While waiting for our engine’s fresh water-pump we’ve been busy exploring Lefkas. Noah and my favourites these days tend to be monasteries – mostly peaceful sanctuaries in the craziness of life. I’m not a fan of organised religion, but I am a spiritual soul. At the heart level, I trust that all truthful prophets teach the same: Love and unity. There’s not much else to it. Most peops in the monasteries seem to get it, or else I can’t explain the blissfulness which surrounds me upon entering their space.
I’d like to say we’ve also been getting the boat ship shaped for our crossing to Sicily where we are very much hoping to catch up with some friends from Paris later this week. But for every screw we tighten and every cable we rewire, there’s a dozen more questions and projects to investigate and attend to. At times it feels like attempting five PHDs at a time. Then I throw myself into my writing which is always a pleasant distraction and great way to channel this massive flow of creativity which has been shaking me in the lead up to this autumn equinox new moon (WowZa massive energies around! Be careful what you wish for these days or it might well come true!).
One of these writing fits ended in a provisioning article for the good old mag back home. If you are a live-aboard sailor also, I’d love to hear your thoughts with regards to the following provisioning lists. Do they reflect your consumption patterns and habits? If yes, say so. If not, comment on how it’s different. Please. Thanks. It’s nice to not always have a one way writing road going!
Average freshwater usages per person per day for a long-term cruise (in litres) based on our experience, interviews with other long- and longer-term cruisers and research
| Drinking | Cooking | Shower | Dishes | Laundry | Boat washing |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Usually only when fresh water is freely available |
Every crew is different. The table below is a guide that provides an estimate of typical products and their quantities used per person per day. A 30-day cruise is assumed with little or no opportunity to restock. Canned and prepared products like tinned vegetables and fruit would be introduced when there is no more fresh ones available.
| Category | Product | Quantity pp/day | Approximate quantities for a couple on a 30 day cruise | |
| Fruit & Veg | As much as you’d consume at home within about a week, more for the longer lasting produce like cabbage, potatoes, onions, garlic, oranges, lemons and apples. The famous banana tree of the stern is not such a good idea as they will all ripen within the same day or two. | |||
| Dairy | UHT Milk | 200 ml | 12 litres | |
| Yoghurt | 30 g | 2 kg | ||
| Cheese | 16 g | 4 x 250g pack | ||
| Butter (tinned butter) | 16 g | 1 kg | ||
| Bread | Fresh loaves for the first few days. If stopping on the way, some places have a local bakery with fresh bread available. If not, below are other options for either making your own, or using long-shelf substitutes. | |||
| Rye Pumpernickel or commercially packaged bread | 1/5 pack | 12 packs | ||
| Flour | 130 g | 16 x 500 g (approx. 16 loaves) | ||
| Yeast | 1/10th package | 8 packages of active dry yeast | ||
| Enough water, olive oil, sugar and salt (although bread lasts longer without salt) | ||||
| Vacuum packed part-baked bread, croissants and brioche | 1 or less | 6 multi item packs | ||
| Wraps for rolls, quesadillas, pizzas etc. | 1.5 rolls | 10 packs with 10 rolls each | ||
| Staples | Cereals | 1/5 pack | 12 packs, oats and a few varieties | |
| Pasta | 80 g | 5 kg pasta | ||
| Rice | 80 g | 5 kg | ||
| Couscous | 40 g | 2.5 kg | ||
| Prepared meals | Soups | 1/10 can | 6 cans | |
| Baked beans | 1/4 can | 15 cans | ||
| Spaghetti | 1/8 can | 8 cans | ||
| Canned | Various vegetables, including corn, asparagus, bamboo shoots, peas etc. | 1/4 can | 15 cans – more if there is no opportunity on the way to restock | |
| Various fruits (also for baking and deserts) | ¼ can | 15 cans – less if you can stock up on fresh fruit regularly | ||
| Tomatoes | ¼ can | 10 cans | ||
| Dried | Chickpeas | 50 g | 3 kg | |
| Lentils | 50 g | 3 kg | ||
| Other dried legumes | 25g | 1.5 kg | ||
| Mung- and other beans for sprouting | 16 g | 1 kg | ||
| Fruit | ||||
| Meat & Fish | Fresh and vacuum packed as much as you usually eat within a week, more if you have a freezer on your boat. | |||
| Smoked Salmon | A treat within the first few days, unless you smoke your own from fresh fish caught on board. | |||
| Canned tuna
Canned meat Canned chicken |
1.5 kg
3.0 kg 3.0kg |
|||
| Condiments | Olive Oil | 6 L | ||
| Balsamic Vinegar | 1 L | |||
| Apple Cider Vinegar | 1 L (Aboard Happy Dancer we carry more as we also use it as medicine when needed) | |||
| Salt & pepper | 2 containers each | |||
| Cayenne, Oregano, Italian herbs, basil, dill, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, masala… | ||||
| Mayonnaise | 3 containers | |||
| Mustard | 1 container | |||
| Jams | 6 glasses | |||
| Honey | 8 g | 4 x 500g (Aboard Happy Dancer we easily use double as we LOVE ice tea made of mint, honey and lemon juice) | ||
| Eggs | eggs | 0.6 | 40 | |
| Snacks | Chocolate, biscuits, crisps, muesli bars, nuts and nut mixes, crackers, olives, crystallized ginger, etc. | |||
| Beverages | Fruit juices, ice teas, sodas etc. | 0.5 | 30 | |
| Coffee and tea | 2 cups per day | 2 kg ground coffee beans, 50 English Breakfast, 50 herbal tea bags of different varieties | ||
| Alcoholic beverages | Very individual choice. During passages, Happy Dancer is an alcohol-free boat. For some this makes up a substantial part of their provisioning budget. | |||
When provisioning, don’t forget non-food items which can be hard to find and expensive in more remote locations. The following table gives an idea of things we stock up on when we can, and approximate quantities for a couple on a 30-day cruise with little or no opportunities to re-provision. Bear in mind that most liquids on board will end up in the ocean, so use natural products wherever possible.
| Category | Product | Approximate quantities for a couple on a 30 day cruise |
| Toiletries | Sunscreen SPF 30 or more | 4 litres |
| Organic Shampoo & Conditioner (2in1) | 500 ml | |
| Toothpaste | 1 tube | |
| Dental Floss | 1 pack | |
| Soap (biodegradable if possible) | 4 | |
| Deodorant | 1 | |
| Razor blades (disposables as they rust) | 10 | |
| Toilet Paper | 15 rolls | |
| Cleaning Products | Biodegradable dishwashing liquid | 1 litre |
| Rust remover | 250 ml | |
| Bottled lemon juice for polishing stainless | 100 ml | |
| Vinegar (disinfectant, glass cleaner and keeps the heads running) | 3 litres | |
| Tea tree oil (disinfectant and mosquito repellent) | 10 ml | |
| Citronella oil (mosquito repellent) | 10 ml | |
| Bicarb soda (best all-purpose cleaner!) | 500 g or more | |
| Disposable rubber gloves | 5 pairs | |
| Scrub brushes | 6 | |
| Sponges | 10 | |
| Wipes | 8 | |
| Paper kitchen towel | 4 rolls | |
| Mosquito coils | 6 | |
| Cockroach traps (just in case) | 4 | |
| Other | Zip-lock bags (different sizes) | A couple of packs |
| Batteries (all sizes) | We mainly use rechargeable batteries, but still keep a back-up for the whole battery inventory. Good quality alkaline batteries last longer. | |
| Bulbs | We keep a back-up of our inventory. | |
| Pot holders for the stove | On off |
Sailing Yoga Family 
Hi Dini, warning….this is a long answer!
We are not living aboard yet (and it’s only the two of us, no kids, but a very hungry cat), but do keep a provisioning list for our 6 to 8 weeks summer cruising trips. To come up with the list in the first place, we have taken the approach of putting a menu together for a week and multiplying this by the number of weeks we are away for – generally without re-provisioning source for the duration. We have the inventory organised around breakfasts, lunches, evening meals, nibbles and treats (never enough of them!), drinks, staples & condiments, cleaning products, toiletries, cat stuff for Bengie, etc… We keep tabs of what we estimate will need and what’s in stock for each item, so we know how much and what to buy.
Like you, we bake on board, make our own yogurt, have a sprouting kit for fresh greens, and buy fresh fruit & vegies if we find some ashore… We are generally anti-social and avoid ports like the plague. So our list does include bottled fruit and lots of tins. We buy and freeze meat and hope to catch fish, and we forage for shells, crabs, crays to supplement the menu.
The biggest difference in our mutual lists is the amount of freshwater we carry. We replenish fresh water at every opportunity as we do not carry much in the tanks (200l), so we use a rainwater collection device, and intend to get a water maker when we eventually live aboard. We have a salt water tap in the galley and use this to wash the dishes. We carry jerricans for topping up and solar shower bags.
I can email you our provisioning list if you’d like (just let me know your email). Hope this helps. Chris
Great post! I love lists like this!
Thanks Viki! I believe you are not cruising yet, but do the products reflect what you’d take on board? Cheerio and all the best with the preps;) x
Yes absolutely – it was great to get an idea of the quantities too. Especially if you are going to be away from shops for a while. We are cruising over Christmas so I will refer back to your list then! Thanks so much. 🙂