Tips on provisioning a boat without a Freezer for a long passage

The following in based on my own experience of crossing the Atlantic in a 31’ yacht with no freezer and a very small fridge.

Before you even start to provision your boat sit down and make out a set of menu’s to include Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I made one out for 4 weeks, we had expected to make the journey in 3 weeks but because of very light winds it took us a full 4 weeks to complete the journey, so always bear this in mind when planning.

After I had made up the menus I then went through every meal and listed the items required on an excel spreadsheet. Once completed just click on the sort button to list all the items alphabetically. When you have done this you will see exactly the amounts that you will require for a month or the length of your trip.

Most importantly the first week’s menu contained fresh meat. Fresh Meat will keep in the fridge for 3 days and once cooked it will keep for another 3 days. For example when you buy minced/ground beef if you make hamburgers the first day cook the rest of the meat at the same time and store in plastic containers in the fridge, this can then make a cottage pie and from the other container you can make chilli. It is well worth the effort to take your time over planning meals. You do not have to stick to the menu but at least you will know you have enough provisions on board for all the meals.

Another worthwhile job before you start your voyage is to think about plastic containers for the fridge. Stackable containers were the best easy to store when not in use and take up less space. I played about with different sizes and shapes to find out how many I could get in the fridge.

When provisioning don’t forget the little things that make a long trip enjoyable such as snacks, like biscuits, packets of cup a soup (which comes in really handy if you have a rough patch of weather and unable to cook), sweets & crisps. Take into consideration the person on night watch, mine was 3am to 7am and I was always hungry round about 5am so would re-heat anything that was leftover from dinner or have a mug of soup.

Liquids - Milk, UHT is best but once opened I found that it would only last a day before going off, so it is best to always take some powdered milk with you.

Wine buy cartons, easy to store and will not make a noise like bottles rattling. As long as it is palatable you can always buy a good wine when you reach landfall.

Cartons of fruit juice are better on a boat than bottles, again less noise and the cartons squash flat when finished.

Spirits, for a long trip if you are taking spirits I would decant them into plastic bottles, you can always recycle the bottles once you reach your destination.

Recycling
Plastic
Water bottles - This is a personal view and others may disagree but why the need to buy bottle water. With a lot of people this may be a matter of taste or on a boat you may think it is a healthy option rather than drinking from a local source.
Studies have shown that reusing the same plastic bottle is dangerous as after a while chemicals start to leach out of the plastic.
So with this in mind I thought about what is the alternative. Nowadays you can purchase a personal water bottle with a built in water filter. If you are still worried about germs, do what I do boil the water first then fill your water bottle. It is also a good idea to fit a good water filter system between your tank and tap.

Other Plastics – It is better to rinse out the container then cut it into pieces. It makes it easier to store while you are at sea. When you reach land you can then dispose of it providing that country has the means of doing this responsibly.

Plastic Carrier Bags - Most countries now charge you for plastic carrier bags or have banned them. Canvas or string bags are a better alternative and I have found that a canvas bag is good for storing vegetables on board. If you have to use plastic bags then reuse them or better still use them for storing other used plastic containers, then when you reach land you can dispose of them all together.