One of the things that surprises people most about life aboard Naora is how much of it happens in the water rather than on the boat. The anchorages we choose are chosen partly because of what lies beneath them and beside them. The diving, the kitesurfing, the paddleboarding, the snorkelling, the fishing: these are not extras added to a sailing itinerary. They are central to how we experience the places we reach.
The Lagoon Eighty2 carries the equipment to make all of it possible without depending on shore operations, rental outfitters, or guided tours. Everything is on the boat. Everything is ready when the anchor goes down.
Diving: Self-Sufficient and Serious
We carry a 300-bar diving compressor aboard with both DIN and international connections. Every dive we make is organised from the boat, on our own schedule, at the site we choose. There is no dependency on a dive centre ashore, no waiting for a group briefing, no rib transfer to a buoy line managed by someone else’s schedule.
Tanks are filled from the boat overnight. Dive briefings happen on the afterdeck before entry. The stern dive platform is used for entry and exit. The tender provides surface cover on offshore sites. For deeper and more technical dives, gas planning is managed from the boat with the same rigour we apply to passage planning.
Our captain, Sven, is a CMAS-certified dive instructor with more than 2,800 dives across the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and beyond. That depth of experience shapes how we approach every dive site on the route: which passes to enter and at what state of tide, which reef sections are worth the descent, which sites demand respect and which reward the less experienced diver with extraordinary visibility and marine life at accessible depths. Members who want to go deeper into diving technique, whether in terms of skills or certification, will find the time at anchor in quiet bays provides exactly the right environment for training dives.
Members diving with us are expected to hold appropriate certification for the sites they intend to dive. Recreational divers access the shallower sites. Technically certified divers can access the full range, including the deeper wreck and technical sites we visit across the Mediterranean and beyond.
Kitesurfing: Where the Wind Finds You
Kitesurfing from an anchored vessel in a bay that no rental shop services, in conditions that only exist because we timed our arrival to the wind, is a different experience to kitesurfing at a crowded beach school. The locations we reach, particularly in the Turkish gulfs in early season, the outer islands of Croatia in September, and the trade wind anchorages of the Atlantic and Pacific, produce conditions that kitesurfers specifically travel to find.
Sven kitesurfs. That is not incidental. It means the route includes stops chosen in part for their kitesurfing potential, and the knowledge of which bays offer the right wind angle, the right depth, and the right flat water for a session is built into how we anchor rather than added as an afterthought. When the conditions are right, the equipment comes out of the boat and the session begins without ceremony.
For members who kitesurf, the Naora route delivers access to spots that would otherwise require significant logistical effort to reach independently. For members who are curious about kitesurfing and want to learn in conditions and with instruction that no beach school provides, Sven is available. The flat, warm water of a sheltered bay with the right wind is as good a learning environment as exists anywhere.
Snorkelling, Paddleboarding and Swimming
Not every water activity requires certification or equipment beyond a mask. Some of the finest experiences on the Naora route happen at the surface or just below it, in water so clear that snorkelling reveals a world that diving would not significantly improve upon.
The Tuamotu atolls in French Polynesia, the outer reef walls of Fiji, the shallow gardens of the Turkish Aegean, the underwater cliffs of the Croatian Adriatic: all of these are extraordinary snorkelling environments that reward anyone who puts a mask on and looks down. We carry quality snorkelling equipment aboard and the tender is used to reach specific sites that are best approached from the water rather than from the main vessel.
Paddleboards are on deck and in the water whenever conditions allow. Morning paddleboarding around a quiet anchorage, before the wind builds and the day begins, is one of the daily pleasures of life at anchor that no photograph quite captures. The water at that hour has a quality of stillness and light that belongs specifically to that moment, and a paddleboard is simply the best way to be in it.
Swimming from the stern platform is available whenever the anchor is down and conditions permit. For many members, the swim before the eleven o’clock meal is the most reliable daily ritual of the entire voyage: the water is whatever temperature the ocean has decided it should be, the boat is above you, and nothing else is required of the morning.
What We Carry and What It Makes Possible
| Activity | Equipment aboard | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Scuba diving | 300-bar compressor, DIN and international connections, tanks, weights, BCDs | Certified recreational and technical divers; CMAS instruction available from Sven |
| Kitesurfing | Kites, boards, bars, harnesses across a range of wind conditions | Experienced kitesurfers and beginners; instruction available from Sven |
| Snorkelling | Full-face and traditional masks, fins, wetsuits for cooler water | All members; basic swimming ability recommended |
| Paddleboarding | Multiple boards, paddles, leashes | All members; suitable for all experience levels in calm anchorages |
| Swimming | Stern dive platform, ladder, tender for surface cover on offshore swims | All members; conditions permitting |
| Fishing | Offshore trolling rigs, hand lines for reef and shore fishing | All members; catch goes directly to the chef |
The Principle Behind It All
The water sports aboard are not a programme. They are not scheduled, not guided in the conventional sense, and not designed to fill the day with organised activity. They are available, they are excellent, and they happen when the conditions and the inclination align.
Some members spend every possible moment in or on the water. Others swim once a day, snorkel occasionally, and spend most of their time on the afterdeck or the flybridge watching the places we are in. Both are entirely valid. The equipment is there for whoever wants it. The instruction is available for whoever would benefit from it. And the anchorages we choose ensure that when someone does want to get in the water, the water is worth it.
- 300-bar diving compressor with DIN and international connections: completely independent from shore diving operations
- Sven holds CMAS dive instructor certification with 2,800 dives and is available for instruction and guided dives
- Kitesurfing equipment aboard with instruction available from Sven for beginners and improvers
- Snorkelling gear, paddleboards, and stern dive platform available at every anchorage in suitable conditions
- Fishing lines trail on all offshore passages: catch goes directly to the chef
- No scheduled activity programme: water sports happen when conditions and inclination align
