At this stage of the trip one always begins to wonder if you have enough food left and if you'll make it to your final destination without rationing! Galley provisioning can be fun and can be an absolute headache. Shopping for 3 weeks in one day for 2 or even 6 of you is not easy. Provisioning a boat is not always easy as often you are in a foreign country and there is a language barrier. To me the pictures on the cans or boxes are the biggest help and if you can get by with one or two words you are often OK. But there are some words or abbreviations that are the same. Going to sea is all about preparation and how you enjoy your time at sea often depends on what you eat. So I thought I'd give you a little insight as to what I normally do:
My biggest concern is to always have enough water. Water is a key part of your day. Drinking enough water affects your moods and your bowl movements. This is critical when spending a long time at sea in confined spaces. When push comes to shove at sea you can cook and clean with salt water but you still need to drink fresh water.
In the ISAF regulations for ocean racing there are some very good guidelines on how much water to take with you. It is well worth reading on their website. This includes whether or not you have a water maker.
Food, my next concern.
Breakfast is a very important part of your day at home but when you are at sea it can be so easily forgotten. Breakfast is a simple meal, open a can of fruit, muesli and UHT milk or make up some oats if it’s cold. Oats are slow releasing energy so if it’s cold or you are beating into big waves and you need a boost from a busy night, oats with dried fruit and honey are what you need. Make your oats with powdered milk, no one will ever know the difference. I premix my instant oats with powdered milk, cranberries (helps with digestion), raisins and sugar and divide it into portions before I leave the dock.
Lunch and Dinner!
On board Xtra-link Nick and I have been eating what I call one pot meals. As there are only two of us on board and we have no auto-pilot this makes life a lot easier.
My pot often starts with frying an onion with garlic and olive oil. I often start preparing a meal like this because Olive Oil also helps with your bowl movements, and often prevents or cures constipation. Then I normally add a stock cube, rice or pasta and water. From here the meal can turn into almost anything. Yesterday I made rice with beans, salami, peas in a tomato sauce. It was kind of like eating Feijoada, the Brazilian dish, just modified. On board Xtra-Link I have been making enough food for two or three meals in one go, then there is food to snack on during the night rather than sweets and biscuits.
Fresh ingredients are often kept to a limit. I always take lots of apples, onions, garlic, lemon or limes, and some fresh vegetables for the first few days. Nick and I often fish at sea and have been pretty good at it in the past. However on this trip with no auto-pilot we have chosen not to make life too complicated and not to fish.
This is a bit different to Nick and my normal way at sea. When we are racing we eat freeze dry or ready meals. Freeze dry is simple, just add hot water to the powdered food, wait 7 minutes and you food is ready. Ready meals are prepared and then vacuum packed. All we have to do is leave the sachet of food in boiling water for 7 minutes, then tear the foiled pack open, add Tabasco and olive oil and eat! They are both quite tasty meals and very easy. The bonus of this system is you don't need to cook it, use fresh water, think about it or worry you've got all the ingredients. Its all in the packet and there is no washing up.
There are a few things that I never leave the dock without such as: Tabasco sauce, tea, chocolate, apples and UHT milk. In Brazil before this trip I bought a couple of boxes of UHT milk and for some reason it has been going off far faster than normal. This is why I normally carry some powdered milk but I forgot this time. So we have rationed it out a bit and yesterday we had our last cup of tea due to no more milk. Other than that we still have enough food but we are looking forward to a decent meal on Friday evening.
My biggest concern is to always have enough water. Water is a key part of your day. Drinking enough water affects your moods and your bowl movements. This is critical when spending a long time at sea in confined spaces. When push comes to shove at sea you can cook and clean with salt water but you still need to drink fresh water.
In the ISAF regulations for ocean racing there are some very good guidelines on how much water to take with you. It is well worth reading on their website. This includes whether or not you have a water maker.
Food, my next concern.
Breakfast is a very important part of your day at home but when you are at sea it can be so easily forgotten. Breakfast is a simple meal, open a can of fruit, muesli and UHT milk or make up some oats if it’s cold. Oats are slow releasing energy so if it’s cold or you are beating into big waves and you need a boost from a busy night, oats with dried fruit and honey are what you need. Make your oats with powdered milk, no one will ever know the difference. I premix my instant oats with powdered milk, cranberries (helps with digestion), raisins and sugar and divide it into portions before I leave the dock.
Lunch and Dinner!
On board Xtra-link Nick and I have been eating what I call one pot meals. As there are only two of us on board and we have no auto-pilot this makes life a lot easier.
My pot often starts with frying an onion with garlic and olive oil. I often start preparing a meal like this because Olive Oil also helps with your bowl movements, and often prevents or cures constipation. Then I normally add a stock cube, rice or pasta and water. From here the meal can turn into almost anything. Yesterday I made rice with beans, salami, peas in a tomato sauce. It was kind of like eating Feijoada, the Brazilian dish, just modified. On board Xtra-Link I have been making enough food for two or three meals in one go, then there is food to snack on during the night rather than sweets and biscuits.
Fresh ingredients are often kept to a limit. I always take lots of apples, onions, garlic, lemon or limes, and some fresh vegetables for the first few days. Nick and I often fish at sea and have been pretty good at it in the past. However on this trip with no auto-pilot we have chosen not to make life too complicated and not to fish.
This is a bit different to Nick and my normal way at sea. When we are racing we eat freeze dry or ready meals. Freeze dry is simple, just add hot water to the powdered food, wait 7 minutes and you food is ready. Ready meals are prepared and then vacuum packed. All we have to do is leave the sachet of food in boiling water for 7 minutes, then tear the foiled pack open, add Tabasco and olive oil and eat! They are both quite tasty meals and very easy. The bonus of this system is you don't need to cook it, use fresh water, think about it or worry you've got all the ingredients. Its all in the packet and there is no washing up.
There are a few things that I never leave the dock without such as: Tabasco sauce, tea, chocolate, apples and UHT milk. In Brazil before this trip I bought a couple of boxes of UHT milk and for some reason it has been going off far faster than normal. This is why I normally carry some powdered milk but I forgot this time. So we have rationed it out a bit and yesterday we had our last cup of tea due to no more milk. Other than that we still have enough food but we are looking forward to a decent meal on Friday evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment