It took us two days to provision the boat prior to departing Fort Pierce! Good planning and preparation are the key to making it painless.
Getting Prepared
While coastal cruising, I don’t focus so much on having large stores of vegetables and fruits, but I try to ensure we are well stocked on anything that is difficult to obtain. Take inventory. Make a list. Check it twice before shopping. Plan the trip to avoid extra travel. We rented a car for two days so we could easily accomplish all of our chores.
Boat Parts
Our first stop was The Boatowners Warehouse in Stuart. This place is well worth the half hour drive! The large store is stocked with almost anything you can dream of needing for a boat. The men in the store were extremely helpful—even giving me directions to find Nick when I lost him!!! We picked up the spare parts we needed, a new cockpit shower hose, snorkel gear and a cruising guide for future dreaming.
Wal-Mart Provisioning
Next stop was to Wal-Mart to stock up on all our paper products, soaps, toiletries and dry goods. Anything large is a pain for us to obtain while we are cruising. Large packages of paper towels and toilet paper just don’t fit well on our bicycles! Hence the need to stock up well on anything large and cumbersome. I think we have enough on board to last at least four months.
I also stock up on dry goods and non-perishable items. Cans of milk, soup, tomatoes and other cooking items are heavy to carry. Dry goods such as beans, rice and pasta will last for a long time in the cupboard. I also stock us up on shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and hand soap, as we tend to use a lot of that.
Day 2 Provisioning
Day two started with a trip to get rid of the old engine oil. After our water leak, we had to change the oil multiple times. That was a rather long trip to the landfill site.
Next, our propane tanks needed a refill. My only complaint while cruising is we can never seem to find a place to refill the propane anywhere close to where we are anchored and most marinas do not have the ability to refill the tanks. This was the biggest reason we rented the car because we were afraid the Uber driver wouldn’t take us with our tanks (Anyone know if this is actually true??)
Next, we went to Publix, our favorite grocery store in Florida, to stock up on perishable items. We split meat up into small packages that are just enough for one meal and freeze them. With our large deep freeze, we have enough space to stock meat for several weeks.
Fruits and vegetables don’t last too long in the heat and humidity on the boat, so we try to stock just enough for a couple of weeks. With our two new refrigerators, we have enough space to put a fair bit of produce. We also got a fruit net when we were in Maryland, which seems to keep fruit fresher longer and prevent it from bruising as we roll around in the big seas.
Storing Provisions
The biggest challenge is getting everything put away when we come home. Prior to shopping, I cleaned out all the cupboards, checked expiration dates on all the cans and other items, then restocked with the oldest stuff at the front of the shelf. I cleaned out the spaces under the seats for more supplies and can put a lot of groceries in the space under the dinette seating.
Stocked up, ready to go, and we are off the dock!!
