Sailing, especially on long voyages away from home, has it's trials and tribulations. I have found through experience that a few creature comforts of home can prove invaluable in making the journey one to remember for a lifetime! Many people buy plastic dinnerware. I scoff at this! There is nothing finer than reaching your destination, throwing out the hook, and setting a fine table to dine on a well-deserved meal! Therefore, I take my best Corelle "china". It's virtually unbreakable, and adds a nice touch to any feast. Placemats are a nice added touch as well.
Get some of those "wide bottomed" coffee mugs. They usually come with non-skid bottoms, and are great in the cockpit!
Small clamp-on meat grinder if you can find one. Great for grinding fresh conch for fritters!
Butane grill!
Assorted sizes of zip-lock baggies!
Clothespins (have many uses on a boat, and great for closing chips or cereal bags, etc.).
Spices! Spices! Spices! Take as many as you have room for! You'll be amazed at what you can do with a few spices to
make any make-shift meal seem like a gourmet feast! A few of my favorites are:
*Many of the Bahamians have their own wonderful, fresh herb gardens. (Usually nice and neat, with a lazy cat lounging among the greenery) For a song and a dance and nice smile you can probably acquire some fresh herbs! Probably all it will take is a compliment to their garden and they will load you up with more than you can use!
Also, at wholesale grocery stores you can purchase large containers of dried onions and mushrooms. They come in plastic jugs that are easily stowable, and, when soaked, make a pretty darned good substitute for the real thing!
Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer
The cardboard "shelf" milk is great, for cooking, along with cans of evaporated milk. I only use the powdered milk for emergencies, but it works fine, too.
Eggs. I find I go thru eggs faster than they can spoil (however, truth be known, I have never had one spoil on me! You can also find powdered eggs from "Lion and Lamb", in Texas. They specialize in many dehydrated products.
In the Bahamas you can purchase this marvelous New Zealand or Irish canned butter. Delicious on Bahamian bread!
Many folks don't realize this, but individual cheese slices have a very long shelf-life without refrigeration. I take lots, and use it almost daily.
Instant Mashed Potatoes, tho I don't particularly care for them on land, are good in a pinch, and make a great soup thickener!
Boxes of stove-top stuffing.
Instant grits (yes, I'm from the south!).
Assorted flavors of Instant Oatmeal
Pancake Mix
Pasta! Buy the "interesting" kind. It's fun to make "lobster linguini" with fish-shaped pasta!
Rice (varied flavors are a must!).
Boxes of macaroni and cheese.
Tabouli and CousCous.
Canned meats! Especially chicken, turkey, salmon, baby shrimp, tuna, ham. Altho, the latter is hard to be creative with. However, there are some recipes that make it almost "palatable" contained herein! And can taste mighty good after a long voyage!
It goes without saying that, whenever possible, fresh meats should be obtained. However, in a "pinch", if you are creative, you can whip up a "gourmet feast" (well, we can pretend, can't we?) with canned meats. Most meats in the Bahamas are frozen, and come from the US. However, chicken is usually obtainable fresh.
K-Mart used to carry canned bacon, which, in itself is quite salty, but when rinsed or soaked in water is quite good. Unfortunately they don't carry it any longer, but the address of the company is "Celebrity Foods" in Elizabethtown, NJ 07206.
I also like to stock up on hard salami and beef jerky. The jerky, if kept dry, will keep virtually forever, however once the salami is opened I don't trust it more than a day or two without refrigeration. I have never had it go bad on me, just being cautious, which is why I try and buy the smaller logs.
Jars of dried beef
Cans of prepared Chow Mien!!!
Canned fruits are a must,,, especially pineapple. However, whenever possible of course buy fresh! I like to keep a nice bowl of fresh fruit in my galley for snacking. Don't be afraid to experiment with the local fruit! Mangos, plantains, guava, papaya, coconut, baby bananas (tho, usually bought "green" in large clumps, if you rinse them in salt water and hang them outside to "cure" they are absolutely delicious. Only problem with them, tho, is that they all tend to ripen at the same time, so you need to "hurry up" and eat them!
Coconuts! (and don't forget to save the coconut water for rum drinks! (aaarrrgh!)
Also, when you have several fruit items that need to be eaten quickly, I've found that if I make a nice fruit salad it gets eaten much quicker! I like to shred fresh coconut on top of mine! mmmmmm!
Fresh veggies are usually easily obtainable in the Bahamas. They keep longest if rinsed in a mild bleach/water solution, then dried and preferably hung in a cool, dry place. I've found, especially potatoes and onions, will keep for longer periods if small wads of newspaper are used to keep them from touching one another.
All the assortment of canned goods you can find. Canned zucchini and squash, carrots, VEG-AL (you'll find endless uses for this!), peas, corn, green beans, black beans, navy beans, kidney beans, blackeyed peas, tomatoes, potatoes, spinach, peaches, pineapple, mushrooms, lima beans, artichokes, SKY'S THE LIMIT!
Canned chilis or jalapenos.
Jars of pimento.
Heinz "Choice Cut" tomatoes. Great garnish for black beans and rice!
Soup! Take lots of it! A "hot meal in a can" will prove itself invaluable over a long passage. When we are going on "overnighters", I like to prepare a nice thermos of hot, nourishing soup (Instant Energy! Especially hot beef or chicken broth) to keep in the cockpit, along with a thermos of coffee (or tea). It's extremely difficult at times to eat "solid" food when making an overnight passage,,, and a nice, hot cup of soup tastes mighty good when you're tired and hungry!
Coffee, tea (and me?), instant hot chocolate (a nice addition to your coffee mug during long overnighters! Instant pep!)
JUICE! Try to purchase the plastic bottles of it. They taste much better than canned, and are unbreakable and stow easily, and the bottles can be re-used for your....... instant Tang or lemonade (get the kind with sugar included)!
Those "boxes" of wine are fantastic. The "bladders" are extremely strong, and you can remove them and store them in your cooler (or refrig) and they conform to shape as emptied. Afterwards they can be used to store fresh drinking water or used motor oil. I have NEVER had one break on me!
One of my most favorite parts of sailing is sunset "happy hour". In the boating community most guests bring their own beverage of choice, and perhaps a little something to share in the galley. This is always fun! It sometimes takes a good imagination to be creative with these little "get togethers".
It is difficult to keep "munchies crunchy" while sailing long-term,,, but whenever possible, have some on hand! Pringles, pretzels, crackers (I made the mistake last journey of buying a case of "Captain's Wafers". They all went stale within the first month! So, I wouldn't advise this, even tho they were individually wrapped). In the Bahamas they have wonderful English wafers that are delicious with "canned squirt cheese" (which, by the way, does not need refrigeration and has a very long shelf-life).
Popcorn always makes a nice treat when you have guests over to watch a video.
Sugar, flour, corn meal (for all those fresh fish you're gonna eat!), plastic jug of Virgin Olive Oil.
Jiffy Cornbread Mix and misc. cake/bread packages. These are great because they make little mess, and make small amounts that can be easily eaten before spoilage.
If you go to a wholesale food warehouse in the States you can purchase cases of packets of mayo. This is especially convenient if you do not have refrigeration. They don't spoil! You will probably use it all,,, or (as with most anything you bring in excess) makes a great bartering commodity! (you will find bartering a great asset! I once bartered a jar of peanut butter for a pound of coffee! And a roll of toilet paper for a fresh onion! You never know!)
Mustard, Worcestershire, A-1 Steak Sauce, SALSA (red, green and cheese!)
Pickles! Sweet and Dill.
Peanut butter and jelly
Honey (Abaco, Bahamas used to have fantastic "Abaco Honey"
6-packs of Jello Pudding
Butane Striker (or two)