Provisioning list for a week's sailing charter

Provisioning a charter is really a maths problem with a small fridge. Get the quantities and the storage right and the week runs itself. Here is how to build the list.

Start from days, crew and meals aboard

Count the number of nights, the number of people, and — crucially — which meals you will actually eat on the boat versus ashore. A typical week is breakfast and lunch aboard every day, with maybe half the dinners out. Plan the meals first; the shopping list falls out of that, not the other way around.

Water and drinks come first

• •Drinking water: 3–4 litres per person per day in warm sailing grounds (the Med in summer sits at the top of that range).
• •Do not rely on the boat’s tank water for drinking — buy bottled and stow it low as ballast.
• •Add coffee, tea, and a realistic amount of wine/beer for the sundowners.

How much food per person

Rough daily quantities per adult, adjusted for appetite and how active the crew is:

• •Breakfast: bread/cereal + fruit + spread; eggs 2–3× over the week.
• •Lunch: something cold and quick — cured meats, cheese, tomatoes, tinned fish, salad.
• •Dinner aboard: ~200 g protein + a carb (pasta, rice, couscous) + vegetables.
• •Snacks: nuts, crackers, biscuits, chocolate — more than you think.

What stows and keeps well on a boat

• •Hardy vegetables: onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes on the vine.
• •UHT milk, hard cheeses, cured meats, eggs (they keep unrefrigerated for days).
• •Tinned and dry staples: pasta, rice, couscous, tinned tomatoes, tuna, chickpeas, olives.
• •Fruit that travels: apples, oranges, under-ripe bananas.
• •Avoid anything that needs a freezer or a lot of fridge space — you don’t have it.

Provision in one big shop, top up at ports

Do the bulk shop the morning of embarkation (water, tins, dry goods, drinks), then buy fresh bread, fruit and fish at ports along the way. Split the receipt fairly at the end so no one person carries the whole galley bill.