By Kensie Peace
Let me preface this article by saying that I am not the girliest of gals, but I definitely enjoy a pedicure and spend way too much money on laser facials. I only wear makeup and do my hair on special occasions, but that is mainly because I am horrible at doing both of them. Maybe that is relatable to you, but perhaps it is not. Either way, I hope that by sharing my perspective and lessons learned, you will have a better idea of what to expect when you move onto a sailboat for the first time.
We were living in Orange County, California while our boat was waiting out hurricane season on the hard in Turks & Caicos. We had two opportunities to bring supplies to the boat: (1) when we visited Turks in May to do wedding prep, and (2) when we officially moved to the boat in November. I am going to keep this article solely to what I brought as my personal items. I’m sure Roman will have another article about the boat gear and supplies, so do not expect any of that here.
The only personal items I brought in May were tampons. I had finally found a brand of organic tampons that I loved, and I doubted that the Caribbean islands would have such a specific brand stocked. Since we planned to be on the boat for six months, I planned for 6 cycles. I bought 6 boxes of 48 mixed tampon sizes and two packs of pad panty liners. If I needed more, my mom could bring a box or two when she visited us in March. We kept everything in an airtight box for the rest of the hurricane season, and we came back to dry and undamaged tampons in November. Yay!
When it was finally time to leave in November, I ended up packing more makeup products than I expected. Since we were getting married, I thought I would try out the makeup thing and ended up spending more money than I needed to at Sephora. So, makeup-wise, I brought a tinted face serum, two color eye-shadow pallet, cream bronzer, a couple of lip glosses, makeup remover balm, mascara, a a 3-in-1 highlighter, eyeshadow and lipgloss.
The only product I have used this entire time is the 3-in-1 stick. I sent back the tinted face serum with my mom after the wedding since my skin color had darkened so much in the two weeks we had been on the island that the shade was no longer a match. We spend so much time either in the water or sweating from the heat and humidity that the thought of putting on any makeup seems suffocating, and a waste of time. I thought I might change my mind on New Years and want to do myself up a little more, but I didn’t. For now, my makeup sits in a bag shoved in the back of the compartment behind a mirror.
There are other products that I use almost every day and am glad to have packed. I have an exfoliator cleanser that I try to use when I rinse off in the shower or before bed if I feel like I have sweat or sunscreen caked into my skin. I have zinc sunscreen that I love and try to put on every day in the morning. At night, I alternate between using a vitamin c serum or a tranexamic serum, which are both apparently supposed to help with sun damage. I’m not sure if either is working, but since I already had sun damage before this trip, I figured it was worth the investment.
Roman and I also both use the same deodorant, which helps a lot. We switched to natural deodorant during Covid, and we found a brand that smells nice and seems to do the trick. I’m a smelly person, so I put deodorant on at least three times a day – when I wake up, after I rinse off post-workout, and before bed. We brought 5 deodorants because, much like my tampons, we didn’t expect a specific natural deodorant to be available in the Caribbean.
We also brought two big bottles each of reef-friendly shampoo/body wash and leave-in conditioner. I was not extremely excited about this plan ahead of time since I had spent a lot of effort into making my hair healthy before the trip and I know good products are worth the money. Using the same product for body wash and shampoo seemed weird to me, but the leave-in conditioner concept was a bit easier to grasp. After about two weeks of using the products, I was not impressed with the shampoo situation. My hair still looked dirty after a wash, and it felt coarse and gross.
I asked my mom to bring me new products when she came for the wedding, which I have only used when I shower in public washrooms in marinas. My sister also brought me some spray bottles of detangler and leave-in conditioner that I use every time after a wash. Maybe I should have given the first products more time, but I can notice such a difference when I use the products my family brought me. If I would do it again, I would test the shampoo and conditioner to make sure I like them before buying huge bottles. Finally, on the topic of hair care, I have a small wet-dry brush that does not take up a lot of space or damage my hair when I use it.
I had been doing laser hair removal for the past two years (which I HIGHLY recommend), but I still wanted to bring some grooming products since laser hair removal is not perfect, especially if you take six-month breaks. I brought a pack of three of the plastic face-shaving tools that you can get from any drug store. These tools are great for cleaning up your eyebrows and any hair on your face, especially if tweezing or waxing makes you break out. I forgot to bring an actual razor, which I regret so much. The Turks & Caicos grocery store only had one pack of the cheapest, dull razors ever. I hope you do not make this same mistake!
I brought my electric toothbrush because I love how it makes my teeth feel compared to other brands or non-electric brushes. We brought a huge pack of dental floss, three packs of fluoride-free toothpaste, and one whitening serum. I wish I had brought more whitening serum since I don’t think that is a hot commodity in the Caribbean. The little pack of non-toxic whitening strips I had melted into plastic strip they were attached to, making them unusable. The previous owner left a few containers of mouthwash because apparently, it is hard to find on most islands. We haven’t had to buy any yet even though we both use it twice every day.
What clothing you bring really depends on your style, but I will share what I did. We packed everything in travel cubes. I packed a lot of athleisure clothing that had built-in bras or underwear liners. Most of my dresses are workout dresses, but I have been wishing for more easy cover-ups that do not have tight shorts or bras built in. I also feel that I could have brought more lose fitting, cozy shorts. Otherwise, having a lot of clothing made from athletic material is great because you spend so much time moving and sweating. I’ve probably worn a regular t-shirt twice. I’m either in a bathing suit top or a workout tank top that does not require a bra.
Also, I had significantly less room for clothing on our boat compared to my old closet, so I had to be very picky in what I brought. I stuck to a lot of basics and stayed away from big and bold patterns. I chose items that could match a lot of things and could wear several times without feeling like I was outfit-repeating.
On the topic of clothing, I do want to mention that living on a sailboat means fewer laundry opportunities. I used to wash anything that I felt I even got a drop of sweat on, but now I wear the same pieces of clothing multiple times before throwing it in the laundry (not underwear… gross). You really get a newfound idea of what constitutes “dirty” while living aboard.
Finally, if you are sailing in the Caribbean like we are, you will likely be spending most of your days in a bathing suit. A lot of the time, this bathing suit you are wearing will likely be wet. You probably know where I am going with this. I learned early in the trip that wearing a wet bathing suit multiple days in a row, especially under jean shorts or other tight materials, can lead to some female issues. I highly recommend that you ask your doctor ahead of time for prescriptions that can treat some of these uncomfortable diagnoses. I’m now in the habit of taking off a bathing suit as soon as I know I won’t be going in the water for some time, but sometimes you are in a position where you cannot do so. Keep these things in mind when you are planning your medicine packs and first-aid kits. Even if you think this will not happen to you, it is always better to be safe.
Here’s a summary of what I would and wouldn’t recommend packing:
Pack:
- If you wear makeup, multi-function products that you can use for more than one area.
- Any unique, specialized product you rely on (deodorant, tampons, toothbrush, teeth whitening serum).
- Serums to help with sun exposure.
- Exfoliating facewash.
- Zinc sunscreen.
- Waterproof products.
- Tried and tested shampoo and conditioner.
- Small, wet-dry hair brush.
- Razors.
- Reef-friendly products.
- A mixture of athletic and loose-fitting, cozy clothing.
- Neutral and basic clothing.
- Female-related prescriptions and medication.
Don’t Pack
- Makeup with a specific shade if you expect to become tanner.
- Products you don’t use on a daily or weekly basis.
- Products that melt in warm areas.
- Clothes with big patterns or prints.
If you are interested in any of the specific products I use, feel free to send us a direct message on Instagram to @apres_sail. I’m always interested in hearing what has worked well for other women, so feel free to share your thoughts there as well!
