Sailing trip packing list: take less, forget nothing
If you are packing for a boat for the first time instead of a hotel, you take too much of the wrong things and forget the inconspicuous ones. The best example is a USB-A cable. Most yachts have no USB-C socket, and the 230-volt sockets only work with shore power in harbour. If all you have is a wall charger, you charge nothing at anchor.
So the rule for a sailing trip packing list is: less is more, and the list is split. The personal list tells everyone what goes in their own bag. The shared list collects what the crew only needs once. On top come a few things you only need on a boat, and a few habits that make life on board easier.
In short:
- Less is more: on board a UV shirt and shorts are enough, plus one outfit for the journey and one for going out.
- Two lists: a personal one for every bag, a shared one that is divided up among the crew.
- Two big power banks and a USB-A cable, because the socket only works with shore power.
- Bring long-life provisions such as oats and spreads in your luggage.
To take along
What do I need to pack for a sailing trip?
A soft holdall with little clothing in layers, two sets of swimwear, a fleece, two power banks with a USB-A cable and some long-life provisions. Everything the crew only needs once, such as the first-aid kit, washing-up liquid and a speaker, is shared out beforehand so it comes on board exactly once.
The personal packing list as a PDF has 54 items, the shared one 24. Both are at the top to take along. The sections below do not go through every item, but through the decisions where packing goes wrong.
A bag instead of a suitcase
A hard-shell suitcase is awkward and bulky on board. It fits in no cockpit locker, cannot be folded and is in the way in the cabin all week. A soft holdall disappears empty under the bunk.
The bag should still have wheels. The way from the airport to the marina and the way inside the marina to the pontoon are often longer than you think, and a full bag on the shoulder gets heavy along the way. A holdall with wheels does both: soft enough for the cabin, rollable for the way there.
Clothing: less is more
On board you wear the same thing all day: a UV shirt and shorts. Add two sets of swimwear so one is always dry, and a fleece, because even in summer it gets cool on the water in the evening. Daily life on board needs no more.
The typical mistake is going ashore. People pack for the evenings in harbour as if for a city break, and half of it stays in the bag all week. One outfit for the journey there and back and one that is smart enough for a restaurant is enough. Everything else takes up space the cabin does not have.
Tech and small stuff
Power is scarce on a boat. The 230-volt sockets usually only work with shore power in harbour. At anchor or on a mooring buoy, only what comes from the power bank or the 12-volt socket charges anything.
That is why two big power banks belong in the bag, not one small one. And a USB-A cable: the 12-volt sockets on board usually have USB-A ports, not USB-C. If all you have is a wall charger and a USB-C cable, you have a dead phone at anchor.
The shared packing list
Some things the crew only needs once: the first-aid kit, galley items such as washing-up liquid and cloths, clothes pegs, toilet paper, hand soap, a speaker and a waterproof dry bag for the dinghy ride. These items are shared out among the crew before the trip so that each one comes on board exactly once.
What happens if you do not: on the first evening dinghy ride to the restaurant, it turned out everyone had brought their own dry bag. Six dry bags in the dinghy, one would have done. With the clothes pegs and the toilet paper it is the opposite, nobody packed them because everyone counted on someone else.
Bring provisions in your luggage
If there is still room in the bag, bring part of the provisions from home. Long-life things such as oats, pesto or spreads survive the journey, weigh little and are worth their weight in gold on the first morning on board.
The reason is the marina supermarket. Basics such as spreads, muesli or snacks cost many times more there, or are not available at all. The big shop for the trip itself belongs on the provisions list, which sits alongside route, crew and safety briefing in the checklist for planning a sailing trip.