Provisioning for the Trip

How do I bring enough food on our boat to avoid having to do frequent grocery shopping along the way in small convenience stores with limited supplies? That’s my challenge in provisioning for our trip to Chesapeake Bay.  Even if there are some good groceries stores along our route, we will have to carry everything to the boat, so stocking up on non-perishables before we go is my preferred strategy.

Many convenience items are not as “convenient” as you might think when living aboard and cruising for months.  Disposable plates and cups leave you with a mountain of trash and no place to dump it except when you stay at a marina. Beverages in cans and plastic bottles also leave you with bulky trash. We are carrying water in our water tanks anyway (80 gallons when full), so I prefer to mix up beverages as needed and keep them in reusable containers. Our favorites for hot weather are Gatorade (from powder), ice-tea (made in the sun) and lemonade made from bottled lemon juice and sweetened with stevia. In cold weather we like coffee, tea, herbal teas and cocoa --- and soups (is that a beverage?) I even make up powdered milk to use in cooking pancakes, oatmeal, or making yogurt.

We have a small refrigerator which includes a very small freezer box. It’s powered by the boat batteries which are kept charged using a combination of our wind generator, gas generator, or by running our boat engine. I can cram about 5 frozen packs of meats/poultry/fish for the 2 of us into the freezer box, and these make the basis of some dinners. Other dinners from canned and/or dry goods include beans, chili, spaghetti, or other pasta, rice, lentils, etc.  I like cans for minimizing trash since I can take the bottom off the empty cans and then flatten them. In the refrigerator section I keep “essential” perishables: beer, milk, juice, butter, condiments, cheese, sandwich meats, tomatoes, celery, radishes and romaine lettuce (which keeps really well for several weeks when wrapped in wet paper towels and then plastic bags). A few fresh fruits and vegetables that don’t need refrigeration round out the supplies: oranges, apples, bananas, potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots. Replacing perishables will, of course, require some grocery shopping.

We have a 2-burner propane stove in our galley, and a propane-fueled grill (which we only use when anchored) that hangs from the stern. We like a few one-pot meals we can cook on the stove, even when sailing on the ocean. Chicken alfredo using canned chicken, canned artichoke hearts, fresh carrots and frozen peas or other vegetables is a frequent one. So are pasta or rice-based meals.

Freshly caught fish is our favorite meal! When we are sailing in the Atlantic (as opposed to the Intracoastal Waterway), we often hang a fishing line off the stern of the boat.  In the past we have caught mahi-mahi and a small black-fin tuna (in the Bahamas), and also a king mackerel once on the way to Charleston.

So I now have on board, stashed in every available storage compartment, over 75 cans, 23 plastic bottles (sauces, oils) and 18 boxes of dry goods – not to mention 12 bottles of wine! I’m expecting these to supplies to last for up to 4 months. Everyone has their own preferences, but the goal of good provisioning, in my mind, is to be able to pull into a harbor, drop anchor and then have on hand what we need to make a good dinner. Then we can relax in the cockpit and enjoy it with a glass of wine while watching the sunset.