Food on board – Provisioning 101

When you rent your sailing yacht, catamaran, gulet or motor boat, your planning for the trip does not stop there. You have to predict where you will be able to restock after leaving a major port. You definitely don’t want to spend your sailing trip around the Croatian coast worrying where and when you can buy food. Your location, food requirements of your fellow sailors, facilities on the boat (sailing yacht, catamaran, gulet or motor boat) and the preparation and cooking of your meals, play a major part in planning and buying your provisions before your board your vessel. There is no “right” or “must have” list that you can refer to.

Daily meals

The easiest way is to make your list according to major meals during the day (so breakfast, lunch and dinner). You know what you usually eat, so your list will quickly be finished. For breakfast you would normally eat milk, bread, butter, cereals, eggs, bacon, sausages, jams etc. For lunch, you can have what you want, just keep it simple. If the boat is rocking it is hard to make any complex meals. Make sure your list contains foods like chicken, tuna (canned), lettuce, pasta, cheese, different vegetables etc., that you can use to prepare quick meals like sandwiches, salads, pasta meals etc. Dinner on the boat is really optional, since most people like to taste local cuisine, and the best way to do that is to go out to a restaurant.

The easiest way is to make sure your pantry on boars is stacked, that you know how to store and prepare fresh produce and of course that you have a little imagination, creativity and flexibility in order to make cooking and eating on board stress-free.

First things first, so let us start with the pantry on board. Items like canned food, dry bulk grains can be bought well in advance. As you will prepare this beforehand, you will be able to check if everything you will need is packed and what you will have to buy additionally. Make sure you take extra just in case.

Why extra? Because from our experience, people tend to eat more on their sailing trip. So, make sure you have some extras for emergency situations.

As you are preparing the food, keep in mind that people like to snack (especially if you are sailing with kids). In that case, make sure you have enough easy to eat food on board. Go for nuts, granola bars, dried fruits, crackers or anything that can ease hunger while the lunch is being prepared.

Drinks

One rule here should not be overlooked and that is 2L of water per person per day. Make sure you pack enough water, but also additional drinks since people tend to drink more during their sailing trip. Add coffee and tea to your list as well.

Condiments

If you like to add mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, or any other condiments that are not just salt and pepper, put them on your list. Salt and pepper might already be on board when you start your trip, but everything else is optional according to your preferences.

Table of suggested groceries

Here are some of the requirements for the most frequent foods you might consider taking on your sailing trip in Croatia:

Food	Meat	Potatoes	Pasta	Vegetables	Rice
Portion/g (portion per person, per meal)	120 - 220	300	120	100	60

Here is a table of our suggestion of the types of food you might consider taking on board (keep in mind that milk, vegetables or bread and other perishables need to be restocked more frequently):