How to provision for an offshore journey

If you’re sailing offshore and you’d like to do some prep work, here are some things to consider. What type of journey are you going on and for how long, with how many people and what type of boat? Is this a casual cruise, delivery with strict time schedule or a race with 24hour watch schedules?

• Are you menu planning or buying groceries and making up recipes along the way? Will you have any prepared meals ahead of time? What is the boat already stocked with?

• Where are you doing your provisioning? Beginning of the trip in a modern city or a remote island?

• Who are your crew and what dietary restrictions do they have? How many calories does each person consume? Are they midnight snackers? Are you planning a half-way party? Any raft-ups with buddy boats where you might need to bring appetizers to share? Who is doing the cooking? One chef, or shared chores?

• What are the storage and freezer/refrigeration considerations? Is the boat already stocked with some items? If so, do you have access to that inventory? Are we talking, 1/4 empty jars of peanut butter or unopened new bottles of olive oil?

• Are you using propane, an induction stove or grill? If so, what type of alternative power source does the boat have? How easy is it to fill up propane? What water restrictions are there? Is there reliable fresh water supply? Grey water foot pump for washing dishes?

• What culinary luxury items are on board? Toaster? Bread maker? Coffee maker? Blender? Vacuum sealer? Pressure cooker? Pizza oven?

• What type of weather are you preparing for (cold or warm weather) and what is the expected sea state? Will you be fishing? Are you going to only be cooking underway or will you be anchoring or going ashore?

• Who is footing the bill? Is it shared costs? What is the budget - either group or individual.

• What are the alcohol policies? Drinking only at anchor or not at all?

A rough budget would be $10-$40 per person, per day. Less if the boat has condiments or inventory from previous trips on board and if you’re in a developing country where groceries are less expensive. But buyer beware! If you’re starting in a foreign country, you may have fewer choices, especially on small islands. You may want to mule some favorite snacks or necessary items with you. I usually bring Asian spices and some condiments as luggage allows. The high-end of that $40 per person, per day, is if you provision in the USA or European country, especially if you have to get all new condiments and any alcohol and if steak is on the menu. Depending on how you answered any of the questions will change your strategy on provisioning, meal planning and budgeting.

Do not believe someone when they say, “I eat everything; anything you buy will be fine.” This person ends up complaining about the food the most and often does the least cooking and cleaning. They might contribute more financially, but you might pay for it in labor and time. You would be surprised what you learn about someone in a very short amount of time!

If you’re cruising down the coast and plan stay in marinas some times, it will mean you will have access to markets whereas, if you’re racing offshore or going on a long passage or delivery, you will not be stopping at all and must organize your inventory accordingly. Generally speaking, plan for 1-3 days extra per week. So if you’re going for one week, plan for 8-10 days depending on how close to a market you will be. So for a two week journey, plan for 16-20 days, more if you’re sailing the deep blue. You must plan for any emergencies at sea - canned soups that don’t need to be heated are great!
Here is a link to some provisioning spreadsheets to help you with your list.

I also like to use these ready made cheat sheets from Yachti Co, a charter company. This is better for casual sailing or chartering. For offshore racing, consider ready made frozen meals, one pot easy meals or MRE (meals ready to eat) which are high in sodium which might be fine if you’re racing in the tropics and will sweat a lot but these are also expensive, especially at REI or military supply shop.

If you go somewhere amazing, send me a postcard if these lists helped you.