Sailor's Comment

by Ramon, Boracay, Philippines.

My friends and I work with boats in the Philippines, taking tourists to remote beaches. We go in and out of the water all day long.

When sailing we wear soft nylon ponchos to protect us from the intense sun and sunburn while we work with our boats. Being able to stay in the sun and sea without getting burned is important for us. They also keep us cool when wet.

Getting the Boat

Our boat is moored in a shelted bay among the others. In the morning we swim out to bring it near the shore. Then we clean it and get it ready for our guests to come onboard. Our thin sun capes make this easy work. We don't want to get a tan, so sun capes are a great solution for working in the water.

Sailing

When our guests arrive they wade to the boat into about 1 meter deep water and climb aboard. We recommend they get their clothes wet to avoid the heat. We lead by example by swimming in our yellow towel ponchos which dry slowly and thus keep us cool. Guests can borrow them too. Some wonder why they should wear wet towels until they realise that this is our aircon.

On the Beach

When we arrive at a nice beach we sit in the shade to eat and relax. After a while we put on our thin sun capes and go swimming with with our guests. We offer them sun capes to wear on the beach and in the sea, but most want a tan.

Some guests asked if we had any capes for them (we did) and went swimming with delight. They are always surprised how good these clothes feel in the water. Being able to play in the sun and sea without getting burned is great fun. They wore the sun capes in and out of the water all day long.

Sun capes are always popular with our guests from Asia, like Thailand and Korea. They are used to swim in clothes, but find our capes a pleasant alternative.

We cool off and play in the water whenever we have time.