Online Cruising Course
Provisioning
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Cooking on vacation, especially on a boat, has its own imperatives. There is a need to simplify and reduce preparation times.

Much of the same planning applies to boat and non-boat provisioning. There is the same need to reduce vacation time spent cooking in a manner that the cooking does not become a burdensome chore. There is the chance to reflect on the food relationship as a opportunity with an exotic cuisine.

Crystallize your dining habits.

This the same basic technique that applies to many food processes. How to reduce something to its essence, conceptualize it and use it to an advantage.

For instance, if you like cereal with fresh fruit, then your favorite cereal can be packed and carried on the plane, especially if it might be hard to obtain. With that basis, try a new tropical fruit for your usual variety.

Consider some quick and easy, flexible food options, especially for breakfast or lunch. And cooking extra portions, such as breadfruit or jerk barbecue, can provide the basis, such as hash browns or sandwiches, for successive breakfasts or lunches, cutting down on cooking prep time.

Plan to have some great dining-out adventures.

Subtract the number of meals to be eaten out, expecting these to help make a delightful vacation, including fine cuisine, West Indian favorites, sunset cocktails, and interesting locations such as open-air verandahs.

Summarize the number of meals to be eaten aboard, considering meal menus drawn up ahead that result from the food-related adventures in tropical cuisine, allowing for batch or pre-cooked meals as well as some in-cruise shopping including deli and bakery stops and mid-cruise provisioning at RTW, Riteway's wholesale outlet near Virgin Gorda's Yacht Harbour.

Fresh baked goods, pastries, condiments and deli items are available in places like the North Sound, Cane Garden Bay, Jost Van Dyke, Soper's Hole, Virgin Gorda's Yacht Harbour and Anegada. Plan excursions that include shopping at these interesting places. See Groceries & Provisions in the BVI for details.

Draw up a list of provisions reflecting all this.

Buy major provisions, bulky liquids and initial fresh baked goods at the major outlets: Riteway Supermarket and its Cash & Carry outlet, The Ample Hamper, K-Mark Gourmet Galley and RTW wholesale.

Expect to consume more drinks that you ordinarily would. Have a light, refreshing non-alcoholic option, so you don't overdo the alcohol simply to keep hydrated in the tropical climate.

On a boat, some advise refrigerate only the next couple of drinks ahead at a time. Others use a separate ice chest for drinks (see Charter Provisioning notes here).