We were sitting in Malta one evening watching a lot of people go to the restaurant upstairs. There was a large metal grate across their path and one by one we saw women, in four-inch pencil thin heels, navigate their way across the grate. Some stepped heavily on the grate, some tip toed across, some gave a little hop to clear it. Not one of them hooked a heel, slipped or tripped. It was amazing. We concluded that they must be visitors from Italy, as we have seen the skill of Italian women in stilettos before, walking sturdily down slippery, steep cobblestone streets as if they were plodding along on flat concrete roads in tennis shoes. It is indeed a very special talent.

One might think that living on a boat requires little, if any, footwear. Bare feet on the boat, flip flops for the shore. But upon closer examination and experience, it is clear that shoes are an essential element of the cruising life. First, you cannot always go barefoot on a boat. The decks get hot, so hot they burn your feet, and they are riddled with endless lines and fittings ready to grab, stab and bruise your sensitive tootsies with every move. So you need protection, close-toed, non-skid, non-marking boat shoes that never leave the boat. You do not want the dirt and grime of the streets tracked back onto your deck, which means you need street shoes. Flip flops work in some situations, especially if they match the outfit, but we do a lot of walking in the Med so comfortable walking shoes are a must. As previously mentioned, the Europeans, especially the Italians, are stylish dressers, and if you want to explore some of the more exclusive places, nicer shoes are also important. Like to exercise between passages? You need trainers. Want to hike to that beautiful waterfall? Hiking shoes come in handy. Reef walking calls for water shoes. Torrential downpours require boat boots. On cold, stormy nights slippers are very welcome.

Men typically get by with fewer pairs of shoes on a boat (and on land) than women do. But several pairs of sandals and flip flops can easily fit into a small wicker basket, so they actually take up very little space. We recently met a woman who has 40 pairs of shoes on her catamaran, half of which are flip flops. She said that her feet are too big to buy shoes in Europe so she has to keep a large supply on hand. And catamarans do have a lot of storage.

Clearly, while the Italian women we saw in Malta chose their shoes for style, a cruiser's footwear is selected more for purpose and comfort. Fortunately for us cruisers, some designers are finally creating shoes that fit our need for practicality and our hunger for fashion.





High Tide Heels




Fish Flops