Food and waterquality of life on board is not a luxury
How much do you take?
Bear in mind that the trip may take longer than planned, that you may not arrive at your intended destination, and that there may not be a convenient supermarket there.
Food
Choose easy meals. For the first days you can often cook ahead; frozen at the moment of departure that keeps for a few days. For ten days it is a different story, so mix fresh, long-life and tinned.
Make sure there is enough energy, protein and fibre — the last for the sake of your digestion, which at sea is not a subject to be coy about. Think of snacks and sweets too: they keep the quality of life on board up, and with it morale.
Alcohol is fine at the pontoon drinks, but not recommended under way.
Water
You leave with full tanks, of course. Keep a reserve of drinking water as well, separate from the tank, in case the tank becomes contaminated or is lost.
The rule of thumb is 1.5 litres per person per 100 miles. For four people on a 470-mile leg that comes to:
4 people × 470/100 × 1.5 litres = 28 litres of reserve water
For daily use, count on at least 1.5 litres per person per day for drinking — and then you still need water for cooking and washing up.
Diesel
How much do you need, based on the forecast and allowing for problems and diversions? Work it out: distance divided by speed gives hours, hours times consumption gives litres. Add a margin you trust yourself, and take the result into account in your decision whether to leave.
Basic care
What you want on board in any case:
- sunscreen — you burn faster on the water than you think
- anti-diarrhoea medication
- a great deal of paracetamol
- plasters and dressings
- lip balm and hand cream