Kayaks are one of the early purchases

Michele and I have been wondering, “What should we buy now for cruising later?,” as well as its reciprocal, “What should we hold off on buying for cruising later?” These questions are more complicated and nuanced than at first thought.

The cruising community is great! There are so many cruising families willing to share their hard earned wisdom with us. One of these is the family of the S/V Totem. Behan of S/V Totem is detailing what people in the planning stage can buy early that will help later when they start cruising. Perfect for Michele and I!

So far Behan has covered books, personal gear, and water stuff (she calls it games… scuba is more than a game for me!). I really took note of part three of her series when she talks about scuba gear. I had incorrectly assumed the gear would be cheaper in the tropics due to so many more people being involved in scuba versus Illinois. I just bought a SCUBA set that I will use to become an instructor as well as while we are cruising. Before reading her post, I had assumed SCUBA gear would be cheaper in the tropics.

Taken during our recent trip to Shedd Aquarium. Can you ID it?

As a scuba diver I would also recommend fish identification books. One of the best is Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas which is obviously for Florida, Caribbean, and Bahamas. Paul Humann has many other books as well for the different regions of the world. Fish identification books will be great as Carter begins to explore the colorful depths with us… the ocean will be our classroom.


Behan’s list will help Michele and I as we canvas garage sales and clearance aisles between now and cast-off. Having lists like hers lets us know what is OK to buy when we see a great deal and what is best to wait to purchase.