Boat Christening Invitations: What to Say Before Boarding

It's 12:20 at the marina and half your guests are still looking for parking. The boat casts off at 12:30. One family is on the wrong quay, another is texting to ask whether they need to bring a life vest for the two-year-old, and your mother is still stuck at the car park barrier. A boat christening invitation should have answered all three of those questions a week ago.

A christening on board has its own rules: a wet deck, a departure time set by the tide, and children who need a vest that actually fits. Here's how to get all of it into the invitation, so nobody is asking you anything the night before.

Boat christening invitations: write the boarding time first

If the boat slips at 12:30, the invitation has to say when to be on the pontoon — not when the ceremony starts. Ten minutes late at a port means the boat leaves without you, and there is no catching up. Name the meeting point exactly: 'Pontoon 3, Denia Marina, next to the blue hut' works. 'At the port' leads to three phone calls that morning. A short line on the cover — 'See you on the water' — already tells anyone opening the link on their phone what kind of day this is.

• Boarding time, cast-off time and the time you're back at the pontoon, written separately.
• Boat name, port and the exact pontoon address, not just the town.
• A line on life vests: who provides them and which children's sizes are on board.
• Dress code with the shoe exception spelled out in the same sentence.

The life vest question, answered before the dock

Say whether the skipper supplies children's life vests or every family brings their own. That single line decides what parents pack the night before. 'Life vests on board for children under 12, provided by the boat' is the version that ends the questions in the group chat.

Then the shoes. 'Wet deck — rubber soles, please' is the sentence that prevents the first slip of the day. Put it next to the dress code rather than in a separate message, because the dress code is the part people actually read.

The invitation's real job is the pontoon: the time, the place, the vest and the shoes. The rest can be worked out on board.

White, but with non-slip soles

A boat dress code is written with exceptions. 'White and linen, flat shoes for the deck' makes it clear that thin heels and a moving surface don't mix. Mention the wind with a bit of humour: 'If you're bringing a wide-brim hat, hold on to it — at the bow it flies.' And if there's lunch ashore afterwards, set a time for changing so nobody is left waiting at the mooring.

Six photos, and a link that never changes

Put the moored boat on the cover. You can upload up to six photos of your own and they frame themselves, so a shot of the pontoon or the breakwater doubles as a map for anyone who doesn't know the marina. If the skipper moves the departure because of the wind, you change the time in the editor and the link stays the same — no new message, nobody hunting for the old one. Confirmations arrive in an ordered list inside the invitation, so on Thursday you can pass the numbers to the boat without chasing replies. The questions on the RSVP form are yours to set: 'How many of you are coming?' or 'Are you staying for lunch ashore?'

If the boat is booked and the vests have sizes, what's left is saying it clearly. Start with the cover, try the design for free, and publish the link when it's ready. It's €29.99, paid once, and guests open it in a browser — no app to install, nothing to print.