Thrill your first mate with these valentine’s day gifts for sailors
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Why spend money on teddy bears and chocolate when you can buy your (first) mate valentine’s day gifts they’ll use year-round? Lovers take note, here are the gifts for sailors that our editors (men and women) are excited about.
For an even LONGER list of boating gift ideas (not sailing-specific), check out our list of 60 boating gifts.
20 gifts for sailors
1. 
Mustang’s 30L Bluewater Gear Hauler ($159)
Because nobody wants a soggy box of chocolates. After reviewing Mustang’s 30L Bluewater Gear Hauler earlier this year, we decided it’s the best drybag backpack we’ve come across. It has a roll-top 100% waterproof compartment that easily fits a laptop and a tablet, a padded back, waste straps, and is a lot more stylish than your average dry bag.
2. SunGod Sunglasses ($95+)
If you’re looking for high performance polarized sunglasses that won’t make you look like a nerd, look no further than Sun God’s range of entirely customizable sunglasses.Pick your own frames, colors and lenses. Not only do their designs stand up to the hard-wearing boat life but Sun God will replace your sunglasses even if YOU break them!
3. ExOfficio Give-N-Go Sport Underwear (check price on Amazon)
4. Mellani’s Brushed Microfiber bedsheet set (check price on Amazon)
5. Luci Inflatable Solar Lantern ($25)
Set a romantic mood with the Luci Color Inflatable Solar Lantern by choosing between eight colors (or cycling through them at once!) Waterproof, lightweight, compact, and completely solar, they’re a beautiful way to add ambiance to your boat.
6. SAILFlix subscription ($9/month)
Cozy up to some great sailing documentaries and web series with Sailflix (Netflix for sailors). Get 33% off Sailflix when you subscribe to Waterborne’s newsletter.
7. Zhik Hydrophobic Fleece (check price on Amazon)
Skip the lingerie and keep your love warm with Zhik’s water-repelling fleece. Perfect for layering under foulies.
8. GSI’s Collapsible Java Drip Coffee Maker (check price on Amazon)
Does your first mate have trouble getting out of their bunk in the morning? Bring them coffee in bed using this ultra compact silicone drip coffee maker.
9. GoPro HERO7 ($399)
Capture the romance and magic on your sailboat with a GoPro Hero 7 and some of these GoPro accessories for boats. Just please, no Titanic selfies!
10. Spyderco Pacific Salt knife (check price on Amazon)
11. Offshore Sailing Lessons (various prices)
Ready to commit? Take a step towards your offshore cruising dreams and buy your partner offshore sailing lessons. You can even make a romantic holiday of it with liveaboard cruising lessons in the BVIs (see: Sailing Virgins). Amp up your offshore sailing skills (and learn more about each other than you would in premarital classes). See our article on getting offshore sailing experience for a list of sailing schools and instructors.
12. Momentum Atlas Titanium Watch ($135)
Water resistant to 100M, this ultra-light titanium swiss-movement watch is sure to be a pleaser. Assembled in Vancouver, Canada, Momentum watches offer excellent performance for killer value.
13. Good Old Boat Magazine Subscription ($40)
The sailing magazine about older boats and the people that love them. Salty stories, boat reviews, and DIY galore!
14. Rainleaf Microfiber towels (check price on Amazon)
15. Sailing books (various prices)
Looking for a gift for an armchair adventurer? Check out our list of all-time favorite sailing adventure books.
16. Ecopebble lite portable audio system ($40)
Clip this speaker to your bimini, load up your most sensuous iPhone playlist (no Barry Manilow, please) and let the evening unfold. The perfect way to get tunes in the cockpit with no wiring.
17. ACR water-activated personal strobe light ($30)
You light me up baby! Keep your lover safe with this LED water-activated C-Strobe. It attaches to a PFD as a personal distress light and is USCG/SOLAS approved with an impact resistant case.
18. Anker PowerCore 20100 Battery ($50)
19. Yeti 10 oz. Wine tumbler 2-pack ($50)
These wine tumblers are perfect for romantic sun-downers and their double-wall vacuum insulated interior will keep your beverages at the perfect temperature for longer. Best of all, they’re made from 18/8 stainless steel, so when you drop your glass in a fit of passion, you wont have to worry about broken glass!
20. Mustang Survival Corp Inflatable PFD 
($255)
Still sporting that awkward orange foam life jacket from 1980? It’s time to move on and up to a sexy inflatable PFD. Keep your sweetheart safe and streamlined with this auto-hydrostatic PFD, complete with harness.
Fiona McGlynn is an award-winning boating writer who created Waterborne as a place to learn about living aboard and traveling the world by sailboat. She has written for boating magazines including BoatUS, SAIL, Cruising World, and Good Old Boat. She’s also a contributing editor at Good Old Boat and BoatUS Magazine. In 2017, Fiona and her husband completed a 3-year, 13,000-mile voyage from Vancouver to Mexico to Australia on their 35-foot sailboat.
Dane Homenick
Sunday 11th of February 2018
Solid list! I have a HUGE backpack dry bag, which is far too big for everyday use (but good for keeping that clean laundry out of the dinghy soup!), so that backpack looks perfect. I also want that speaker... good to have music 24/7 :)