What to Bring
It’s easy to make do with what charter companies provide for bareboat sailing charters, but, sometimes just bringing a few items from home can make the trip that much more enjoyable. 
Since we’ve arrived by car to Mediterranean destinations, we’ve been able to pack quite a bit of convenience. Here’s our list of items from which you can decide just what makes your bareboat charter that much more comfortable.
Baggage – Soft-sided, collapsible luggage is easiest to store. Consider bringing a soft-sided cooler to keep drinks cold during the day while under sail without continually opening the marine refrigerator.
Hats & Glasses – Keep eye ware and hats on your head with eyeglass straps (floating type preferred) and hat clips that keep a hat attached to you shirt.
Snorkeling – Check if the charter company provides equipment for all the crew. Consider bringing personal gear, particularly, snorkel and mask.
Pantry Items – Often these are not available at the destination: Your special spices; Sharp knife particularly for fish; Hard plastic cup holders; Ziplock bags of various sizes to organize food and marinating meats; Tablecloth/material to cover cockpit table to prevent flatware slipping; Plastic ice cube bags, Liter/quart plastic bottle with screw top to make cocktails.
Marine BBQ Grill – This is usually provided on all bareboat charters outside of the Mediterranean. My Italian friends have brought their own for trips in the Med. It’s a great way to divide cooking chores and keep the cabin cool. Check with the charter company if you decide to bring your own.
Medical – Supplement the onboard first aid kit with after bite/sting, cortisone, antibiotic , burn cream; eye & ear drops; antihistamine
Other – Bungee cords (keep halyards off mast); Wind-block candle lanterns
Boat Checkout
In addition to normal check out procedures, we’ve made sure we’ve checked that the water tanks are filled to capacity (cleaners tend to use water and not refill) and we know how to disconnect the electronics in a lightning storm on our particular boat (a previous charter was struck by lightning)
Guests
We’ve had all types of guest share our bareboat charter and found it’s best to address the following items before casting-off: trip expectation regarding food and stopping; marine head usage; water usage; daily chores & man overboard drills.
Other Advice: Provisions Living Aboard Sailing Stuff
Bareboating the World 