It's always a trade off to bring "stuff" or go light. Everything we pack I try to think if we can make due without or if I can just as easily pick it up in the ilons.
Things we now bring that noone else has mentioned:
- a couple of large mesh laundry bags. Huh you say? We stick the swim fins/goggles/etc in the bags and throw them down in the aft storage locker. It's much easier to get a bag of stuff out vs. standing on your head in a six feet deep hole trying to snag that last swim fin. Or having all that junk loose in the cabin or cockpit and stepping all over it.
- A 12 volt light that I can plug in at the cockpit table and hang from the bimini top. It gets dark and it's nice to have some light. Some boats will have a light for you. Some will not. It's small and it's worth bringing just in case.
- Water tight storage box. Small made out of transparent plastic. To put your small camera plus wallet in when you pack your shore bag - just in case it goes for a swim...
- Spare pair of sun glasses and reading glasses. Just in case you break a pair.
- We make a bit of food on board. So we bring four or five steel wool pads to clean up with. A lot easier to clean up that frying pan vs. a sponge with soap! And yes - I'm sure we could find that in the ilons as well but seems like we forget and it's small and light weight so why not (we pack a couple of duffel bags with stuff for the five of us).
- always pack a good attitude. Things will happen that you don't expect. Sometimes that might even be stressful or make you angry or sad - like when I stuck my camera in the plastic zip lock baggy and then later stuck the boat keys into the same baggy. No problem you say? Well I had swam ashore with those keys and the "float" on the key chain was no float at all - it was full of water. So I marinated my camera in the water in the plastic bag. Smart one!
- This year I'm also bringing a hand held depth finder. This is probably over the top but.... It drives me nuts that I don't really know if the depth finder on the boat has been calibrated or if someone has decided that a one or two foot safety factor should be added. I think that's nonsense - the depth is the depth. So yes... it's over the top but I'm bringing my own hand held depth finder. Just because I can and it's my vacation so I'm bringing what I want. So there.
