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Stretch Your Legs: Head for shore and trade your sea legs for walking shoes, like the Gold Cup lug chukka ($200) from Sperry Top-Sider. This low boot offers a bit of ankle support and sturdy construction, including a triple-density footbed with memory foam for all-day comfort. Like the other shoes in the Gold Cup line, the chukka is lined in deerskin and has gold-plated eyelets. And when your ship has come in, hop right aboard-the sole is non-marking and cut with Sperry’s wave-siping for grip on wet decks. Sperry Top-Sider, (800) 247-6575; www.sperrytopsider.com
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Shelf Life: In the same stowage space as one slim volume, Amazon’s Kindle ($359) can hold more than 200 books. More than 200,000 available titles sell for less than $10 each, and you shop wirelessly from anywhere over the EVDO cellular network-no need to find wi-fi hot spots. Prefer Forbes to Faulkner? A selection of newspapers and magazines can also be delivered to the Kindle anywhere there’s cell service on the seven seas, at least until you get to port to pick up your latest edition of Yachting. Amazon, (866) 216-1072; www.amazon.com -Emily Sauerhoff
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Down Time: Few things refresh the weary traveler better than the warm waters of a south-seas atoll, with many-colored fish and reefs pulsing with life. The Travel-Ready Snorkeling Set ($60) from U.S. Divers lets you see what’s in that water you’ve been bobbing around on for days. The Admiral 2 LX mask has an easy-to-adjust buckle system and hypoallergenic face skirt, while the Bikar LX snorkel keeps water out and is designed for easy purging. The dual-composite Proflex 2 fins can be adjusted for a custom fit, and the entire set stows in a handy travel bag. U.S. Divers; www.usdivers.com
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Blow and Go: The inflatable i12s kayak ($1,700) from Hobie is the ultimate stowable explorer. Hands-free mobility, thanks to the pedal-powered MirageDrive system, lets you get off the boat and cruise around remote anchorages. A sit-on-top design and adjustable seat mean simple reboarding and comfort on long passages. The kayak packs into a rolling duffel for easy stowage, and comes with a four-piece paddle. Hobie Cat, (800) 462-4349; www.hobiecat.com
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Spell it Out: Who needs television when you can spend time aboard having fun with friends and improving your vocabulary? The Diamond Anniversary Edition of Scrabble ($37) is the latest, most stowable full-size version of the as-yet-to-beimproved crossword game. With a raised grid to assure even your longest words stay put, the board folds into a case to keep everything together and out of the way until the next round-robin tournament. Hasbro, (888) 836-7205; www.hasbro.com
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Take a Ride: The Swissbike TX ($700) from Montague is a folding bicycle unlike many you have seen. This is not a small-wheeled city bike that fits in a briefcase: It’s a real mountain bike, with shock-absorbing forks, 21 speeds, and a solid-feeling frame (it was designed for paratroopers). While it doesn’t fold down quite as small as those other bikes-full-size wheels with knobby tires have that effect-it fits in the dinghy easily. And, most importantly, it rides like a serious mountain bike, taking on the rocky paths of desolate islands you wish to explore. Swissbike, (800) 736-5348; www.swissbike.com
