Here's the travel capsule I took on my recent 9 day trip along the Northumberland Strait (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada) in a 26 foot sailboat, plus the lessons I've learned. I don't know if it will be of practical use to anyone else, but I enjoy reading other travel capsules, so here goes.
The challenges:
uncertain travel times (or length of trip); uncertain weather; exposure to sun, cold, wind and rain (I stay on deck while at sea, being in-the cabin makes me seasick); limited storage space. Nights are spent on the boat (sleeps 3 comfortably) but moorings vary from fishing wharves with no running water, to town marinas with showers and access to restaurants and museums.
What I took:
6 outfits of capris paired with a sleeveless or cap sleeved top; 4 outfits of shorts and T-shirt ( thus knees or shoulder can burn, but not both on the same day!) plus long white yoga pants and a long sleeved mariniere for a cooler day. Each of these outfits was sealed in a Ziploc bag with a set of underwear. Also for layering: 3 long sleeved tops (a white linen tunic and 2 cotton sweaters), 2 pull-on pants, and3 hoodies. Padded out with a swimsuit, flannel pj's, a knit skirt, sunhat, 4 pr socks and spare undies. Also a jumbo square scarf, last-minute dollar store find, which came in very handy to protect neck from sun, ears from wind, hair from rain... and a Kenyan Kikoyi, like a heavy pareo. For shoes I had navy deck shoes (Joe Fresh brand), Sperry suede deck shoes ( not the topsider style) that I reserve for cold weather as they're hard to get into, cheap Birkenstock style sandals for beach walking,and Teva sandals sturdy enough for town walking and nice enough for church.(I usually go barefoot on deck.)
In summer I add nautical navy-and-white and some tan to my year-round palette of black, white, and red, so it was easy to match up the outfits and switch as needed.
Lessons learned:
Always bring more undies! Sitting in wet is not pleasant.
I should have ziploc'd everything--the spare pieces too. And I should buy the expensive bags, not the cheap ones that take many tries to close, so if I raid a bag for underwear I'll do it up again. (Heavy seas forced salt spray around a closed hatch, and soaked the duffel bag with the clothes in.)
Spray-on sunblock is great, but it is oil-based. My white over-layers had yellow stains at the neck and shoulders after one wearing. Thankfully they've come out, but next time I'll use lotion.
Sometimes the brand really makes a difference. The "deck shoes" slid around on a real deck (to be fair, they were bought for use on land) whereas the Tevas gripped the deck so well that my feet are now tanned in that shape. Also, I finally caved in and bought a Tilley hat (I only ever see them in touristy gift shops, never in an outfitters). I got the hemp one, off-white with a dark navy band. It looks slightly dressy as well as casual and is super comfy! cool in the heat, as well as flattering, and kept me dry and happy in the rain.
