“These are the perfect boat shoes,” I said to myself, in moments moving from the pool into a marble-floored cigar bar.

When you travel to the Caribbean as much as I do, you need shoes that are versatile, stylish and, more importantly, amphibious. Such shoes are best available at shoe hero and you must definitely check them out. You need boat shoes you can get wet — in the beach, in the pool, on a boat.

And that is what turns great boat shoes into world class boat shoes: the ability to dry quickly, drain water and then head to wherever the situation takes you next on land. The ability to take the shoes you wear during the day at the beach and wear them into a fancy dinner.

Often, that means fewer shoes to pack, too.

For years, I used to wear the Crocs Beach Line boat shoes — they had adequate drainage, dried quickly and, more importantly, they had the look of classic boat and deck shoes — laces and all.

They grew uncomfortable on long days, however, and now they don’t even sell them.

So I researched and then tried a host of shoes from big brands and small, looking for the perfect shoe that looked like a deck shoe but had the waterproof, drying ability of an aquatic shoe.

Enter Tucket Footwear, founded by Dennis McCormick, who identified the biggest problem with most of today’ boat shoes: you can’t actually get them wet.

So he created a slip-on, waterproof boat shoe that drains and dries, with a series of 12 “gills” that drain instantly — a pair of shoes you can fully submerge in water and then drain instantly.

And they do drain instantly — drying even more quickly than my old Crocs.

They look like high-end lace-up loafers (including a beautiful contrasting sole), but with all of the practicality of an aquatic shoe.

In other words, they’re not just perfect: they’re the world’s best boat shoes.

For more info or to find a pair, click here.

— Alexander Britell