Well, consider first who will be coming with you on this trip? Is your family coming out with you, a bunch of your friends, or just you and your girl out on the lake for the day? There are different boating supplies needed for each. Also keep in mind how long you are staying out on the water. Is it a day out, or will you be camping out for a day or two?

If your family is coming with you, you should make sure that you bring enough boating supplies for everyone. Bring plenty of snack foods, and stuff for lunch. Kids always love chips and dips, but consider staying away from sodas. Having hyperactive children cooped up on a boat is no fun for anyone. Be sure that you bring plenty of water and juice to drink while on the water, as dehydration can happen pretty easily when out on the water all day.

If you are cruising with your friends for the day, bring whatever kind of stuff you all like to eat. A cheese and cracker platter can be good, and finger sandwiches like ham salad are a good choice as well. Just be sure and keep the supplies out of he sun and cool so they don’t spoil. Again, be sure to bring plenty to drink. Have plenty of beer in coolers, some wine coolers for the ladies, and some other non-alcoholic drinks for the non-drinkers and everyone else to rehydrate. Keep in mind that the captain of the boat should not be drinking, and you can get a boating while intoxicated just as easily as you can get a driving while intoxicated in your car.

If it is just you and your girl, you should bring much more romantic foods. Wines are always in order, and more expensive foods in general. Strawberries are great, especially with champagne and good cheeses. Seafood such as oysters or shrimp can complete the meal, as long as they are carefully stowed and kept cold beforehand. Candles can complete the atmosphere, floating on the water at dusk.

Any overnight trip will naturally require more boating supplies than a day trip. Plan for multiple meals for everyone coming with. Pack simple breakfast items like granola and fruit. A simple lunch is also recommended, such as sandwiches and chips.If you know your exact route, you can plan for dinner at a waterside restaurant, or stop somewhere and cook yourself. Don’t forget pack gear for sleeping as well, depending on where you will be sleeping at night.

Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day – If you are new to exercise and feel inspired by your cruise to give it a try, you are already half way there. If you do not know how to put together an effective weight loss program on your own, or if you are a looking for a quality diet and exercise program you can follow, nearly all ships have fitness instructors to help you. Most ships have fully equipped gymnasiums with weights, cardio machines and a host of exercise classes like Aerobics, Pilates, Yoga etc.

If you want a shortcut to burning fat fast, train in the morning before breakfast. If you train when you first wake up, your body starts burning fat faster than it would after you eat. The reason being is, your body has been fasting all night; hence it has less energy to use before it starts burning fat.

So if it normally takes your body 20 minutes of exercise before it starts burning fat, it may only take 10 minutes in the morning. Therefore, a 30 minute workout becomes a lot more beneficial for burning fat in the morning than the afternoon or evening. And considering your days will be filled with sightseeing, and your nights with eating, drinking and entertaining, the morning is also the most convenient time to train.

Keep busy – On cruises nowadays, there is always something to do onboard, so it should not be too hard to keep yourself occupied. This will keep you from getting bored and take your attention away from eating. Depending on your ship, there could be fitness classes, dancing, rock climbing, ice skating, surfing, golf and miniature golf, inline skating, basketball, volleyball tournaments, dodge ball tournaments, and soccer just to name a few. The ships daily planner will outline different fitness activities and wellness seminars you can do. Take advantage of these to learn more about staying healthy. This will not only keep you motivated but give you valuable education to serve you long after your cruise. Want more cruise ship tips for staying healthy onboard.

When you are more experienced, your choice becomes refined. You start where you feel comfortable, just as you would with a car, and, after a while, you may like cruising and go for a larger sailboat with more speed and comfort. Or you may turn to racing – a great sport the whole family can enjoy. You learn quite a bit about sail handling and usually join the club. They may have cookouts and activities lined up the year through. There are racing machine sailboats out there in all sizes, but with sparse interiors, less weight and more speed. But a new breed of sailboats has been coming out, getting better year after year. It is the racer-cruiser, capturing the best of both worlds.

Center cockpit sailboats present the deck forward and aft with the steering towards the center of the sailboat. This configuration allows you and your guests to relax in the stern area of your sailboat rather than everyone being in the cockpit. The stern railing usually has built in seating and some also have deck mats to layout and get a tan. Below there is your cabin made up of your salon (living room), forward stateroom (bedroom), with a head (bathroom), and to the rear of the salon there is another stateroom with an ensuite head. This area is usually large and enticing, depending how large the sailboat is.

The pilothouse is a nice change. This type of sailboat features an aft cockpit with steering and, if the weather gets bad or if it is raining, you can duck in to the cabin ahead, which is usually raised and also contains a cockpit. That becomes your salon with another cabin area further ahead and below. Sleeping accommodations are in the salon like all sailboats and also up forward. The pilothouse gives you great visibility and everything can be handled out of the weather.