adding a 6th only because this was on our packing list along with flashlights, mosquitoe repellent, and seasickness bands or medicines and since these items will mostly be emailed to your from the yacht charter company you will be sailing with, I did not think these items needed a mention. However, the windbreaker was needed on our last day of sailing when a storm came in and we were all glad we brought the windbreakers or raincoats, because we raced the storm back to the marina in Split with the storm coming down behind us and on our last day in Croatia, the rain pelted Split for about 4 hours. The raincoats and windbreakers along with our Tevas became our most useful items of clothing and shoes that day and I was glad I brought them on this trip.
