When provisioning for an off shore passage, I plan on the number of days expected plus half that. This was critical for a passage like that to the Caribbean, which took 17 days instead of the expected 12 (lack of wind and limited fuel). These meals do not include the usual cans of soup or wraps and peanut butter & honey which can be fixed in a pinch no matter what the situation. I had planned on 30 days of meals. Greg was rather impressed, as he was expecting 5 days of meals, followed by leftovers, and then start the rotation over. I think I got through half the plan. Why?

Cook hard at work while crew looks on
  1. It was nearly impossible to maintain my balance. I was able to wedge myself in between the steps to the cockpit and the galley counter, but the constant movement of the boat made things sloppy at best and sometimes dangerous (there were some conditions where I knew a knife wasn’t feasible). I joked that once onshore again I would charge people ridiculous sums of money to cook at a constantly changing 45 degree tilt – no better way to strengthen your core!
  2. We were too tired/wet/cold. I consider myself a good off shore cook and I don’t get seasick, but some days nothing tasted better than a heated can of soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.
  3. We had the sin bin. I keep a pocket in the table filled with all sorts of healthy and not-so-healthy snacks (granola bars, peanut butter crackers, dried fruit, trail mix, nuts, and candy bars). Any time anyone craved something extra they could dive in and find a little bit of energy for their watch.
  4. I had the fixings for wraps – lots and lots of flour tortillas that could be filled with tuna salad, peanut butter & jelly, scrambled eggs & leftover veggies, egg salad, and anything else laying around. No need for knives or bowls to clean either.

It wasn’t always bad! I brought along my sourdough starter and made foccacia, pizza (twice!), and a loaf of bread. It just felt strange not to be doing it every other day like on other passages. Blessedly my crew never complained, they were always appreciative of everything I made.

Fresh sourdough bread

And the added bonus was when Greg caught the false albacore! Two nights of fresh fish 14 days into a passage was the best treat ever!

Typical meals:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, potato and fake meat wraps, cinnamon apple oatmeal, cereal, pancakes

Lunch: Wraps, leftovers from night before, soup

Dinner: Black bean & sweet potato enchilada casserole, lasagna, clam chowder with foccacia, ramen with leftover veggies, pesto pizza, pasta with sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives & feta, turkey chili with mac & cheese, salmon sweet potato cakes over salad, teryaki salmon and roast broccoli over rice, sesame albacore, and stir fried veggies over coconut rice