Hi Jackie -
I just came in off a 20 day singlehanded run from Tahiti to Oahu (Tiger Beetle is in Ala Wai Harbor at the moment). I'll toss in my two cents as regards provisioning for a passage. I've also done three SSS TransPac races, so I'll consider that as well. Here's what I do:
Summary is: I eat less offshore than I expect, if something isn't easy to prepare and consume then I'm unlikely to prepare and consume it, take foods that you normally eat at home, don't try for an exotic/unusual menu of 'new' things, and carry extra of whatever you do like so you don't worry about running out. Anything easy to prepare and consume is what you are most likely to actually eat during the race; pre-prepared foods are the best choice.
The run from Tahiti to Hawaii is around 2600 miles, a tad longer than a Singlehanded TransPacific Yacht Race. My SSS TransPac's were on the order of 14-18 days, I figured three weeks + a bit to get to Hawaii from the island of palm trees to the south. The significant difference is I would be sailing across the equator with the sun and heat load that entails.
My shopping experience consisted of 90 minutes at the local Tahiti grocery store (Carrefour, for those that know Tahiti). For the first TransPac I did, food was something of a show-stopper as I had never considered how much, exactly, of any one thing, did I actually eat in a three week period? I went nuts measuring out portions of pasta, cereals, eggs, bacon, even milk. When I did a Baja Ha Ha run much the same thing happened, I had not equipped the boat for a three week run in quite a while, particularly with three other people on board, and scoured around looking for my menus and lists of what people eat for each day of the trip.
By now I've relaxed considerably from worrying about foods on board and running out. Tiger Beetle has a reasonably well equipped galley - 3 burner Force 10 stove (works great as a Faraday cage to keep the spare GPS in when lightning is flashing through the squalls), a fridge that works when it is turned on, a double-gimballed SeaSwing stove with a little Coleman propane bottle attached (this is super for heating up single-can soups), forks and knives, and two double-bowl dog bowls for plates - I can recommend the big kind designed for big dogs, they have non-skid on the bottom and tall sides to keep spillage to a minimum. I've marinized my dog bowls by drilling a hole in the side so I can tie a line to the bowl and tow it behind the boat for cleaning purposes. West Marine will charge double-extra for marinized dog bowls, you can do it for less at the pet store and a drill.
One issue I have is I am allergic to citric fruits (lemons, limes, and fresh tomatos make me vomit), so I pop a 1000 mg Vitamin C pill every day when running offshore in lieu of carrying citric fruits.
I like The General's food descriptions: there are three kinds of food - live food, dead food, and dog food.
Live food: I like eggs (hard boiled, stored in the fridge, they last for weeks, ready to eat when you want one or three, crack, peel, eat), apples (last for weeks in the hanging net bag, slice into wedges and eat one through the day). Bread - keep it refrigerated or it will mold rapidly. I like Dark Rye, that seems to last the longest. I can bake my own bread on board (carry baking tins, yeast, flour) but that takes way too long for a passage and is better done at anchor, but don't on passage. Bananas - but be careful as they can get squished and become totally evil in the hanging net bag as they drip on you. Pre-cooked cheeseburgers are awesome, cook in advance of the race on the barbecue, wrap in foil, put in freezer, transfer to boat morning of race; when you want one take the hockey-puck size burger out of the fridge and let it rattle around in the sink until thawed, then eat (no need to re-heat - cold cheeseburgers are kinda like cold pizza the next morning, always good).
Dead food. I like pasta & parmesan cheese, this is great bomb-shelter food that lasts forever, keep the grated parmesan in the fridge, keep Bay leaves in the pasta and get the pasta out of any cardboard boxes and place into plastic sealed tubs. Don't eat the Bay leaves, they're not tasty. Cheese - carry brick form that you can slice with a knife, I like Mozzarella, Brie (carry a big wheel in the fridge), Swiss. Peanut butter & jelly, keep the jelly in the fridge. Salami, slice off some thin rounds when you feel like it.
Dog food: anything in a can. I also include here packet food such as Instant Idaho Mashed Potatos (love those). Heavy duty canned stew will keep you warm when it is nasty outside. Only get soups that you can dump straight into the pot and heat (does NOT require adding milk, water, etc. - that gets complicated).
Foods to avoid: anything that can crack a tooth. No hard nuts. Be careful of dired salami meat, they can have hard bits in them too.
Dangers: be very careful when boiling water offshore, you can scald yourself something terrible. To boil water I use either a tea kettle (completely contains the boiling water), or a pressure cooker with the seal removed and the lid put back on top of the pot (similar to the tea kettle, the water is not entirely sealed or contained, so be careful).
So back to Tahiti: I bought canned soups, fresh bread, lots of soda (I like Dr. Pepper, but they don't have that so Coca Cola would have to do), zero beer (there is no beer in Tahiti worth its weight to drag to Hawaii, though Hinano Amber is pretty good), lots of fresh unrefrigerated eggs, block sealed cheese, and large packets of beef jerky. Also some foot-long Salami, red fancy apples from New Zealand (I now appreciate the ENZA campaigns),
I'll wrap this up with a quote from Peter Hogg: When asked how he manages his food preparation for a TransPac, and he's done a few, he said, "Oh - I just go over to the market the night before the race and buy two cases of Dinty Moore canned stew. Done."
Typical menu for me, 21 day run:
60 eggs, hard boiled in advance - 3 per day
20 apples - 1 per day
1 small bunch green bananas - they will ripen
1 small bag baby carrots, don't last that long but are easy to eat
3 dried Salami - 1 per week
4 big packets beef jerky - 1 per week
30 canned stews/soups - 1 per day
3 loaves bread, big peanut butter, 2 mid-size jelly - 1 sandwich per day
cereal and irradiated box milk - one handful per day, drink the milk separately in a cup
2 x 2lb packets Sun-Maid raisins - last forever, eat a handful per day
1 tub red vines licorice - a snack, munch on until they are gone
1 12-14"wheel Brie - last until you finish it
3 pounds Mozzarella cheese - 1 per week
3 pounds Swiss chees - 1 per week
In addition to that stuff, Beetle always carries a stock of: pasta, canned tuna, tinned herring, canned garbonzo beans, lentil beans, couscous, wild rice, butter, balsamic vinegar, tortilla wraps/bread, cooking oil, flour, yeast, aluminum foil, zip loc baggies- this is what's in and around the galley and deep-stores (bomb-shelter food) that is useful.
If you are extra-adventurous, here are some other great things:
Butter-milk pancake mix and maple syrup - easy to make, tastes great. It's hot food, so not so good in the tropics, and it's complicated so not so good in the hard reaching out the Gate to the ridge.
Popcorn - easy to make, easy to eat, don't burn yourself on the oil, watch out for the husks that can get caught in between the teeth. Smells great.
Small chocolate bars. If you're a chocolate person, small Halloween chocolates are great - carry a bag of them and look out for trick-or-treaters.
Gotta have it:
Water - plan on drinking a half-gallon a day when it gets hot. If you can make the water cold (ice cubes or fridge) the water is even better. Beetle has a water maker and it works, when I run through half the tankage then I run the water maker and refill the port tank. When it is hot and sunny and toasty I find myself drinking a big cup of cold water every hour or so.
At least that's what works for me. I must admit I've always admired Mike Jefferson's Cheese Whiz sprayed on un-cooked Pop-Tarts gourmet food model - as brilliant as it is simple!
- rob