How much food is too much?

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

Not a direct answer but something to consider: Friends sailed from San Diego to Hawaii and had a bunch of refrigerated/frozen items including steaks and other meat. Their refrigeration system died about 5 days out of San Diego. Ate up what they could but ended up tossing much as food rotted. Made do on what canned and dry items they had. Ended up very hungry even though they had originally provisioned for almost an extra week.

That's a 2000 mile passage isn't it and they only had a one week reserve, even before the freezer failed

That would be a bit too close for my liking. What happened to a large flare box full of rice packets and another with packets of pasta, finally a dozen tins of corned beef.

Even coastal sailing we have a weeks worth of food available if necessary and that includes the dog.

[Yellowtulip]

Originally Posted by Pete7

That's a 2000 mile passage isn't it and they only had a one week reserve, even before the freezer failed



That would be a bit too close for my liking. What happened to a large flare box full of rice packets and another with packets of pasta, finally a dozen tins of corned beef.



Even coastal sailing we have a weeks worth of food available if necessary and that includes the dog.

That doesn’t read so well. I assume you mean “includes feeding the dog.”!

[Wckoek]

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

Not a direct answer but something to consider: Friends sailed from San Diego to Hawaii and had a bunch of refrigerated/frozen items including steaks and other meat. Their refrigeration system died about 5 days out of San Diego. Ate up what they could but ended up tossing much as food rotted. Made do on what canned and dry items they had. Ended up very hungry even though they had originally provisioned for almost an extra week.

I would head back since it's just 5 days out but many days left ahead.


Anyway, does anyone have a rough idea that how many % of weight you can load compared to a boat's displacement to be safe?

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Yellowtulip

That doesn’t read so well. I assume you mean “includes feeding the dog.”!

Dog is called "Spare Rations"

Nah, he has more food on board than us normally, hmm there is an idea.

Originally Posted by Wckoek

Anyway, does anyone have a rough idea that how many % of weight you can load compared to a boat's displacement to be safe?

Came across this as a way of measuring how much it takes to sink an inch on the waterline.

Pete

[JBP]

The recent Vendee Globe (single handed round the world race) has some info online, here are a couple, probably more but maybe not in english.

https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/...e-skippers-eat

https://www.piphare.com/blog/vendeeglobenutrition


(Requires subscription)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...orld-Race.html

[Shaneesprit]

We buy and eat fresh when ever we can, but always cereals and packet pasta, that we don’t plan to eat, that just lives in the boat for the times where it might be needed. Those normally get taken off the boat after a year and get eaten at home

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Shaneesprit

Those normally get taken off the boat after a year and get eaten at home

I think this is important. Don't buy food you don't usually eat.

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by Wckoek

I wondered how do racers plan?
Like prepackaged meal like MRE or they planned their menu beforehand?

Depends on how hard-core they are. We usually went with pre-prepared meals but MRE was too tough for us.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Joh.Ghurt

Depends on how hard-core they are. We usually went with pre-prepared meals but MRE was too tough for us.

That's my experience also. It also depends on the boat and the owner. Many are bring your own. Some feed crews and the quality ranges greatly. The one time I raced Chesapeake Bay Governor's Cup in my own boat we had cheesesteaks for lunch before the start, homemade lasagna for dinner, and a DIY sandwich buffet for midnights. Of course we ran the gen for A/C below. I had some other darn good sailors on board and we showed that the sailor is more important than the boat.

[Tonali99]

I like to keep 30 to 45 days on board at all times. I may not like what I see in any port or it may be to pricey.
I may have to shelter somewhere away from any source of resupply.
Fishing is nice but not always productive. (once dragged lures half way across the Atlantic, nada)
Expect a storm and no possible means of resupply. For weeks if not more. In those cases, food is better than money. Keep 3 months of that handy too for emergencies.

[TeddyDiver]

Never mind the food but if you ran out of booze.. Sir Francis might have had something to say about that.

[rexposeidon]

so of all the ironies, about the first of June I came across a copy of Sail Away! by Paul and Sheryl Shard.
Excellent book, very much aligns with the all of the advice and recommendations given by you all.
My thanks to you all for all your input.

[CruiseN]

In Australia we have Weetbix. When cruising that was the goto food inbetween meals. Dry Weetbixs don't swallow well hence take a bit of effort and time to get down. By then food cravings have vanished. Lightweight too, can stow high whilst all the canned vegetables were down near the bilge.

[collinn]

I recommend only healthy food. It may sound funny, but I started feeling better after I started using this

[AlanT]

Originally Posted by rexposeidon

So I searched this group of threads but didn't see any discussion on it, if I missed it please post the link and I'll jump in there.


So how much is too much food? When I used to go on extreme hikes 35-50 mile plus no re-stock points) I always carried food for 1 day extra (then ate it all after the mid-point).


If there any general rule of thumb? What kinds of foods do you recommend?


For this threads sake, let's assume trans-ocean i.e. Mainland US to Hawaii or similar distance.


Thanks in advance!

The trick is to pack dense foods not bulky foods. IE flour for making bread not potato chips! We crossed the Atlantic 2x with a complement of 4. We packed as much frozen protein as we could fit in our freezer, as much fresh veggies/eggs/cheese as we could fit in our fridge, long life milk in cartons does not need refrigeration, then tons of cans of soups, stews, vegetables etc . On our longest passage we started on the cans on the 17th day. Ran out of veggies after 2 weeks.
~A