12 Days to Go

admin Date , April 5, 2026 Sailing 13 Days to Go

Day 12 – The Kit Question

“Do I Need Salopettes in Croatia?” This is the question that has been quietly bothering me…
I’ve got:
A very nice jacket (thank you Gill)
T-shirts ✔
Shorts ✔
Hat ✔
Sunglasses ✔
But… No salopettes

First… what are salopettes?

For the uninitiated (like me, not long ago):
Salopettes are:
Waterproof sailing trousers with shoulder straps
Designed to keep you dry when sitting in water (which, apparently, happens a lot)
They are, essentially:
Dungarees for sailors

Croatia in April – What’s it actually like?

Around Adriatic Sea in mid–late April:
Air temp: ~15–20°C
Sea: not exactly bathwater
Weather: can be sunny… or not
So:
👉 Warm-ish
👉 But potentially wet, windy, and splashy

The Great Salopettes Debate

Reasons to take them:
You stay dry (big plus)
You stay warm when the wind picks up
You look like you know what you’re doing
Reasons not to:
Bulky
Possibly overkill for fair weather
I don’t currently own any good ones.

My (Current) Thinking

For a day-sailing dinghy on the Thames → probably not essential
For a week on a yacht in Croatia → starting to think they might be…
Especially when:
Sitting on wet decks
Sailing early or late in the day
The weather turns (as it often does)

Final Decision?

I haven’t bought any yet…
But I have a feeling this blog may age badly.