Best Christmas gifts for sailors: ideas from 50,000+ nautical miles

Updated November 2026.

Gift season and sailing life are a funny combination. Consumerism is not something we as ocean lovers support. You ‘only' need to dive below the surface, sail or catch a surfwave and the impact of our consumption doesn't go unseen, in the form of (micro)plastics.

That said, the right piece of kit can carry someone towards their ocean dream. A smart gear choice goes a long way aboard. So here is my attempt at a nature-minded gift list for the sailor in your life. Most of it I have used, worn out or restocked myself across 50,000+ nautical miles, five Atlantic crossings and 100+ boats. I only picked things that earn their place aboard. It's about buying less and choosing better.

Table of Contents

• What makes a good gift for a sailor?
• A Garmin inReach is the best present for a mum or dad
• The Ocean Nomads community as a gift
• Small Christmas gifts and stocking fillers for sailors
• Mid-range gifts for sailors
• Bigger gifts for boat owners and skippers
• Sailing books for the long passages
• Gifts for someone who wants to sail across an ocean
• Eco gifts for the galley
• The best things are not things
• FAQ: best gifts for sailors
  • What is the best gift for a sailor?
  • What is a good gift for a sailor who has everything?
  • What is a good gift for someone sailing across the Atlantic?
  • What are good small gifts for sailors?
  • What are good Christmas gifts for sailors?
  • What gift should I avoid giving a sailor?
  • Wild at heart? Let's be friends.

What makes a good gift for a sailor?

Boats are small, wet and salty. That rules out most gifts before you start. The good ones share four qualities:

• It's small and light. Every locker is already full. A gift that takes no space gets kept. A bulky one ends up in a marina free-box.
• It's salt-proof. Salt water eats zips, electronics and cheap fabric. So quality beats quantity aboard.
• It needs little power. Electricity is precious on a boat. Things that need no charging, or charge from USB, are best.
• It's kind to the ocean. Whatever you use on deck ends up in the water. At sea, reef-safe and plastic-free matter most.

A Garmin inReach is the best present for a mum or dad

The best present for a mum or dad to give is the Garmin inReach. Go for the Mini 2 or the newer Mini 3 Plus. This way you can sleep at night.

It's an investment. But it's probably the best investment I ever made. I'm still alive :)

I know numerous people who had to use it. It literally saved their lives. Some of them are in the Ocean Nomads community. So that's pretty amazing.

It sends messages and an SOS by satellite from anywhere on the planet. The people at home can follow the boat on a map. I've carried an inReach for eight years. Here's my full review, tested on trail, sea and van.

The Ocean Nomads community as a gift

Maybe the best gift to give a sailor is a subscription to the Ocean Nomads community. It's the sailing community I founded. It's also a support network. And maybe they wouldn't give it to themselves.

Do you feel your friend or daughter is still a bit lonely out there? My mum sometimes feels that about me. But there's a whole tribe of us out there. We're connecting and sharing and supporting each other.

As a friend or family member you get peace of mind too. Ocean Nomads is a community for people who want to live a little wilder, explore a little further, and do it with good people.

Small Christmas gifts and stocking fillers for sailors

Each of these makes a lovely stocking filler for Christmas. They are small and light. They get used every day on a boat.

• A water bottle with a clip stays on board. On a heeling deck a bottle without a clip goes straight overboard. One carabiner hooks it to the lifelines, the bunk or the daypack ashore. Here are my favourite plastic-free bottles.
• A hat leash saves a hat a week in the trade winds. It's also the cheapest gift on this list.
• The Decathlon Moonlight head torch is really good. Its red light keeps your night vision on watch. After sunset it lives around every sailor's neck. Skip the super-light ones. Their battery drains fast.
• Sailing gloves are a gift I never thought I needed. Then I caught my finger in the winch.
• A waterproof dry bag keeps the phone, laptop and camera safe. One wave through an open hatch is enough. Sea to Summit makes good ones. A waterproof day backpack is on my crew packing list as well. Dinghy rides ashore are rarely dry.
• A pocket knife with a partly serrated blade cuts a line in one go. Every sailor should have one within reach on deck.
• A good thermos keeps your tea hot in the cockpit through a 3am watch. Hot drinks at night make the long watches so much nicer.
• A CuloClean portable bidet is tiny and fits any bottle. It saves toilet paper on a boat where every flush counts.
• Ohm reef-safe sunscreen is my favourite sunscreen. On a boat you put it on all day long. And it all washes into the sea. That's why I only use reef-safe.
• Merino wool socks keep you warm on cold night watches, even in the tropics. Wool stays warm when damp and doesn't smell after a week. And we always need socks.
• A nice woollen beanie is also very nice, right? It gets cold on deck at night.
• Sunski sunglasses are polarised and made from recycled plastic. Losing a pair overboard happens to every sailor. With these it isn't a tragedy.
• A titanium spork sounds like a silly gift. But you use it three times a day, for years.

Mid-range gifts for sailors

• A Katadyn BeFree water filter gives you clean drinking water on any boat and any island. And you never haul plastic bottles down the dock again.
• A sun hoody protects you better than sunscreen on a long passage. It's light and dries fast. The hood fits under a cap too.
• A Kobo e-reader holds a whole library in 170 grams. The battery lasts for weeks and you can read it in full sun. On a crossing there's so much time to read. Load it with a few sailing books before you wrap it. I use the Kobo myself. And I love it. Really, really love it.
• Sea to Summit packing cells and dry bags keep a shared cabin organised. On a boat you live out of one bag.
• Merino leggings and a top make an amazing present. I wear an Icebreaker legging and crew shirt. I literally wear them probably one third of the year. They're warm, they don't smell and they go weeks between washes. It's very expensive. But it's so worth it.

Bigger gifts for boat owners and skippers

• A nice waterproof sailing jacket is a really nice present. It's a little bit personal. So it's good to bring that person along when you buy it. If they don't only sail, I recommend the Patagonia 3L jacket. It's multi-purpose. I wear mine for hiking and sailing and walking the dog. And I love it. Mine made it through a hailstorm in the Pyrenees.
• A low-volume freedive mask turns every anchorage into an underwater world. I'm a freediving instructor. This one is close to my heart.
• Starlink is for the liveaboard who works from the water. Internet in the middle of the ocean still feels like magic to me.
• A West Marine gift card works when you don't know what their boat needs. It's best for sailors in the US. Your sailor always knows. And sailors never stop buying boat parts.

Sailing books for the long passages

Gifts for someone who wants to sail across an ocean

And of course there's my book Ocean Nomad. I wrote it for everyone who dreams of sailing across an ocean without owning a boat. It's the push for a sailor who is still a dreamer. There are 4,000+ copies out there now.

To gift it, order the paperback and have it sent straight to them. The ebook arrives by email. So you can forward it with a little note.

Gift the book

For a crew-to-be, the best gift is knowledge and a little nudge:

• Their own inflatable life jacket is a gift that keeps them safe. Go for 150N minimum, with a light, a reflector and a spray hood. You wear it for dozens of hours on night watch offshore.
• The Zero to Ocean Nomad course is my self-paced course to go from zero experience to crossing an ocean as crew, safely and consciously. I made the course I wish I'd had when I started.
• NauticEd online sailing courses give you good theory before you step on board. You arrive at the dock a little less green. On a budget? Two starter courses are free.
• An RYA course is the classic route to real qualifications, from Competent Crew up.

Eco gifts for the galley

The galley is where plastic sneaks aboard. These replace it. And they get used every day:

• Beeswax food wraps replace cling film in the galley. Cling film has no place on a boat.
• Reusable produce bags carry the mountain of vegetables for a crossing, plastic-free.
• Glass and steel straws are a small thing. But the sundowner ritual deserves better than single-use.
• A miswak branch replaced my bamboo toothbrush. It's natural and zero waste.
• A really good coffee or a nice tea is also really nice. The Rubitec hand grinder needs no power. I have one for the spices and one for the coffee.
• A masala dabba is the round Indian spice tin with little cups inside. All the spices sit in one tin with one lid to lift. I have one, of course.

The best things are not things

The best things are not things, right? Take your sailor out on the water for a day. Or give something you made yourself.

A nice spice mix brings so much happiness on board. And it's good for the health on board. My chai mix is pure Ayurveda: cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger and black pepper, all loose spices. Bash them in a mortar and simmer them into milk or hot water.

Or rent a small sailboat for an afternoon with Click&Boat. You can go with or without a skipper. It's a nice way to find out if the sailing dream is real.

I wrote more about the gifts that aren't things in my eco travel gifts post.

And a free one: my crew packing checklist, to slip into the card.

A last note before the FAQ. Move through gift season the same way you move through nature. Slowly. Intentionally. Choose durability over a discount, buy only what will be used for a longgg time, and if in doubt, give an ocean day together and buy nothing :)

The pursuit of a healthier ocean and lifestyle are one and the same.

You may like reading: Black Friday outdoor deals 2026, my conscious guide

FAQ: best gifts for sailors

What is the best gift for a sailor?

For a mum or dad to give, it's the Garmin inReach. This way you can sleep at night. Maybe the best gift for the sailor is a year in the Ocean Nomads community. It's a support network they maybe wouldn't give themselves. And a good head torch with a red light gets used every single night.

What is a good gift for a sailor who has everything?

Give an experience or something they use up, like a year in the Ocean Nomads community, a course, reef-safe sunscreen or merino socks. Sailors who have everything still wear out socks and sunscreen. And nobody has too many ocean miles.

What is a good gift for someone sailing across the Atlantic?

An e-reader loaded with books, merino base layers for night watches, a red-light headlamp and a Garmin inReach Mini 2 so the people at home can follow the crossing. Add the crew course if it is their first ocean.

What are good small gifts for sailors?

Reef-safe sunscreen, merino socks, a titanium spork, glass straws or recycled sunglasses all make good small gifts. They're light and get used every day. That's exactly what works on a boat.

What are good Christmas gifts for sailors?

Sailing gloves, a waterproof dry bag, merino socks and a red-light head torch make great Christmas gifts. They are small and they get used on every trip. For a bigger present, a Garmin inReach or a year in the Ocean Nomads community lasts much longer than one Christmas.

What gift should I avoid giving a sailor?

Anything big, decorative or nautical-themed for the sake of it. Anchor-print cushions and ship's wheels live on land. Boats have no room for sentiment. Make the gift small, useful or edible.

Live a little wilder.
With love, Suzanne

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