A complete guide to yacht-desking

There’s just one principal benefit of remote working from a yacht, but it’s a big one: the yacht itself. Humdrum spreadsheets can acquire a frisson of glamour when they’re being tweaked off the Amalfi Coast, but achieving this transcendent maritime-office experience isn’t entirely straightforward. Reliable connectivity and power are just two of many conundrums, and underlying everything is the undeniable nature of the sea: occasionally turbulent and persistently wet. This stuff is all surmountable to some degree. We’ve pulled together a few problem-solvers that might help to facilitate those Zoom calls from Port Hercule and beyond.

KVH Tracnet H90

When so much work happens in the cloud, it’s madness to rely on one sporadically functioning mobile data connection. (Also, marina WiFi is renowned for its poor reliability.) TracNet combines satellite, cellular and WiFi connectivity in one box, switching intelligently between them as needed. The H90, designed for vessels over 27m in length, comes with a sizeable 1m antenna, but the more compact H60 and H30 offer the same connectivity at slightly slower speeds. kvh.com, $39,995

EPOS ADAPT 660 AMC headphones

This racing-green over-ear headset (co-branded with Aston Martin) comes with four adaptive noise-cancellation microphones to attenuate surrounding noise (particularly wind). When it’s used for online meetings, you can quickly switch between devices (PC, softphone, mobile), while three more microphones employ voice-focused algorithms to optimise the call clarity. If you’re more productive when listening to music, personalised audio profiles can be fine-tuned to suit. eposaudio.com, £429

Bremont B-1 Marine Clock

Watches are often very highly prized, but clocks on an office wall less so. Bremont sought to redress this imbalance with a timepiece inspired by the original ship’s chronometer, designed by John Harrison in the 18th century. The dial has three time zones, which you can input yourself, the state of wind (power reserve) and trip/voyage time. These days we’re not short of reminders of what the time is, but few reminders look quite this pretty. bremont.com, £55,000

Ecoflow Delta 2 Max + 400W Solar Panel

This newly upgraded portable power station can easily handle the demands of a yacht-working set-up, with up to 3,100W output, four AC outlets and a host of USB and DC ports. It can store 2kWh of energy, expandable to 6kWh with the addition of a couple of Ecoflow smart batteries. If you go solar, the unit detects voltage and current in real time to optimise solar generation throughout the day. uk.ecoflow.com, £2,609

Asus Zenbook S 13

On a bright day, the sun can render most computer screens barely visible. Cumbersome screen shades can improve matters, but it makes sense to start with the brightest screen you can get. ASUS’s Zenbook range boasts peak brightness of 550 nits or more (a standard laptop is around 250 to 300), and the S 13 has additional plus points. A centimetre thin and a kilo in weight, it’s ultra-portable, and ticks a number of sustainability boxes including recycled and ocean-bound material incorporated in its design. asus.com, £1,600

Motorola Defy Satellite Link

Dead spots in mobile coverage can mean business-critical messages popping up on your phone a deal-breaking 30 minutes late. The Defy is a small, lightweight Bluetooth device that brings satellite connectivity to any iOS or Android smartphone. In conjunction with the Bullitt Satellite Messenger app, it provides a seamless bridge between mobile and satellite networks, so you can be contacted wherever you have a view of the sky. (The price includes a 30 messages-per-month subscription.) motorolarugged.com, £159

Bugatti IXO self-righting pool table

To paraphrase a popular proverb, all work and no play makes no sense whatsoever. A game of pool would normally be a puzzling choice of leisure activity at sea, but IXO’s incorporation of gyroscopic sensors in this Bugatti-branded pool table means that it always stays perfectly level, with each leg moving precisely, quietly and quickly (within five milliseconds) to compensate for any movement of the vessel. All emails dispatched? Head to the ultimate breakout zone and rack those balls up. ixocarbon.com, €292,000

Yeti Panga 28L backpack

As many of us know to our cost, a wet laptop is a dead laptop. At sea such perils are at their peak, particularly when transferring to a dinghy or pontoon. The Panga doesn’t have many bells and whistles, but the exterior is tough and puncture-resistant, and it’s not just watertight – it’s airtight. When properly closed, the seams and zip provide the ultimate seal, allowing it to be dragged through water while keeping your electronics bone dry. ukyeti.com, £300