Provisioning and Stores
You can't stop at a shop in mid-ocean. Everything you need for the crew, the boat, and the voyage must go aboard before you cast off.
Food Planning
Provisioning for a passage starts with arithmetic: crew × days × meals = total meals. A 4-person crew on a 16-day Atlantic crossing needs 192 main meals plus snacks, drinks, and reserves. Planning this on the back of an envelope in the supermarket doesn't work.
The meal plan approach: Plan every meal for every day. Day 1–3: fresh food (salads, fresh meat, fruit). Day 4–7: refrigerated staples (eggs, cheese, cured meats, hardy vegetables like cabbage and carrots). Day 8+: canned goods, dried pasta, rice, dried beans, UHT milk. This progression follows the natural shelf life of provisions — fresh food first, preserved food later.
Quantities: Budget approximately 2,500–3,000 calories per person per day for an active passage. Night watches burn calories, and cold conditions increase the need further. Snacks matter — watch keepers need easy-to-eat food that doesn't require preparation: crackers, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, granola bars. These get consumed at twice the rate you'd expect.
Seasickness planning: For the first 2–3 days, much of the crew may be unable to eat full meals. Plan simple, bland foods for the early days — crackers, plain rice, ginger biscuits, clear soups. The cook may also be seasick. Whoever is least affected takes galley duty.
Reserves: Provision for at least 25% more days than the expected passage time. A 14-day passage should have 18 days of food aboard. Calms, headwinds, gear failure, or diversions can extend a passage significantly.
Vacuum-seal portions of meat and freeze them flat — they stack efficiently in the freezer and thaw quickly. Label each with contents and the day they're planned for. A well-organized freezer extends the 'fresh food' phase of the passage by a week or more.
Why should provisions include at least 25% more days than the expected passage time?
Stowage and Organization
Provisioning isn't just buying food — it's organizing it so you can find what you need, when you need it, while the boat is heeling 20 degrees in 25 knots. Poor stowage turns a well-provisioned boat into a boat where no one can find the canned tomatoes.
The stowage plan: Create a written inventory that maps every storage location to its contents. Locker 1: canned goods (tomatoes, beans, tuna). Locker 2: dried goods (pasta, rice, flour). Bilge: water bottles and heavy cans (low centre of gravity). Tape the inventory list to the inside of a locker door. When someone needs canned peaches at 0200 on a night watch, they consult the list, not every locker.
Weight distribution: Heavy stores (water, canned goods, spare anchors) go low and centred. Light items (toilet paper, paper towels, cereal) go high. Distributing weight correctly affects the boat's stability, motion, and performance. A boat loaded with heavy provisions all on one side will sail with a permanent list.
Securing stores: In a knockdown, every unsecured item becomes a projectile. Cans in a locker without restraint will fly across the cabin. Use locker nets, bungee cords, towels as padding between items, and wedge loose space with tea towels or foam. Glass bottles should be avoided or wrapped in towels. Every locker should pass the 'inversion test' — if the boat goes upside down, does anything escape?
Labelling cans: Remove all paper labels from cans (they dissolve in bilge water and clog pumps). Mark the contents on each can with permanent marker before stowing. A can with no label is a can of mystery — not what you want when planning dinner.
Photograph each locker's contents before departure and keep the photos accessible (phone, tablet, printed). When the boat is heaving and you need the spare fuel filter, scrolling through a photo of each locker is faster than opening all of them.
Why should paper labels be removed from cans before stowing?
Spares, Tools, and Medical Kit
Food feeds the crew. Spares and tools keep the boat going. A breakdown that could be fixed with a $10 part becomes a $10,000 tow if the part isn't aboard.
Engine spares: Fuel filters (primary and secondary — at least 2 of each), oil filters, impeller for the raw water pump, drive belts (every belt on the engine), spare injector (if diesel), thermostat, gasket set, engine oil (enough for a full change), transmission fluid. If the engine is critical for the passage (motoring in calms, charging batteries, making water), every consumable part must be aboard.
Rigging and sail spares: Spare shackles in every size used on the boat, spare blocks, spare battens, sail repair tape, a sailmaker's kit (needles, palm, waxed thread, Dacron patches), spare line in the sizes used for sheets and halyards, seizing wire, cable ties in bulk. A torn sail can be repaired at sea; a sail without repair materials stays torn.
Plumbing and electrical: Spare through-hull plugs (tapered softwood bungs tied to each through-hull), hose clamps in common sizes, spare hose, electrical connectors, fuses, wire, heat-shrink tubing, a multimeter. Water pump rebuild kits for heads and freshwater systems.
Medical kit: For offshore passages, the medical kit must go beyond a basic first-aid box. Prescription medications for the crew's known conditions, antibiotics (broad-spectrum, prescribed by a doctor familiar with maritime medicine), seasickness medications (patches, tablets), wound closure strips, burns treatment, splinting materials, and a maritime medical reference book. If a crew member is injured 1,000 miles from shore, the boat is the hospital.
For offshore passages, discuss the medical kit with a doctor experienced in maritime or remote medicine. Standard first-aid kits are designed for situations where professional help is minutes away. At sea, help may be days away. The kit — and the crew's ability to use it — must bridge that gap.
What is the most critical category of engine spares for an offshore passage?
Summary
Plan every meal for every day: fresh food first, preserved food later. Budget 2,500–3,000 calories per person per day with 25% reserve days.
Create a written stowage plan mapping every locker to its contents. Secure everything to pass the 'inversion test.'
Remove paper labels from cans (they dissolve and clog pumps) — mark contents with permanent marker.
Carry engine consumables, rigging hardware, sail repair materials, and electrical spares — a $10 part missing offshore can end a voyage.
The medical kit must bridge the gap between injury and professional help — which may be days away on an offshore passage.
Key Terms
- Provisioning
- The process of planning, purchasing, and stowing all food, water, fuel, and supplies needed for a passage
- Stowage plan
- A written inventory mapping each storage location to its contents — essential for finding stores on a moving boat
- Consumable spares
- Engine and boat parts that wear out and need periodic replacement — filters, belts, impellers, anodes
- Reserve days
- Extra provisions beyond the expected passage time — typically 25% additional — to cover extended passages
- Sailmaker's kit
- Sail repair tools — needles, palm, waxed thread, Dacron patches, and sail repair tape for at-sea repairs
Provisioning and Stores Quiz
How should food provisioning progress over a multi-week passage?
Why should heavy stores be placed low and centred?
What is the 'inversion test' for stowage?
How many reserve days of food should be provisioned beyond the expected passage time?
Why is a maritime medical reference book essential for offshore passages?
References & Resources
Related Links
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Noonsite — Provisioning Guides by Country
Country-by-country provisioning availability and recommendations for cruising sailors
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Ship Captain's Medical Guide
Free maritime medical reference — comprehensive diagnosis and treatment guidance for use at sea