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Capn Bob · 03-04-2009, 09:33

Hi George and Lynn-
I just signed onto this forum. It is great.
I could use that spreadsheet too.
email to rnpking@earthlink.net
hope all is well with you.
Travel safe,
Bob on Pretty Penny

Sunspot Baby · 03-04-2009, 12:27

It's on its way to your email.

George

rivonia · 17-05-2009, 12:17

I agree with Harriet's comments. We are living aboard prior to making the trip from UK to Eastern Mediterranean over the summer months. I made a list of all the items I use regularly and am 'experimenting' with various food storage methods, cooking methods eg baking bread, using the pressure cooker and if we enjoy the meal then it goes onto the next list. It makes provisioning so much easier and it is surprising how many 'refrigerated items' can be stored elsewhere and still be edible and nutritious a long time later. I was surprised at how much toilet paper we use (mind you it has other uses than the obvious one)!

Last time we went longterm sailing (from South Africa to the Caribbean) I made a menu plan for 2 weeks and then times it by 4 for staples. We actually stopped off at St Helena, Ascension Island and Fernando do Noronha (off Brazil) so I was able to stock up on fresh veg, eggs etc. I planned the trip on the assumption that we wouldn't be stopping off between South Africa and Grenada. Luckily we had lots of fruit juices and sodas because we unsuspectingly filled up with contaminated water at one place. No watermaker or ice box in those days!

However, as another contributor mentions there is no real need to stock up with loads of dry goods if you are planning to stop off on the way.

Enjoy your sailing

Rivonia

toewsrus · 20-05-2009, 18:18

When we provision, we take inventory of what we have, total 100% inventory. It's a royal pain in the neck and the longest part of the process.

Next step, list our meals all 30 or 60 days worth. We generally can go further because of leftovers, going out etc.

Next start adding quantities that we need. Our spreadsheet does the work of calculating what we have and what is needed to buy.

There is some thought that has to go into some items: spices, condiments. We've come to know what items we use a lot of, so we adjust the quanties as needed.

The spreadsheet can't be uploaded, but if you email me, I'll forward you a copy.

mike at toewsrus dot com

cosmosmariner · 09-06-2009, 07:06

Send requests to me at (debandlou@verizon.net) and I'll send you our 10 page Word table of provisioning and gear we used on our 6 month trip to the Bahamas '08-'09 including amount loaded and amount used for each item. I'm willing to answer any questions about the list or the cruise.

We ordered the canned and dehydrated foods from (internet-grocer.com).

Cherokee10 · 19-06-2009, 02:14

Heyyy - New to this site and read your older post re. excel sheet for provisioning. Could you send me a copy at jansherbert@comcast.net
Thx

cosmosmariner · 19-06-2009, 08:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by MV

Ok, I will even bypass a formatted Word .Doc and settle for a text list.

Michael

I've been replying to requests for 2 weeks now. Send your email address to me at (debandlou@verizon.net) and I'll immediately reply with the doc.

Lou

Dallas_Chris · 19-06-2009, 09:10

George,

I'd appreciate your list.. also, I would like to help your cause, what's the purchase of your CD of info?

Thanks,
Chris
chris@phoenixdriveaudio.com

cosmosmariner · 19-06-2009, 10:50

I've sent you my Word Doc. The CD is from Sunspot Baby post further back.

I guess we should also add that most things are brought into the islands and therefore have shipping and import duties imposed making nearly everything 150% of USA prices (another reason to provision ahead in bulk, unless you are independently wealthy).

One notable exception is Rum and most other whiskey. Consequently we planned to buy most of the booze when we arrived in the Bahamas. If you are a beer drinker and buy it there plan on paying $40.00 per case.

imagine2frolic · 19-06-2009, 14:32

That $40 a case beer include Kalik, Heiny's, and even Bud, so be sure to buy your beer stateside. I took kegs last year, and even on the cat it was too much motion......i2f

Cheechako · 19-06-2009, 15:02

Load all you can that is not perishible and unusual, keep in mind your tastes will change once you are in a new environment. As said above it's all available.... and in fact you will find things you have been missing stateside! If you take too much some of it will corrode, spoil etc so you didnt save any money and carried the weight.! Disregard the above if you have a megayacht with the separate freezer kept at zero degreees! The rest of us are doing our best to keep the fridge cold enough every day to keep the latest Grouper or mahi catch from spoiling!

cosmosmariner · 20-06-2009, 04:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Load all you can that is not perishable and unusual, .......some of it will corrode, spoil etc ....... The rest of us are doing our best to keep the fridge cold enough every day to keep the latest Grouper or mahi catch from spoiling!

Very true. When our son took his 27' Watkins sailboat, 'Walkabout', to the Bahamas on a 6 month voyage in '05-'06 He bagged all the canned food in Zip Loks but they chaffed through and he had a lot of corrosion to deal with. Consequently when we went '08-'09 we minimized the number of canned goods and placed them in Rubbermaid hard side plastic containers...no corrosion problem at all.

On both voyages we each had a portable Engel MT 35 freezer and they were full of local fish. In our case we never got a line in the water because other folks caught so much fish they gave it away and our little portable freezer had as much as it could hold.

One surprise was that we bought home grown heirloom tomatoes from Milo on Great Guana Cay that were wonderful. He gets 2 crops per year from his small backyard garden. The tomatoes in the grocery stores are shipped in and are like green baseballs that turn red after 2 weeks and are still good for an out of the park homer. Most other vegetables looked good but VERY expensive. We stuck to the Dole brand 'hearts of lettuce' (3 to a bag for just over $6 a bag) and an occasional apple for cooking with the smoked pork chops we brought.