Tips for long passages

   Five or more days

FOOD PREP.

Here are some of the food preparation ideas we have learned ourselves as well as from other experienced cruisers.

- EGGS are your friend.  We will take a full dozen and hard boil them prior to departure.  They make a great quick snack, good protein, pick-me-up during an overnight shift.  Also, when someone isn't feeling well during the first few days of passage, they are easily digestable and will help keep your strength up.

     * Purchase them fresh, not refrigerated, if you can to save space in your refrigerator.  They will last longer, and all you need to do is rotate them every 3 days or so.

- BBQ'D CHICKENS.  You know those ready made barbeque chickens you can buy at almost every grocery store?  Pick up 3 or 4 of these and tear them up into small portions of chicken meat in ziplock bags.  Another great snack, quick pick-me-up, and requires no prep while underway.  Pre-cooked chicken can be used for many different meals, both hot and cold.  Freeze the bones and skin, if you have a freezer with some room to make broth for soup or other recipies.

- TIN FOIL trick.  Wrap unrefrigerated fruits in tinfoil, this will help them last longer during the passage.  Wrap lettuce and other green vegetables in tin foil and they will last longer too.

- LEAVE EXCESS PACKAGING BEHIND.  Tupperware is found everywhere on our boat.  When you leave most of the food packaging behind, especially for dry goods, this will minimize the amount of garbage that will be collected during the passage.  We had 3 people for a 13 day passage across the Atlantic and arrived in the Caribbean with only 3 small grocery store bags of garbage.  Also note that bugs can lay their eggs in the glue that seals some boxes, like cereal boxes.

- SOME ITEMS NEED A SOAPY or BLEACH BATH.  When we purchase can goods from some non-first world countries, and warmer climate islands, we remove the labels from the cans (again because of the bugs that can lay their eggs in the glue), dip them in a bath of soapy water or bleach and water mix,  and after drying use a sharpie to lable and date them.

Always plan for at least 1.5 more days than the actual passage (depending on length of passage), as you never know what Mother Nature will provide in the way of surprises that may slow you down from your original estimates.

SHOULD WE TAKE ON CREW?

For the most part, we sail just the two of us and feel quite capable of handling our boat.  For long passages, more than five days, we prefer to take on at least one other crew member.  The reason is, you never know if something will happen to one of you during the passage.  Maybe you break an arm or leg accidently and then that leaves only one crew member to complete the passage without help.  This can be exhausing!  With only two people, you are ships passing and will arrive at your destination completely spent.  With just one extra crew person, using a 4 hour shift schedule, you are on shift for 4 hours and off for 8 hours, meaning you can get much better rest between shifts.  Another added benefit to bringing on crew is that it makes the passage much more sociable.