We are scheduled to leave in less than two weeks. Yikes! I have been busy gathering up medical supplies and developing the provisioning list. George has been busy installing and setting up the Iridium Go (satellite phone); installing the Seagull water filter for the galley sink; and buying and organizing spare parts.
The provisioning has been surprisingly stressful. I am trying to do it in a way that is similar to the way we do our weekly shopping, but that makes the process more complicated. As I mentioned in the last post, I first make a list of the menu items that we plan to eat.
I modified the recipes to incorporate freeze-dried and dehydrated foods. Then I estimated how many times we would eat that recipe while we are in the Bahamas. Then I used our Paprika recipe app to scale up the quantities and develop a shopping list. I used the shopping list to develop a spreadsheet. I also added staples that had been suggested by others and the toiletries that we use to the spreadsheet.
Next, we used the spreadsheet to write shopping lists for ordering online or shopping in stores. I often had to convert units (from volume to weight) which wasn't an easy process. I often felt overwhelmed and occasionally downright confused. I am hoping that it will all have been worth it. I have heard that the provisions should reflect what you normally eat at home. Also, by using recipes and scaling them up I hope we will have the foods we need in the quantities that we need.
We did not plan to fish while we are there so we did not plan for that. After we arrive, we may wish we had.
We have completed most of the shopping and I am now worried that we won't have room to store it all.
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| Just a small portion of the food we have purchased |
Breeze On is now at the boat yard getting a new, larger propane locker. Up until now we carried one 5-lb. tank. Now we will have room for two 10-lb. tanks. We expect to get her back by the end of next week and then we can start loading her up and we will see what fits. Fingers crossed!
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Never forget: you do this for fun. If one of you, or both, feel that it is not for you, come back, and use your wonderful boat in a different way. You simply do not have anything to prove. My suggestion would be to at least try it, while taking it really slow. It is probably true that very special experiences are only attainable with some effort, and even a bit of discomfort. Once you've done it, you will wonder what the fuzz was about, and feel good you did it. By the way, I am in awe of your planning. I followed a simpler plan: I knew I needed about four months of food, which is 120 days. I made sure I had 120 breakfasts, 120 lunches, and 120 dinners on board. I then supplemented that with a lot of snacks, candies, and long life bisquits. I lost a bit of weight which was good, but did not starve. The more daunting thing is making sure you have a nice drink a few times a day: 5 times 120 is 600 beers! Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Willem. We both want to try this trip at least once. I think if we try it, love it and want to return it will be much easier the next time.
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