Charter know-how · Before you go
How to provision a yacht for a week
Transcript
Good provisioning means fewer trips ashore for the basics, and more time where you want to be. Here is how to plan, buy and stow food and drink for a week aboard.
Start with the meals, not the shopping list. Most crews eat breakfast and lunch aboard every day. Dinner aboard three or four nights, and ashore on the others. And keep the cooking simple: one-pot dinners, big salads, pasta and the barbecue.
As a starting point, each person needs fifteen to twenty litres of drinking water for the week. Six to eight eggs, and ten to fourteen pieces of fruit. Two to three kilos of vegetables and salad. About half a kilo of pasta or rice. Buy the heavy basics on the first day, and fresh food every two or three days.
There are four good places to shop. A supermarket near the base, for the long-life basics on the first day. Delivery to the boat, ordered ahead through the base, which saves the first afternoon. Markets and bakeries along the route, for the best fresh food of the week. And small island shops, which are expensive and close early, so do not count on them for the basics.
Stow everything before you sail. Heavy things go low and near the middle of the boat. Nothing stays loose on the counters, and every locker is closed. In the fridge, drinks go at the bottom and food on top, and open it as little as you can. Take off the cardboard before stowing, and take your rubbish ashore at every port.
And the things crews always forget: matches or a lighter for the stove, washing-up liquid, bin bags, and thin toilet paper for the marine toilets. The full checklist is on this page.
Good provisioning means fewer trips ashore for the basics and more time where you want to be. The trick is to plan meals, not shopping: decide which meals you will eat aboard, buy for those, and leave room for the fresh food and the restaurants you find along the way.
Plan the meals first
Most crews eat breakfast and lunch aboard every day and dinner aboard three or four nights out of seven, eating ashore on the others. Write the week down as a grid of 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and the dinners you will cook, then shop for that grid.
Keep cooking simple: the galley is small, it moves, and the cook wants to swim too. One-pot dinners, big salads, pasta, grilled fish and barbecue (many catamarans have a grill) work well.
How much: a starting point per person for the week
| Item | Per person, 7 days | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking water | 15–20 litres | Bottled; tank water is for washing unless the base says it is drinkable |
| Bread, wraps, crackers | Buy for 2–3 days at a time | Bakeries in most ports; crackers keep |
| Eggs | 6–8 | Keep in the box, out of the sun |
| Fruit | 10–14 pieces | Apples, oranges and melons last; soft fruit within two days |
| Vegetables and salad | 2–3 kg | Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, potatoes keep best |
| Pasta, rice, couscous | 500–700 g | Quick, light, stores anywhere |
| Cheese, cured meat, yoghurt | 1–1.5 kg in all | Fridge space is the limit, not appetite |
| Coffee and tea | Coffee 100–150 g | Check the coffee maker aboard: often a moka pot or plunger |
| Soft drinks, beer, wine | To taste | Cans and boxes stow better than glass; glass breaks in a seaway |
Buy the heavy, long-life basics on day one and the fresh food every two or three days. Fridges on charter boats are small and run off the batteries.
Where to shop
- A supermarket near the base on embarkation day for the long-life basics: water, drinks, pasta, rice, oil, coffee, cleaning things.
- Provisioning delivery: most bases and some agencies take an order in advance and deliver to the boat. It saves the first afternoon; prices are usually a little higher.
- Local markets and bakeries along the route for bread, fruit, vegetables and fish: often the best food of the week.
- Small island shops are expensive and close early or for lunch. Do not count on them for the basics.
Stowing it so it survives the sail
- Heaviest items low and near the middle of the boat: water and drink packs under the saloon seats or floor.
- Nothing loose on the counters when you sail. Wedge bottles with towels; close every locker and the fridge lid.
- Fridge: drinks at the bottom, food on top. Open it as little as possible; it uses a lot of battery.
- Remove cardboard packaging before stowing it: it brings in insects and gets soggy.
- Rubbish goes ashore at every port. Take bags for recycling where the port separates it.
Easy to forget
General guidance for charter crews. Your charter company's briefing, the boat's own manuals and local rules always come first.